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Grossmann CP, Sommer C, Fahliogullari IB, Neumann ID, Menon R. Mating-induced release of oxytocin in the mouse lateral septum: Implications for social fear extinction. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024; 166:107083. [PMID: 38788461 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 05/10/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
In mammals, some physiological conditions are associated with the high brain oxytocin (OXT) system activity. These include lactation in females and mating in males and females, both of which have been linked to reduced stress responsiveness and anxiolysis. Also, in a murine model of social fear conditioning (SFC), enhanced brain OXT signaling in lactating mice, specifically in the lateral septum (LS), was reported to underlie reduced social fear expression. Here, we studied the effects of mating in male mice on anxiety-related behaviour, social (and cued) fear expression and its extinction, and the activity of OXT neurons reflected by cFos expression and OXT release in the LS and amygdala. We further focused on the involvement of brain OXT in the mating-induced facilitation of social fear extinction. We could confirm the anxiolytic effect of mating in male mice irrespective of the occurrence of ejaculation. Further, we found that only successful mating resulting in ejaculation (Ej+) facilitated social fear extinction, whereas mating without ejaculation (Ej-) did not. In contrast, mating did not affect cues fear expression. Using the cellular activity markers cFos and pErk, we further identified the ventral LS (vLS) as a potential region participating in the effect of ejaculation on social fear extinction. In support, microdialysis experiments revealed a rise in OXT release within the LS, but not the amygdala, during mating. Finally, infusion of an OXT receptor antagonist into the LS before mating or into the lateral ventricle (icv) after mating demonstrated a significant role of brain OXT receptor-mediated signaling in the mating-induced facilitation of social fear extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cindy P Grossmann
- Department of Behavioral and Molecular Neurobiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Christopher Sommer
- Department of Behavioral and Molecular Neurobiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | | | - Inga D Neumann
- Department of Behavioral and Molecular Neurobiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
| | - Rohit Menon
- Department of Behavioral and Molecular Neurobiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
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Dos Santos MB, de Oliveira Guarnieri L, Lunardi P, Schenatto Pereira G. On the effect of social cue valence in contextual memory persistence. Behav Brain Res 2023; 447:114398. [PMID: 36966939 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Revised: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 04/15/2023]
Abstract
Social cues are valuable sensorial stimuli to the acquisition and retrieval of contextual memories. Here, we asked whether the valence of social cues would impact the formation of contextual memories. Adult male C57/BL6 mice were exposed to either conditioned place preference (CPP) or avoidance (CPA). As positive stimuli we used social interaction with a female (IF), while interaction with a male CD1 mice (IM) was used as negative stimulus. Contextual memory was tested 24 h and 7 days after conditioning. Aggressive behavior of CD1, as well as interaction with the female were quantified along the conditioning sessions. IM, but not IF, was salient enough to induce contextual memory estimated by the difference between the time in the conditioned context during test and habituation. Next, we chose two odors with innate behavioral responses and opposite valence to narrow down the sociability to one of its sensorial sources of information - the olfaction. We used urine from females in proestrus (U) and 2,4,5-trimethyl thiazoline (TMT), a predator odor. TMT decreased and U increased the time in the conditioned context during the test performed 24 h and 7 days after conditioning. Taken together, our results suggest that contextual memories conditioned to social encounters are difficult to stablish in mice, specially the one with positive valence. On the other hand, using odors with ecological relevance is a promising strategy to study long-term contextual memories with opposite valences. Ultimately, the behavioral protocol proposed here offers the advantage of studying contextual memories with opposite valences using unconditioned stimulus from the same sensorial category such as olfaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matheus Barbosa Dos Santos
- Núcleo de Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Leonardo de Oliveira Guarnieri
- Núcleo de Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil; Centro de Tecnologia e Pesquisa em Magneto Ressonância, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Elétrica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Paula Lunardi
- Núcleo de Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil; Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
| | - Grace Schenatto Pereira
- Núcleo de Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
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Gao F, Huang J, Guan YF, Huang GB, Li WJ, He XY, Qiu ZC, Zhang YL, Zhao ST, Li J, Xuan A, Sun XD. Social Company by a Receptive Mating Partner Facilitates Fear Extinction. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:62. [PMID: 32116509 PMCID: PMC7018940 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2019] [Accepted: 01/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Fear extinction remains an unresolved challenge for behavioral exposure therapy in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Previous reports have suggested that social support from either familiar or unfamiliar same-sex partners is beneficial to attenuating fear responses during fear extinction and renewal. Despite that, few studies have examined the effects of social support in advance on fear extinction and/or retrieval. It is also not clear whether social company by a receptive mating partner in advance facilitates fear extinction. In the present study, we address these questions by introducing a co-housing method, where fear-conditioned male mice are co-housed with or without a receptive mating partner prior to fear extinction. We found that while co-housing with an ovariectomized female mouse showed little effect on fear extinction or retrieval, social company by a receptive mating partner in advance dramatically facilitates fear extinction. In addition, the number of cFos-positive neurons in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) were also found to be reduced in male mice accompanied with receptive mating partner in response to fear extinction and retrieval, indicating diminished neuronal activation. Electrophysiological studies further showed that the excitability of excitatory neurons in BLA was decreased, which is probably due to the attenuated basal level of excitatory synaptic transmission. Together, our observations demonstrate an effect of social company by a receptive mating partner can facilitate fear extinction and afford a possible cellular mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Gao
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institute of Neuroscience and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jie Huang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institute of Neuroscience and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yan-Fei Guan
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institute of Neuroscience and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou, China
| | - Guo-Bin Huang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institute of Neuroscience and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wen-Jing Li
- KingMed School of Laboratory Medicine, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xi-Yi He
- KingMed School of Laboratory Medicine, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zi-Cong Qiu
- The First School of Clinical Medicine, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yun-Long Zhang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institute of Neuroscience and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shen-Ting Zhao
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institute of Neuroscience and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jianhua Li
- Key Laboratory of Protein Modification and Degradation, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Affiliated Cancer Hospital & Institute of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Aiguo Xuan
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institute of Neuroscience and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiang-Dong Sun
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institute of Neuroscience and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders, Guangzhou, China
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