Kollack-Walker S, Newman S W
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109-0616, USA.
Neuroscience. 1995 Jun;66(3):721-36. doi: 10.1016/0306-4522(94)00563-k.
Previous work has shown that mating induces the expression of Fos protein within the chemosensory pathways of the male Syrian hamster brain. However, it is not known if this pattern of labeling is specific to mating or the result of social interactions in general. To determine the behavioral specificity of activation within these pathways, Fos immunostaining following mating was compared to that following agonistic behavior. Both mating and agonistic behavior are dependent upon chemosensory cues and gonadal steroids (reviewed in Refs 64, 65) and areas belonging to the olfactory and vomeronasal pathways process chemosensory and hormonal information (reviewed in Ref. 48). The results of this study demonstrate both similarities and differences in brain activation patterns following these two social behaviors. Agonistic behavior increased the number of Fos-immunoreactive neurons within most subdivisions of the medial amygdala, the anteromedial and posterointermediate bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, the ventrolateral septum and the ventral premammillary nucleus of the hypothalamus in a pattern comparable to that observed after mating. This pattern of activation common to mating and agonistic behavior may reflect an increase in an animal's general state of arousal during social interactions. In contrast, although mating and agonistic behavior both activated neurons within the caudal subdivision of the medial nucleus of the amygdala, the anterodorsal level of posteromedial bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and the paraventricular and ventromedial nuclei of the hypothalamus, in these areas either the distribution and/or number of Fos-immunoreactive neurons differed. In addition, agonistic behavior selectively activated neurons within the anterolateral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, the anterior nucleus of the hypothalamus and the dorsal periaqueductal gray, whereas mating alone activated neurons within the posteroventral level of posteromedial bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and the medial preoptic area. No differences were found between dominant and subordinate males following agonistic behavior. These observations along with results from other laboratories suggest that mating and agonistic behavior activate distinct neural circuits.
先前的研究表明，交配可诱导雄性叙利亚仓鼠大脑化学感应通路中Fos蛋白的表达。然而，尚不清楚这种标记模式是交配所特有的，还是一般社交互动的结果。为了确定这些通路内激活的行为特异性，将交配后的Fos免疫染色与攻击行为后的Fos免疫染色进行了比较。交配和攻击行为都依赖于化学感应线索和性腺类固醇（参考文献64、65中有综述），属于嗅觉和犁鼻器通路的区域处理化学感应和激素信息（参考文献48中有综述）。本研究结果表明，这两种社交行为后大脑激活模式既有相似之处，也有不同之处。攻击行为增加了内侧杏仁核的大多数亚区、终纹床核的前内侧和后中间核、腹外侧隔区以及下丘脑腹侧乳头前核中Fos免疫反应性神经元的数量，其模式与交配后观察到的模式相似。这种交配和攻击行为共有的激活模式可能反映了动物在社交互动过程中总体觉醒状态的增加。相比之下，虽然交配和攻击行为都激活了杏仁核内侧核尾侧亚区、终纹床核后内侧核前背侧水平以及下丘脑室旁核和腹内侧核中的神经元，但在这些区域，Fos免疫反应性神经元的分布和/或数量有所不同。此外，攻击行为选择性地激活了终纹床核前外侧核、下丘脑前核和导水管周围灰质背侧的神经元，而单独交配则激活了终纹床核后内侧核后腹侧水平和内侧视前区的神经元。在攻击行为后，优势雄性和从属雄性之间未发现差异。这些观察结果以及其他实验室的结果表明，交配和攻击行为激活了不同的神经回路。
