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Elias LJ, Succi IK, Schaffler MD, Foster W, Gradwell MA, Bohic M, Fushiki A, Upadhyay A, Ejoh LL, Schwark R, Frazer R, Bistis B, Burke JE, Saltz V, Boyce JE, Jhumka A, Costa RM, Abraira VE, Abdus-Saboor I. Touch neurons underlying dopaminergic pleasurable touch and sexual receptivity. Cell 2023; 186:577-590.e16. [PMID: 36693373 PMCID: PMC9898224 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.12.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2021] [Revised: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Pleasurable touch is paramount during social behavior, including sexual encounters. However, the identity and precise role of sensory neurons that transduce sexual touch remain unknown. A population of sensory neurons labeled by developmental expression of the G protein-coupled receptor Mrgprb4 detects mechanical stimulation in mice. Here, we study the social relevance of Mrgprb4-lineage neurons and reveal that these neurons are required for sexual receptivity and sufficient to induce dopamine release in the brain. Even in social isolation, optogenetic stimulation of Mrgprb4-lineage neurons through the back skin is sufficient to induce a conditioned place preference and a striking dorsiflexion resembling the lordotic copulatory posture. In the absence of Mrgprb4-lineage neurons, female mice no longer find male mounts rewarding: sexual receptivity is supplanted by aggression and a coincident decline in dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. Together, these findings establish that Mrgprb4-lineage neurons initiate a skin-to-brain circuit encoding the rewarding quality of social touch.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leah J Elias
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Isabella K Succi
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Melanie D Schaffler
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - William Foster
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mark A Gradwell
- Cell Biology and Neuroscience Department, Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA; W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Manon Bohic
- Cell Biology and Neuroscience Department, Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA; W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Akira Fushiki
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Aman Upadhyay
- Cell Biology and Neuroscience Department, Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA; W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Lindsay L Ejoh
- Neuroscience Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Ryan Schwark
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Rachel Frazer
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Brittany Bistis
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jessica E Burke
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Victoria Saltz
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jared E Boyce
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Anissa Jhumka
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Rui M Costa
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Victoria E Abraira
- Cell Biology and Neuroscience Department, Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA; W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
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