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Inada K, Miyamichi K. Association between parental behaviors and structural plasticity in the brain of male rodents. Neurosci Res 2023; 196:1-10. [PMID: 37343600 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2023.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Revised: 06/10/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
In recent decades, human fathers across the globe have shown a substantial increase in their engagement in paternal caregiving behaviors. Despite the growing interest, the precise neurobiological mechanisms underlying caregiving behaviors in males remain unclear. Neurobiological studies conducted on rodents have advanced our understanding of the molecular, cellular, and circuit-level mechanisms. Typically, sexually naïve males exhibit aggression toward offspring, while fathers display parental behaviors. This drastic behavioral plasticity may be associated with changes in connections among specific regions or cell types. Recent studies have begun to describe this structural plasticity by comparing neural connections before and after fatherhood. In this Perspective, we summarize the findings from four well-studied rodent species, namely prairie voles, California mice, laboratory rats, and laboratory mice, with a view toward integrating past and current progress. We then review recent advances in the understanding of structural plasticity for parental behaviors. Finally, we discuss remaining questions that require further exploration to gain a deeper understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying paternal behaviors in males, including their possible implications for the human brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kengo Inada
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 2-2-3 Minatojima minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan.
| | - Kazunari Miyamichi
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 2-2-3 Minatojima minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan.
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2
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Lv Z, Li L, Li Y, Zhang L, Guo X, Huang C, Hou W, Qu Y, Liu L, Li Y, He Z, Tai F. Involvement of Serotonergic Projections from the Dorsal Raphe to the Medial Preoptic Area in the Regulation of the Pup-Directed Paternal Response of Male Mandarin Voles. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:11605. [PMID: 37511364 PMCID: PMC10380723 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241411605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Male mammals display different paternal responses to pups, either attacking or killing the young offspring, or contrastingly, caring for them. The neural circuit mechanism underlying the between-individual variation in the pup-directed responsiveness of male mammals remains unclear. Monogamous mandarin voles were used to complete the present study. The male individuals were identified as paternal and infanticidal voles, according their behavioral responses to pups. It was found that the serotonin release in the medial preoptic area (MPOA), as well as the serotonergic neuron activity, significantly increased upon licking the pups, but showed no changes after attacking the pups, as revealed by the in vivo fiber photometry of the fluorescence signal from the 5-HT 1.0 sensor and the calcium imaging indicator, respectively. It was verified that the 5-HTergic neural projections to the MPOA originated mainly from the ventral part of the dorsal raphe (vDR). Furthermore, the chemogenetic inhibition of serotonergic projections from the vDR to the MPOA decreased the paternal behaviors and shortened the latency to attack the pups. In contrast, the activation of serotonergic neurons via optogenetics extended the licking duration and inhibited infanticide. Collectively, these results elucidate that the serotonergic projections from the vDR to the MPOA, a previously unrecognized pathway, regulate the paternal responses of virgin male mandarin voles to pups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zijian Lv
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China
| | - Lu Li
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China
| | - Yin Li
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China
| | - Lizi Zhang
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China
| | - Xing Guo
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China
| | - Caihong Huang
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China
| | - Wenjuan Hou
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China
| | - Yishan Qu
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China
| | - Limin Liu
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China
| | - Yitong Li
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China
| | - Zhixiong He
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China
| | - Fadao Tai
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China
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Dimén D, Puska G, Szendi V, Sipos E, Zelena D, Dobolyi Á. Sex-specific parenting and depression evoked by preoptic inhibitory neurons. iScience 2021; 24:103090. [PMID: 34604722 PMCID: PMC8463871 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2021] [Revised: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The role of preoptic GABAergic inhibitory neurons was addressed in parenting, anxiety and depression. Pup exposure and forced swimming resulted in similar c-Fos activation pattern in neurons expressing vesicular GABA transporter in the preoptic area with generally stronger labeling and different distributional pattern in females than in males. Chemogenetic stimulation of preoptic GABAergic cells resulted in elevated maternal motivation and caring behavior in females and mothers but aggression toward pups in males. Behavioral effects were the opposite following inhibition of preoptic GABAergic neurons suggesting their physiological relevance. In addition, increased anxiety-like and depression-like behaviors were found following chemogenetic stimulation of the same neurons in females, whereas previous pup exposure increased only anxiety-like behavior suggesting that not the pups, but overstimulation of the cells can lead to depression-like behavior. A sexually dimorphic projection pattern of preoptic GABAergic neurons was also identified, which could mediate sex-dependent parenting and associated emotional behaviors. Preoptic GABAergic neurons promote maternal behaviors in females mice Activation of preoptic GABAergic neurons induces pup-directed aggression in males Projection pattern of preoptic GABAergic neurons is sexually dimorphic Depression-like behaviors are provoked by stimulation of preoptic GABAergic neurons
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Affiliation(s)
- Diána Dimén
- MTA-ELTE Laboratory of Molecular and Systems Neurobiology, Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Eötvös Loránd University, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gina Puska
- MTA-ELTE Laboratory of Molecular and Systems Neurobiology, Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Eötvös Loránd University, 1117 Budapest, Hungary.,Department of Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, 1078 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Vivien Szendi
- MTA-ELTE Laboratory of Molecular and Systems Neurobiology, Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Eötvös Loránd University, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Eszter Sipos
- Department of Behavioral and Stress Studies, Institute of Experimental Medicine, 1080 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Dóra Zelena
- Department of Behavioral and Stress Studies, Institute of Experimental Medicine, 1080 Budapest, Hungary.,Centre for Neuroscience, Szentágothai Research Centre, Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary
| | - Árpád Dobolyi
- MTA-ELTE Laboratory of Molecular and Systems Neurobiology, Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Eötvös Loránd University, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
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4
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Paternal care in rodents: Ultimate causation and proximate mechanisms. RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF THERIOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.15298/rusjtheriol.19.1.01] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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5
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Shabalova AA, Liang M, Zhong J, Huang Z, Tsuji C, Shnayder NA, Lopatina O, Salmina AB, Okamoto H, Yamamoto Y, Zhong ZG, Yokoyama S, Higashida H. Oxytocin and CD38 in the paraventricular nucleus play a critical role in paternal aggression in mice. Horm Behav 2020; 120:104695. [PMID: 31987898 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2019] [Revised: 01/21/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
In mammals, the development of healthy offspring requires maternal care. Behavior by lactating mothers toward other individuals is an important component of maternal aggression. However, it is unclear whether fathers display aggression primed by pups (an external factor), and the protection mechanism is poorly understood. To address this question, we examined paternal aggression in the ICR mouse strain. We found that sires exposed to cues from pups and lactating dams showed stronger aggression toward intruders than did sires that were deprived of family cues or exposed to nonlactating mates. c-Fos immunohistochemistry showed that cells in both the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei (PVN and SON, respectively) in the hypothalamus of sires exposed to any cues were highly activated. However, c-Fos activation in oxytocinergic neurons was increased only in sires exposed to pup cues and solely in the PVN. In Cd38-knockout sires, the presence of pups induced no or reduced parental aggression; however, this phenotype was recovered, that is, aggression increased to the wild-type level, after intraperitoneal administration of oxytocin (OT). Specific c-Fos activation patterns induced by pup cues were not found in the PVN of knockout sires. These results demonstrate that the PVN is one of the primary hypothalamic areas involved in paternal aggression and suggest that a CD38-dependent OT mechanism in oxytocinergic neurons is critical for part of the behavior associated with the protection of offspring by nurturing male mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna A Shabalova
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition and Memory, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan; Department of Socioneurosciences, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University and University of Fukui, Kanazawa Campus, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan
| | - Mingkun Liang
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition and Memory, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan; Ruikang Hospital Affiliated to Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi 530011, China
| | - Jing Zhong
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition and Memory, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan; Department of Physiology, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianhu Campus, Nanning, Guangxi 530200, China
| | - Zhiqi Huang
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition and Memory, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan; Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianhu Campus, Nanning, Guangxi 530200, China
| | - Chiharu Tsuji
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition and Memory, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan
| | - Natalia A Shnayder
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition and Memory, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan
| | - Olga Lopatina
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition and Memory, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan; Laboratory for Social Brain Studies, Research Institute of Molecular Medicine and Pathobiochemistry, Department of Biochemistry, Krasnoyarsk State Medical University named after Prof. V. F. Voino-Yasentsky, Krasnoyarsk 660022, Russia
| | - Alla B Salmina
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition and Memory, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan; Laboratory for Social Brain Studies, Research Institute of Molecular Medicine and Pathobiochemistry, Department of Biochemistry, Krasnoyarsk State Medical University named after Prof. V. F. Voino-Yasentsky, Krasnoyarsk 660022, Russia
| | - Hiroshi Okamoto
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Vascular Biology, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan
| | - Yasuhiko Yamamoto
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Vascular Biology, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan
| | - Zeng-Guo Zhong
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition and Memory, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan; Center of Research & Development of New Drugs, Guangxi Traditional Chinese Medical University, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning 530001, China
| | - Shigeru Yokoyama
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition and Memory, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan
| | - Haruhiro Higashida
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition and Memory, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan; Laboratory for Social Brain Studies, Research Institute of Molecular Medicine and Pathobiochemistry, Department of Biochemistry, Krasnoyarsk State Medical University named after Prof. V. F. Voino-Yasentsky, Krasnoyarsk 660022, Russia.
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6
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Abstract
In recent decades, human sociocultural changes have increased the numbers of fathers that are involved in direct caregiving in Western societies. This trend has led to a resurgence of interest in understanding the mechanisms and effects of paternal care. Across the animal kingdom, paternal caregiving has been found to be a highly malleable phenomenon, presenting with great variability among and within species. The emergence of paternal behaviour in a male animal has been shown to be accompanied by substantial neural plasticity and to be shaped by previous and current caregiving experiences, maternal and infant stimuli and ecological conditions. Recent research has allowed us to gain a better understanding of the neural basis of mammalian paternal care, the genomic and circuit-level mechanisms underlying paternal behaviour and the ways in which the subcortical structures that support maternal caregiving have evolved into a global network of parental care. In addition, the behavioural, neural and molecular consequences of paternal caregiving for offspring are becoming increasingly apparent. Future cross-species research on the effects of absence of the father and the transmission of paternal influences across generations may allow research on the neuroscience of fatherhood to impact society at large in a number of important ways.
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Stolzenberg DS, Mayer HS. Experience-dependent mechanisms in the regulation of parental care. Front Neuroendocrinol 2019; 54:100745. [PMID: 31009675 PMCID: PMC7347228 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2019.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2018] [Revised: 03/29/2019] [Accepted: 04/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Maternal behavior is a defining characteristic of mammals, which is regulated by a core, conserved neural circuit. However, mothering behavior is not always a default response to infant conspecifics. For example, initial fearful, fragmented or aggressive responses toward infants in laboratory rats and mice can give way to highly motivated and organized caregiving behaviors following appropriate hormone exposure or repeated experience with infants. Therefore hormonal and/or experiential factors must be involved in determining the extent to which infants access central approach and avoidance neural systems. In this review we describe evidence supporting the idea that infant conspecifics are capable of activating distinct neural pathways to elicit avoidant, aggressive and parental responses from adult rodents. Additionally, we discuss the hypothesis that alterations in transcriptional regulation within the medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus may be a key mechanism of neural plasticity involved in programming the differential sensitivity of these neural pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle S Stolzenberg
- University of California, Davis, Department of Psychology, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, United States.
| | - Heather S Mayer
- University of California, Davis, Department of Psychology, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, United States
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Glasper ER, Kenkel WM, Bick J, Rilling JK. More than just mothers: The neurobiological and neuroendocrine underpinnings of allomaternal caregiving. Front Neuroendocrinol 2019; 53:100741. [PMID: 30822428 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2019.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Revised: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 02/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
In a minority of mammalian species, mothers depend on others to help raise their offspring. New research is investigating the neuroendocrine mechanisms supporting this allomaternal behavior. Several hormones have been implicated in allomaternal caregiving; however, the role of specific hormones is variable across species, perhaps because allomothering independently evolved multiple times. Brain regions involved in maternal behavior in non-human animals, such as the medial preoptic area, are also critically involved in allomaternal behavior. Allomaternal experience modulates hormonal systems, neural plasticity, and behavioral reactivity. In humans, fatherhood-induced decreases in testosterone and increases in oxytocin may support sensitive caregiving. Fathers and mothers activate similar neural systems when exposed to child stimuli, and this can be considered a global "parental caregiving" network. Finally, early work on caregiving by non-kin (e.g., foster parents) suggests reliance on similar mechanisms as biologically-related parents. This article is part of the 'Parental Brain and Behavior' Special Issue.
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Affiliation(s)
- E R Glasper
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, 4094 Campus Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA; Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
| | - W M Kenkel
- Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, 150 S. Woodlawn Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - J Bick
- Department of Psychology, University of Houston, 4849 Calhoun Road, Houston, TX 77204, USA; Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics, University of Houston, 4849 Calhoun Rd, Houston, TX 77204, USA
| | - J K Rilling
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, 207 Anthropology Building, 1557 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 101 Woodruff Circle, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University, PO Box 3966, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA; Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory University, 201 Dowman Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
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9
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Mayer HS, Helton J, Torres LY, Cortina I, Brown WM, Stolzenberg DS. Histone deacetylase inhibitor treatment induces postpartum-like maternal behavior and immediate early gene expression in the maternal neural pathway in virgin mice. Horm Behav 2019; 108:94-104. [PMID: 29499221 PMCID: PMC6135716 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2018.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2017] [Revised: 02/02/2018] [Accepted: 02/24/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
The peripartum period is associated with the onset of behaviors that shelter, feed and protect young offspring from harm. The neural pathway that regulates caregiving behaviors has been mapped in female rats and is conserved in mice. However, rats rely on late gestational hormones to shift their perception of infant cues from aversive to attractive, whereas laboratory mice are "spontaneously" maternal, but their level of responding depends on experience. For example, pup-naïve virgin female mice readily care for pups in the home cage, but avoid pups in a novel environment. In contrast, pup-experienced virgin mice care for pups in both contexts. Thus, virgin mice rely on experience to shift their perception of infant cues from aversive to attractive in a novel context. We hypothesize that alterations in immediate early gene activation may underlie the experience-driven shift in which neural pathways (fear/avoidance versus maternal/approach) are activated by pups to modulate context-dependent changes in maternal responding. Here we report that the effects of sodium butyrate, a drug that allows for an amplification of experience-induced histone acetylation and gene expression in virgins, are comparable to the natural onset of caregiving behaviors in postpartum mice and induce postpartum-like patterns of immediate early gene expression across brain regions. These data suggest that pups can activate a fear/defensive circuit in mice and experience-driven improvements in caregiving behavior could be regulated in part through decreased activation of this pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather S Mayer
- University of California, Davis, Department of Psychology, One Shields Ave. Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Jamie Helton
- University of California, Davis, Department of Psychology, One Shields Ave. Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Lisette Y Torres
- University of California, Davis, Department of Psychology, One Shields Ave. Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Ignacio Cortina
- University of California, Davis, Department of Psychology, One Shields Ave. Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Whitney M Brown
- University of California, Davis, Department of Psychology, One Shields Ave. Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Danielle S Stolzenberg
- University of California, Davis, Department of Psychology, One Shields Ave. Davis, CA 95616, USA.
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Horrell ND, Hickmott PW, Saltzman W. Neural Regulation of Paternal Behavior in Mammals: Sensory, Neuroendocrine, and Experiential Influences on the Paternal Brain. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2018; 43:111-160. [PMID: 30206901 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2018_55] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Across the animal kingdom, parents in many species devote extraordinary effort toward caring for offspring, often risking their lives and exhausting limited resources. Understanding how the brain orchestrates parental care, biasing effort over the many competing demands, is an important topic in social neuroscience. In mammals, maternal care is necessary for offspring survival and is largely mediated by changes in hormones and neuropeptides that fluctuate massively during pregnancy, parturition, and lactation (e.g., progesterone, estradiol, oxytocin, and prolactin). In the relatively small number of mammalian species in which parental care by fathers enhances offspring survival and development, males also undergo endocrine changes concurrent with birth of their offspring, but on a smaller scale than females. Thus, fathers additionally rely on sensory signals from their mates, environment, and/or offspring to orchestrate paternal behavior. Males can engage in a variety of infant-directed behaviors that range from infanticide to avoidance to care; in many species, males can display all three behaviors in their lifetime. The neural plasticity that underlies such stark changes in behavior is not well understood. In this chapter we summarize current data on the neural circuitry that has been proposed to underlie paternal care in mammals, as well as sensory, neuroendocrine, and experiential influences on paternal behavior and on the underlying circuitry. We highlight some of the gaps in our current knowledge of this system and propose future directions that will enable the development of a more comprehensive understanding of the proximate control of parenting by fathers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan D Horrell
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Peter W Hickmott
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Wendy Saltzman
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
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11
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Kent M, Bell AM. Changes in behavior and brain immediate early gene expression in male threespined sticklebacks as they become fathers. Horm Behav 2018; 97:102-111. [PMID: 29117505 PMCID: PMC5771839 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2017.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2017] [Revised: 10/21/2017] [Accepted: 11/03/2017] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Motherhood is a period of intense behavioral and brain activity. However, we know less about the neural and molecular mechanisms associated with the demands of fatherhood. Here, we report the results of two experiments designed to track changes in behavior and brain activation associated with fatherhood in male threespined stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus), a species in which fathers are the sole providers of parental care. In experiment 1, we tested whether males' behavioral reactions to different social stimuli depends on parental status, i.e. whether they were providing parental care. Parental males visited their nest more in response to social stimuli compared to nonparental males. Rates of courtship behavior were high in non-parental males but low in parental males. In experiment 2, we used a quantitative in situ hybridization method to compare the expression of an immediate early gene (Egr-1) across the breeding cycle - from establishing a territory to caring for offspring. Egr-1 expression peaked when the activities associated with fatherhood were greatest (when they were providing care to fry), and then returned to baseline levels once offspring were independent. The medial dorsal telencephalon (basolateral amygdala), lateral part of dorsal telencephalon (hippocampus) and anterior tuberal nucleus (ventral medial hypothalamus) exhibited high levels of Egr-1 expression during the breeding cycle. These results help to define the neural circuitry associated with fatherhood in fishes, and are consistent with the hypothesis that fatherhood - like motherhood - is a period of intense behavioral and neural activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Molly Kent
- Program in Neuroscience, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, United States
| | - Alison M Bell
- School of Integrative Biology, Program in Neuroscience, Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, United States.
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12
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Different behavioral, neural and neuropeptide responses of fathers to their own and to alien pups in mandarin voles. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2017; 204:257-269. [DOI: 10.1007/s00359-017-1229-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2017] [Revised: 11/05/2017] [Accepted: 11/14/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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13
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Vastagh C, Liposits Z. Impact of Proestrus on Gene Expression in the Medial Preoptic Area of Mice. Front Cell Neurosci 2017; 11:183. [PMID: 28725181 PMCID: PMC5495965 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2017.00183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2017] [Accepted: 06/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The antero-ventral periventricular zone (AVPV) and medial preoptic area (MPOA) have been recognized as gonadal hormone receptive regions of the rodent brain that-via wiring to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons-contribute to orchestration of the preovulatory GnRH surge. We hypothesized that neural genes regulating the induction of GnRH surge show altered expression in proestrus. Therefore, we compared the expression of 48 genes obtained from intact proestrous and metestrous mice, respectively, by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) method. Differential expression of 24 genes reached significance (p < 0.05). Genes upregulated in proestrus encoded neuropeptides (kisspeptin (KP), galanin (GAL), neurotensin (NT), cholecystokinin (CCK)), hormone receptors (growth hormone secretagogue receptor, μ-opioid receptor), gonadal steroid receptors (estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), progesterone receptor (PR), androgen receptor (AR)), solute carrier family proteins (vesicular glutamate transporter 2, vesicular monoamine transporter 2), proteins of transmitter synthesis (tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)) and transmitter receptor subunit (AMPA4), and other proteins (uncoupling protein 2, nuclear receptor related 1 protein). Proestrus evoked a marked downregulation of genes coding for adenosine A2a receptor, vesicular gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transporter, 4-aminobutyrate aminotransferase, tachykinin precursor 1, NT receptor 3, arginine vasopressin receptor 1A, cannabinoid receptor 1, ephrin receptor A3 and aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family, member L1. Immunocytochemistry was used to visualize the proteins encoded by Kiss1, Gal, Cck and Th genes in neuronal subsets of the AVPV/MPOA of the proestrous mice. The results indicate that gene expression of the AVPV/MPOA is significantly modified at late proestrus including genes that code for neuropeptides, gonadal steroid hormone receptors and synaptic vesicle transporters. These events support cellular and neuronal network requirements of the positive estradiol feedback action and contribute to preparation of the GnRH neuron system for the pre-ovulatory surge release.
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Affiliation(s)
- Csaba Vastagh
- Laboratory of Endocrine Neurobiology, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of SciencesBudapest, Hungary
| | - Zsolt Liposits
- Laboratory of Endocrine Neurobiology, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of SciencesBudapest, Hungary.,Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Information Technology and Bionics, Pázmány Péter Catholic UniversityBudapest, Hungary
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14
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Nephew BC. The Neurobiology of Parenting: Basic Research. Curr Behav Neurosci Rep 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s40473-016-0059-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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15
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Numan M, Young LJ. Neural mechanisms of mother-infant bonding and pair bonding: Similarities, differences, and broader implications. Horm Behav 2016; 77:98-112. [PMID: 26062432 PMCID: PMC4671834 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2015.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 211] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2015] [Revised: 04/30/2015] [Accepted: 05/18/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
This article is part of a Special Issue "Parental Care". Mother-infant bonding is a characteristic of virtually all mammals. The maternal neural system may have provided the scaffold upon which other types of social bonds in mammals have been built. For example, most mammals exhibit a polygamous mating system, but monogamy and pair bonding between mating partners occur in ~5% of mammalian species. In mammals, it is plausible that the neural mechanisms that promote mother-infant bonding have been modified by natural selection to establish the capacity to develop a selective bond with a mate during the evolution of monogamous mating strategies. Here we compare the details of the neural mechanisms that promote mother-infant bonding in rats and other mammals with those that underpin pair bond formation in the monogamous prairie vole. Although details remain to be resolved, remarkable similarities and a few differences between the mechanisms underlying these two types of bond formation are revealed. For example, amygdala and nucleus accumbens-ventral pallidum (NA-VP) circuits are involved in both types of bond formation, and dopamine and oxytocin actions within NA appear to promote the synaptic plasticity that allows either infant or mating partner stimuli to persistently activate NA-VP attraction circuits, leading to an enduring social attraction and bonding. Further, although the medial preoptic area is essential for maternal behavior, its role in pair bonding remains to be determined. Our review concludes by examining the broader implications of this comparative analysis, and evidence is provided that the maternal care system may have also provided the basic neural foundation for other types of strong social relationships, beyond pair bonding, in mammals, including humans.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Larry J Young
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States
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16
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Akther S, Huang Z, Liang M, Zhong J, Fakhrul AAKM, Yuhi T, Lopatina O, Salmina AB, Yokoyama S, Higashida C, Tsuji T, Matsuo M, Higashida H. Paternal Retrieval Behavior Regulated by Brain Estrogen Synthetase (Aromatase) in Mouse Sires that Engage in Communicative Interactions with Pairmates. Front Neurosci 2015; 9:450. [PMID: 26696812 PMCID: PMC4678232 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2015.00450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2015] [Accepted: 11/13/2015] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Parental behaviors involve complex social recognition and memory processes and interactive behavior with children that can greatly facilitate healthy human family life. Fathers play a substantial role in child care in a small but significant number of mammals, including humans. However, the brain mechanism that controls male parental behavior is much less understood than that controlling female parental behavior. Fathers of non-monogamous laboratory ICR mice are an interesting model for examining the factors that influence paternal responsiveness because sires can exhibit maternal-like parental care (retrieval of pups) when separated from their pups along with their pairmates because of olfactory and auditory signals from the dams. Here we tested whether paternal behavior is related to femininity by the aromatization of testosterone. For this purpose, we measured the immunoreactivity of aromatase [cytochrome P450 family 19 (CYP19)], which synthesizes estrogen from androgen, in nine brain regions of the sire. We observed higher levels of aromatase expression in these areas of the sire brain when they engaged in communicative interactions with dams in separate cages. Interestingly, the number of nuclei with aromatase immunoreactivity in sires left together with maternal mates in the home cage after pup-removing was significantly larger than that in sires housed with a whole family. The capacity of sires to retrieve pups was increased following a period of 5 days spent with the pups as a whole family after parturition, whereas the acquisition of this ability was suppressed in sires treated daily with an aromatase inhibitor. The results demonstrate that the dam significantly stimulates aromatase in the male brain and that the presence of the pups has an inhibitory effect on this increase. These results also suggest that brain aromatization regulates the initiation, development, and maintenance of paternal behavior in the ICR male mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shirin Akther
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition, Kanazawa University Research Center for Child Mental Development Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Zhiqi Huang
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition, Kanazawa University Research Center for Child Mental Development Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Mingkun Liang
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition, Kanazawa University Research Center for Child Mental Development Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Jing Zhong
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition, Kanazawa University Research Center for Child Mental Development Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Azam A K M Fakhrul
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition, Kanazawa University Research Center for Child Mental Development Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Teruko Yuhi
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition, Kanazawa University Research Center for Child Mental Development Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Olga Lopatina
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition, Kanazawa University Research Center for Child Mental Development Kanazawa, Japan ; Department of Biochemistry, Medical Pharmaceutical and Toxicological Chemistry, Krasnoyarsk State Medical University Krasnoyarsk, Russia
| | - Alla B Salmina
- Department of Biochemistry, Medical Pharmaceutical and Toxicological Chemistry, Krasnoyarsk State Medical University Krasnoyarsk, Russia
| | - Shigeru Yokoyama
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition, Kanazawa University Research Center for Child Mental Development Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Chiharu Higashida
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition, Kanazawa University Research Center for Child Mental Development Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Takahiro Tsuji
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition, Kanazawa University Research Center for Child Mental Development Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Mie Matsuo
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition, Kanazawa University Research Center for Child Mental Development Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Haruhiro Higashida
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition, Kanazawa University Research Center for Child Mental Development Kanazawa, Japan
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17
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Message in a bottle: major urinary proteins and their multiple roles in mouse intraspecific chemical communication. Anim Behav 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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18
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Liang M, Zhong J, Liu HX, Lopatina O, Nakada R, Yamauchi AM, Higashida H. Pairmate-dependent pup retrieval as parental behavior in male mice. Front Neurosci 2014; 8:186. [PMID: 25071431 PMCID: PMC4092370 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2014.00186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2014] [Accepted: 06/11/2014] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Appropriate parental care by fathers can greatly facilitate healthy human family life. However, much less is known about paternal behavior in animals compared to those regarding maternal behavior. Previously, we reported that male ICR strain laboratory mice, although not spontaneously parental, can be induced to display maternal-like parental care (pup retrieval) when separated from their pups by signals from the pairmate dam (Liu et al., 2013). This parental behavior by the ICR sires, which are not genetically biparental, is novel and has been designated as pairmate-dependent paternal behavior. However, the factors critical for this paternal behavior are unclear. Here, we report that the pairmate-dependent paternal retrieval behavior is observed especially in the ICR strain and not in C57BL/6 or BALB/c mice. An ICR sire displays retrieval behavior only toward his biological pups. A sire co-housed with an unrelated non-pairing dam in a new environment, under which 38-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations are not detected, does not show parenting behavior. It is important for sires to establish their own home territory (cage) by continuous housing and testing to display retrieval behavior. These results indicated that the ICR sires display distinct paternity, including father-child social interaction, and shed light on parental behavior, although further analyses of paternal care at the neuroendocrinological and neurocircuitry levels are required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingkun Liang
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition and Memory, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University Kanazawa, Japan ; Department of Biophysical Genetics, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa University Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Jing Zhong
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition and Memory, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University Kanazawa, Japan ; Department of Biophysical Genetics, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa University Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Hong-Xiang Liu
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition and Memory, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Olga Lopatina
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition and Memory, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Ryusuke Nakada
- Department of Biophysical Genetics, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa University Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Agnes-Mikiko Yamauchi
- Department of Biophysical Genetics, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa University Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Haruhiro Higashida
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition and Memory, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University Kanazawa, Japan
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