Medial amygdalar aromatase neurons regulate aggression in both sexes
Open accessAbstract
Aromatase-expressing neuroendocrine neurons in the vertebrate male brain synthesize estradiol from circulating testosterone. This locally produced estradiol controls neural circuits underlying courtship vocalization, mating, aggression, and territory marking in male mice. How aromatase-expressing neuronal populations control these diverse estrogen-dependent male behaviors is poorly understood, and the function, if any, of aromatase-expressing neurons in females is unclear. Using targeted genetic approaches, we show that aromatase-expressing neurons within the male posterodorsal medial amygdala (MeApd) regulate components of aggression, but not other estrogen-dependent male-typical behaviors. Remarkably, aromatase-expressing MeApd neurons in females are specifically required for components of maternal aggression, which we show is distinct from intermale aggression in pattern and execution. Thus, aromatase-expressing MeApd neurons control distinct forms of aggression in the two sexes. Moreover, our findings indicate that complex social behaviors are separable in a modular manner at the level of genetically identified neuronal populations.
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These regions have distinct roles in socio-sexual behavior in adulthood, often driven by distinct, separable cell type-specific and projection-specific mechanisms.
“These regions have distinct roles in socio-sexual behavior in adulthood as well, often driven by distinct, separable cell type-specific and projection-specific mechanisms (Unger et al., 2015; Wong et al., 2016; Ishii et al., 2017; Kohl et al., 2018).”
From Social play experience in juvenile rats is indispensable for appropriate socio-sexual behavior in adulthood in males but not females (2023) · cites this paper as Unger et al., 2015
The Discussion section (“Global versus modular control of complex social behaviors”; page unavailable) reports that aromatase-positive neurons in the medial amygdala regulate aggression but not sexual behavior, supporting a separable, cell-type-specific role. It does not establish the projection-specific mechanisms also attributed to this source. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredMeA neurons express key hormone and neuromodulatory receptors and sex hormone-dependent genes, suggesting that substantial modulation of MeA activity occurs locally.
“MeA neurons express key hormone and neuromodulatory receptors (Unger et al., 2015; Wu and Gore, 2009; Zaldivar and Krichmar, 2013) and sex hormone-dependent genes (Xu et al., 2012), suggesting that substantial modulation of MeA activity occurs locally.”
From Neuronal Representation of Social Information in the Medial Amygdala of Awake Behaving Mice (2017) · cites this paper as Unger et al., 2015
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- Authors
- Unger, E. K., Burke, K. J., Yang, C. F., Bender, K. J., Fuller, P. M., & Shah, N. M.
- Affiliations
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Shah, Nirao M.
- Venue
- Cell Reports
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-02
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 453-462
- ISSN
- 2211-1247 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4349580
- OpenAlex
- W2015948349
- Cited by
- 275
- References
- 60
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 41 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 28 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 43.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Cell Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA035913)
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (R00DC011080)
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (F31NS078959, R01NS083872, R01NS073613, R01NS049488)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Sexual Differentiation and Disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Keywords
- medial amygdala, posterodorsal medial amygdala, aggression, maternal aggression, male-male aggression, estrogen signaling, estradiol, sex differences, social behavior, courtship vocalizations, territory marking
- MeSH terms
- Aggression, Animals, Aromatase, Behavior, Animal, Female, Male, Neurons, Sexual Behavior, Animal, Mice
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