Representing Sex in the Brain, One Module at a Time

Yang, Cindy F.; Shah, Nirao M.

doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2014.03.029

Cited by 168 publications

(174 citation statements)

References 243 publications

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“…The modular or specialized function of discrete molecularly defined neuronal populations uncovered by recent studies is a common theme emerging from the genetic studies of sex-typical social interactions in mice [6]. It will be important to test whether other complex behaviours are regulated in a similarly modular manner at the level of genes and neurons.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hormones such as oestrogens and androgens exert their effects by binding to their respective membrane-bound and nuclear receptors [7 -8]. Nuclear oestrogen and androgen receptors (ARs) are transcription factors that can bind to hormone-responsive DNA elements to regulate expression of target genes [6,9], and, in neurons, presumably lead to changes in neuronal connectivity and excitability and ultimately, behaviour.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genetic dissection of neural circuits underlying sexually dimorphic social behaviours

Bayless

Shah²

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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The unique hormonal, genetic and epigenetic environments of males and females during development and adulthood shape the neural circuitry of the brain. These differences in neural circuitry result in sex-typical displays of social behaviours such as mating and aggression. Like other neural circuits, those underlying sex-typical social behaviours weave through complex brain regions that control a variety of diverse behaviours. For this reason, the functional dissection of neural circuits underlying sex-typical social behaviours has proved to be difficult. However, molecularly discrete neuronal subpopulations can be identified in the heterogeneous brain regions that control sex-typical social behaviours. In addition, the actions of oestrogens and androgens produce sex differences in gene expression within these brain regions, thereby highlighting the neuronal subpopulations most likely to control sexually dimorphic social behaviours. These conditions permit the implementation of innovative genetic approaches that, in mammals, are most highly advanced in the laboratory mouse. Such approaches have greatly advanced our understanding of the functional significance of sexually dimorphic neural circuits in the brain. In this review, we discuss the neural circuitry of sex-typical social behaviours in mice while highlighting the genetic technical innovations that have advanced the field.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic dissection of neural circuits underlying sexually dimorphic social behaviours

Bayless

Shah²

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…Within a species, each of these behaviors consists of many stereotyped components, thereby enabling sensitive detection of alterations in behavioral displays subsequent to functional manipulations. Although many brain regions are implicated in the control of sexually dimorphic behaviors in mammals, how these complex behaviors are encoded by such brain regions is poorly understood (reviewed in (Yang and Shah, 2014)).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medial Amygdalar Aromatase Neurons Regulate Aggression in Both Sexes

et al. 2015

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SUMMARY Aromatase-expressing neuroendocrine neurons in the vertebrate male brain synthesize estradiol from circulating testosterone. This locally produced estradiol controls neural circuits underlying courtship vocalization, mating, aggression, and territory marking in male mice. How aromatase-expressing neuronal populations control these diverse estrogen-dependent male behaviors is poorly understood, and the function, if any, of aromatase-expressing neurons in females is unclear. Using targeted genetic approaches, we show that aromatase-expressing neurons within the male posterodorsal medial amygdala (MeApd) regulate components of aggression but not other estrogen-dependent male-typical behaviors. Remarkably, aromatase-expressing MeApd neurons in females are specifically required for components of maternal aggression, which we show is distinct from intermale aggression in pattern and execution. Thus, aromatase-expressing MeApd neurons control distinct forms of aggression in the two sexes. Moreover, our findings indicate that complex social behaviors are separable in a modular manner at the level of genetically identified neuronal populations.

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“…(Kruk 2014). Despite almost a century of follow-up research (for review, see Kruk 1991;Siegel et al 1999;Siegel 2004;Adams 2006;Miczek et al 2007;Nelson and Trainor 2007;Anderson 2012;Yang and Shah 2014), until recently, these questions have remained unanswered. 7 They could potentially be addressed by bringing to bear powerful genetic tools for neural circuit manipulations available in mice.…”

Section: Neural Control Of Aggression In Micementioning

confidence: 99%

“…A role for VMHvl in male sexual behavior is unexpected, as this function has traditionally been assigned to the MPO (Simerly 2002;Yang and Shah 2014). Optogenetic stimulation experiments should be interpreted with caution, because artificial patterns of activation could produce abnormal behaviors.…”

Section: Role Of Esr1 1 Neurons In Male -Female Social Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Internal States and Behavioral Decision-Making: Toward an Integration of Emotion and Cognition

Kennedy

Asahina²,

Hoopfer

et al. 2014

Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol

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Social interactions, such as an aggressive encounter between two conspecific males or a mating encounter between a male and a female, typically progress from an initial appetitive or motivational phase, to a final consummatory phase. This progression involves both changes in the intensity of the animals' internal state of arousal or motivation and sequential changes in their behavior. How are these internal states, and their escalating intensity, encoded in the brain? Does this escalation drive the progression from the appetitive/motivational to the consummatory phase of a social interaction and, if so, how are appropriate behaviors chosen during this progression? Recent work on social behaviors in flies and mice suggests possible ways in which changes in internal state intensity during a social encounter may be encoded and coupled to appropriate behavioral decisions at appropriate phases of the interaction. These studies may have relevance to understanding how emotion states influence cognitive behavioral decisions at higher levels of brain function.

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Representing Sex in the Brain, One Module at a Time

Cited by 168 publications

References 243 publications

Genetic dissection of neural circuits underlying sexually dimorphic social behaviours

Genetic dissection of neural circuits underlying sexually dimorphic social behaviours

Medial Amygdalar Aromatase Neurons Regulate Aggression in Both Sexes

Internal States and Behavioral Decision-Making: Toward an Integration of Emotion and Cognition

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