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Kelly AM, Thompson RR. Testosterone facilitates nonreproductive, context-appropriate pro- and anti-social behavior in female and male Mongolian gerbils. Horm Behav 2023; 156:105436. [PMID: 37776832 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Revised: 08/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/02/2023]
Abstract
A growing body of literature suggests that testosterone (T) rapidly modulates behavior in a context-specific manner. However, the timescales in which T can rapidly mediate distinct types of behavior, such as pro- vs. anti- social responses, has not been studied. Thus, here we examined acute T influences on social behavior in male and female Mongolian gerbils in nonreproductive contexts. Females and males received an injection of either saline or T and were first tested in a social interaction test with a same-sex, familiar peer. 5 min after the peer interaction, subjects then underwent a resident-intruder test with a novel, same-sex conspecific. After another 5 min, gerbils were tested in a novel object task to test context-specificity (i.e., social vs. nonsocial) of T effects on behavior. Within 1 h, males and females injected with T exhibited more huddling with a peer but more active avoidance of and less time spent in proximity of an intruder than did animals injected with saline. T effects on behavior were specific to social contexts, such that T did not influence investigation of the novel object. Together these findings show that T rapidly promotes pro-social responses to a familiar peer and anti-social responses to an intruder in the same individuals within 5 min of experiencing these disparate social contexts. This demonstrates that T rapidly facilitates behavior in a context-appropriate manner outside the context of reproduction and reveals that rapid effects of T on behavior are not restricted to males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aubrey M Kelly
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
| | - Richmond R Thompson
- Division of Social Sciences, Oxford College of Emory University, 801 Emory Street, Oxford, GA 30054, USA
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Taylor JH, Campbell NS, Powell JM, Elliott Albers H, Kelly AM. Distribution of Vasopressin 1a and Oxytocin Receptor Binding in the Basal Forebrain and Midbrain of Male and Female Mongolian Gerbils. Neuroscience 2023; 522:33-41. [PMID: 37172688 PMCID: PMC10330636 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Revised: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
The nonapeptide system modulates a diversity of social behaviors, including aggression, parental care, affiliation, sexual behavior, and pair bonding. Such social behaviors are regulated through oxytocin and vasopressin activation of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) and vasopressin V1a receptor (AVPR1A) in the brain. Nonapeptide receptor distributions have been mapped for several species, however, studies have demonstrated that there is substantial variation across species. Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) are an excellent organism for studying family dynamics, social development, pair bonding, and territorial aggression. Although an increasing number of studies are examining the neural mechanisms of social behavior in Mongolian gerbils, nonapeptide receptor distributions have yet to be characterized for this species. Here we conducted receptor autoradiography to map distributions of OXTR and AVPR1A binding throughout the basal forebrain and midbrain of female and male Mongolian gerbils. Further, we assessed whether gonadal sex influenced binding densities in brain regions important for social behavior and reward, however, we observed no effects of sex on OXTR or AVPR1A binding densities. These findings provide mapping distributions of nonapeptide receptors in male and female Mongolian gerbils, laying a foundation for future studies that seek to manipulate the nonapeptide system to examine nonapeptide-mediated social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack H Taylor
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Noah S Campbell
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jeanne M Powell
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - H Elliott Albers
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Aubrey M Kelly
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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Furuyama T, Shigeyama T, Ono M, Yamaki S, Kobayasi KI, Kato N, Yamamoto R. Vocalization during agonistic encounter in Mongolian gerbils: Impact of sexual experience. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0272402. [PMID: 35917294 PMCID: PMC9345364 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Behaviors and vocalizations associated with aggression are essential for animals to survive, reproduce, and organize social hierarchy. Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) are highly aggressive and frequently emit calls. We took advantage of these features to study the relationship between vocalizations and aggressive behaviors in virgin and sexually experienced male and female Mongolian gerbils through the same-sex resident-intruder test. Both sexes of resident gerbils exhibited aggressive responses toward intruders. Multiparous females exhibited the most aggressive responses among the four groups. We also confirmed two groups of vocalizations during the encounters: high-frequency (>24.6 kHz) and low-frequency (<24.6 kHz). At the timing of high-frequency vocalizations observed during the tests, the vast majority (96.2%) of the behavioral interactions were non-agonistic. While, at the timing of low-frequency vocalizations observed during the tests, around half (45%) of the behavioral interactions were agonistic. Low-frequency vocalizations were observed mainly during encounters in which multiparous females were involved. These results suggest that high- and low-frequency vocalizations relate to non-agonistic and agonistic interactions, respectively. In addition to affecting aggressive behavior, sexual experience also affects vocalization during encounters. These findings provide new insights into the modulatory effects of sex and sexual experience on vocalizations during agonistic encounters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takafumi Furuyama
- Department of Physiology, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan
- * E-mail: (RY); (TF)
| | - Takafumi Shigeyama
- Graduate School of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Munenori Ono
- Department of Physiology, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan
| | - Sachiko Yamaki
- Department of Physiology, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan
| | - Kohta I. Kobayasi
- Graduate School of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Nobuo Kato
- Department of Physiology, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan
| | - Ryo Yamamoto
- Department of Physiology, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan
- * E-mail: (RY); (TF)
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Kelly AM, Gonzalez Abreu JA, Thompson RR. Beyond sex and aggression: testosterone rapidly matches behavioural responses to social context and tries to predict the future. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220453. [PMID: 35673866 PMCID: PMC9174716 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Although androgens are widely studied in the context of aggression, androgenic influences on prosocial behaviours have been less explored. We examined testosterone's (T) influence on prosocial and aggressive responses in a positively valenced social context (interacting with a pairbond partner) and a negatively valenced context (interacting with an intruder) in socially monogamous Mongolian gerbils. T increased and decreased prosocial responses in the same individuals towards a pairbond partner and an intruder, respectively, both within 30 min, but did not affect aggression. T also had persistent effects on prosocial behaviour; males in which T initially increased prosocial responses towards a partner continued to exhibit elevated prosocial responses towards an intruder male days later until a second T injection rapidly eliminated those responses. Thus, T surges can rapidly match behaviour to current social context, as well as prime animals for positive social interactions in the future. Neuroanatomically, T rapidly increased hypothalamic oxytocin, but not vasopressin, cellular responses during interactions with a partner. Together, our results indicate that T can facilitate and inhibit prosocial behaviours depending on social context, that it can influence prosocial responses across rapid and prolonged time scales, and that it affects oxytocin signalling mechanisms that could mediate its context-dependent behavioural influences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aubrey M. Kelly
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | | | - Richmond R. Thompson
- Division of Social Sciences, Oxford College of Emory University, 801 Emory Street, Oxford GA 30054 USA
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Liu B, Zheng S, Tang H, Liu Q, Li H, Gao B, Zhao X, Sun F. Highly sensitive detection of free testosterone assisted by magnetic nanobeads and gap-enhanced SERS nanotags. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2022; 214:112460. [PMID: 35298951 DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2022.112460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The quantitative determination of trace free testosterone (FT) is of great significance for the diagnosis of androgen-related endocrine diseases. Herein, a fascinating detection protocol was developed for highly sensitive FT analysis through a competitive immunoassay mechanism, which was composed of magnetic nanobeads (MNBs) and gap-enhanced surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) nanotags. With the MNBs as detection carriers, trace FT could be enriched by simple magnetic separation. The SERS nanotag constructed with silver-gold core-shell nanoparticle was acted as quantitative label, and Raman indicators were located at the interface between silver core and gold shell. It is demonstrated that the as-proposed protocol achieves high detection sensitivity for FT of 12.11 fg mL-1, and wider linear dynamic detection range (LDR) in the concentration of 100 fg mL-1 to 100 ng mL-1 with R2 value of 0.979, which is due to the enhanced Raman signal of the gap-enhanced SERS nanotag and the high surface-to-volume ratio of the MNB, respectively. Taking advantages of such sensitivity and accuracy approach, the as-developed powerful strategy presents potential applications for rapid disease diagnosis through analyzing trace levels of FT, and can also provide guidance for the exploitation of analysis project of other analytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bing Liu
- Medical School, Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China.
| | - Shiya Zheng
- Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Hanyu Tang
- Medical School, Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China
| | - Qian Liu
- Medical School, Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China
| | - Haitao Li
- Medical School, Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China
| | - Bingbing Gao
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Xiangwei Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China; Southeast University Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518000, China.
| | - Fei Sun
- Medical School, Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China.
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Zhao X, Castelli FR, Wang R, Auger AP, Marler CA. Testosterone-related behavioral and neural mechanisms associated with location preferences: A model for territorial establishment. Horm Behav 2020; 121:104709. [PMID: 32007517 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2019] [Revised: 01/27/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Territoriality is an adaptive behavioral trait that is important for animal's fitness and there still remains much to learn about the proximate mechanisms underlying the development of territoriality. We speculate that the formation of a conditioned place preference (CPP), an increased time allocation to the environment where a rewarding experience occurred, contributes to territoriality. Testosterone (T) plays an important role in modulating territorial behaviors and T pulses can induce a CPP. We confirmed previous findings in California mice (Peromyscus californicus) that T pulses can induce a CPP in singly-housed, but not group-housed males. Housing singly may be similar enough to dispersal in nature to initiate similar hormonal and neuroanatomical changes needed for the development of territoriality. We further revealed that T pulses interact with the single housing experience and appear to enhance the motivation to be aggressive towards a stimulus male. On a neural level, being singly housed upregulated levels of androgen receptors in the preoptic area, which positively correlated with the strength of the CPP. We speculate that this change in androgen sensitivity in the preoptic area is characteristic of males that have dispersed, making them more sensitive to T pulses. Also, single housing increased markers of synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens, ventral and dorsal hippocampus, neural changes that may be associated with dispersal, reproduction and territory establishment. These behavioral and neural changes may reflect the life history transition from residing in the natal territory to dispersing and establishing a new territory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Zhao
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
| | - Frank R Castelli
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Ruyi Wang
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Anthony P Auger
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Catherine A Marler
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
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