Cavalcante Judney Cley, da Silva Fabiano Gomes, Sáenz de Miera Cristina, Elias Carol Fuzeti
Laboratory of Neuroanatomy, Department of Morphology, Center of Biosciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.
Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.
Front Neurosci. 2025 Apr 10;19:1589156. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2025.1589156. eCollection 2025.
The survival of species heavily depends on social behaviors, which in turn rely on the ability to recognize conspecifics within an appropriate environmental context. These behaviors are regulated by the hypothalamus, which processes signals from both the external environment (such as food availability, photoperiod, and chemical cues from other animals) and the internal state (including sex, estrous cycle stage, nutritional status, and levels of stress). Understanding the brain circuits responsible for specific behaviors in experimental animals is a complex task given the intricate interactions between these factors and the diverse behavioral strategies employed by different species. In this review, we will critically evaluate recent studies focused on the ventral premammillary nucleus (PMv) and discuss findings that reveal the PMv as a key, yet sometimes overlooked, node in integrating external and internal environmental cues. We will examine its structural components, internal connectivity, humoral influences, and associated functions, demonstrating the PMv role in the neural regulation of neuroendocrine responses and social behaviors. While much of the existing research centers on rats and mice as model organisms, we will highlight relevant species differences and include a dedicated section for findings in other species.
物种的生存严重依赖于社会行为,而社会行为又反过来依赖于在适当环境背景下识别同种个体的能力。这些行为由下丘脑调节,下丘脑处理来自外部环境(如食物供应、光周期和其他动物的化学信号)和内部状态(包括性别、发情周期阶段、营养状况和应激水平)的信号。鉴于这些因素之间的复杂相互作用以及不同物种所采用的多样行为策略,了解实验动物中负责特定行为的脑回路是一项复杂的任务。在本综述中,我们将批判性地评估近期聚焦于腹侧乳头前核(PMv)的研究,并讨论揭示PMv作为整合外部和内部环境线索的关键但有时被忽视的节点的研究结果。我们将研究其结构组成、内部连接、体液影响及相关功能,展示PMv在神经内分泌反应和社会行为的神经调节中的作用。虽然现有的许多研究以大鼠和小鼠作为模式生物,但我们将强调相关的物种差异,并专门辟出一节介绍其他物种的研究结果。