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Cited by 209Neuroendocrine regulation and behaviorNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchMemory and Neural Mechanisms

Sexually Dimorphic Control of Parenting Behavior by the Medial Amygdala

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Chen, Patrick B., Hu, Rongfeng K., Wu, Ye Emily, Pan, Lin, Huang, Shan, Micevych, Paul E., Hong, Weizhe·2019·Cell
DOI 10.1016/j.cell.2019.01.024PMC PMC6555485
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Abstract

Social behaviors, including behaviors directed toward young offspring, exhibit striking sex differences. Understanding how these sexually dimorphic behaviors are regulated at the level of circuits and transcriptomes will provide insights into neural mechanisms of sex-specific behaviors. Here, we uncover a sexually dimorphic role of the medial amygdala (MeA) in governing parental and infanticidal behaviors. Contrary to traditional views, activation of GABAergic neurons in the MeA promotes parental behavior in females, while activation of this population in males differentially promotes parental versus infanticidal behavior in an activity-level-dependent manner. Through single-cell transcriptomic analysis, we found that molecular sex differences in the MeA are specifically represented in GABAergic neurons. Collectively, these results establish crucial roles for the MeA as a key node in the neural circuitry underlying pup-directed behaviors and provide important insight into the connection between sex differences across transcriptomes, cells, and circuits in regulating sexually dimorphic behavior.

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  • The MeA and LS are fundamental to expression of adult social behaviors that also exhibit sex differences, such as parenting, sex behavior, and aggression.

    “Notably, the two brain regions implicated in generating sex differences in play, the MeA and LS, are also fundamental to expression of adult social behaviors that also exhibit sex differences, such as parenting, sex behavior, and aggression (Chen et al., 2019; Gammie & Nelson, 1999; Gogate et al., 1995; Tsukahara et al., 2014; Wong et al., 2016).”

    From Developmental origins of sex differences in the neural circuitry of play (2020) · cites this paper as Chen et al., 2019

    The Discussion (page not provided) establishes a sexually dimorphic role for the MeA in parenting and infanticidal behavior. The cited passages do not establish a role for the LS or specifically support the claims about sexual behavior and aggression; those parts of the multi-citation sentence are not supported by this paper. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Chen, P. B., Hu, R. K., Wu, Y. E., Pan, L., Huang, S., Micevych, P. E., & Hong, W.
Affiliations
University of California, Los Angeles (US)
Corresponding author
Hong, Weizhe
ORCID
Venue
Cell
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2019-02
Volume
176
Issue
5
Pages
1206-1221.e18
ISSN
0092-8674 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.cell.2019.01.024
PMC
PMC6555485
OpenAlex
W2914152754
Cited by
209
References
7
Citations by year
2026: 20 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 9
FWCI
32.67
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Cell (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • NIH NINDS (T32 NS048004)
  • Whitehall Foundation
  • Brain and Behavior Research Foundation
  • NARSAD
  • Sloan Research
  • Searle
  • Klingenstein-Simons
  • Brain Research
  • Packard
  • NIH (MH085082)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
Keywords
medial amygdala, parental behavior, infanticide, sex differences, GABAergic neurons, single-cell transcriptomics, neural circuits, social behavior
MeSH terms
Amygdala, Animals, Behavior, Animal, Female, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Neurons, Sexual Behavior, Animal, Sex Characteristics, Sex Factors, Social Behavior, Parenting, Mice, Corticomedial Nuclear Complex

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