State-Dependent Neural Processing Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK.
Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Science Technology Platform, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK.
Science. 2023 Oct 6;382(6666):76-81. doi: 10.1126/science.adi0576. Epub 2023 Oct 5.
During pregnancy, physiological adaptations prepare the female body for the challenges of motherhood. Becoming a parent also requires behavioral adaptations. Such adaptations can occur as early as during pregnancy, but how pregnancy hormones remodel parenting circuits to instruct preparatory behavioral changes remains unknown. We found that action of estradiol and progesterone on galanin (Gal)-expressing neurons in the mouse medial preoptic area (MPOA) is critical for pregnancy-induced parental behavior. Whereas estradiol silences MPOA neurons and paradoxically increases their excitability, progesterone permanently rewires this circuit node by promoting dendritic spine formation and recruitment of excitatory synaptic inputs. This MPOA-specific neural remodeling sparsens population activity in vivo and results in persistently stronger, more selective responses to pup stimuli. Pregnancy hormones thus remodel parenting circuits in anticipation of future behavioral need.
在怀孕期间，生理适应会使女性身体为成为母亲的挑战做好准备。成为父母还需要行为适应。这种适应早在怀孕期间就可能发生，但怀孕激素如何重塑育儿回路以指示预备性行为变化仍然未知。我们发现，雌激素和孕激素对小鼠中脑前腹内侧区（MPOA）中表达甘丙肽（Gal）的神经元的作用对于妊娠诱导的亲代行为至关重要。尽管雌激素使 MPOA 神经元沉默，但反常地增加了它们的兴奋性，而孕激素通过促进树突棘形成和兴奋性突触输入的募集，永久地重塑了这个回路节点。这种 MPOA 特异性的神经重塑使体内群体活动稀疏化，并导致对幼仔刺激产生持续更强、更有选择性的反应。因此，妊娠激素会重塑育儿回路，以应对未来的行为需求。
