A sexually dimorphic hypothalamic circuit controls maternal care and oxytocin secretion
Open accessAbstract
It is commonly assumed, but has rarely been demonstrated, that sex differences in behaviour arise from sexual dimorphism in the underlying neural circuits. Parental care is a complex stereotypic behaviour towards offspring that is shared by numerous species. Mice display profound sex differences in offspring-directed behaviours. At their first encounter, virgin females behave maternally towards alien pups while males will usually ignore the pups or attack them. Here we show that tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-expressing neurons in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV) of the mouse hypothalamus are more numerous in mothers than in virgin females and males, and govern parental behaviours in a sex-specific manner. In females, ablating the AVPV TH(+) neurons impairs maternal behaviour whereas optogenetic stimulation or increased TH expression in these cells enhance maternal care. In males, however, this same neuronal cluster has no effect on parental care but rather suppresses inter-male aggression. Furthermore, optogenetic activation or increased TH expression in the AVPV TH(+) neurons of female mice increases circulating oxytocin, whereas their ablation reduces oxytocin levels. Finally, we show that AVPV TH(+) neurons relay a monosynaptic input to oxytocin-expressing neurons in the paraventricular nucleus. Our findings uncover a previously unknown role for this neuronal population in the control of maternal care and oxytocin secretion, and provide evidence for a causal re…
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Optogenetic stimulation of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive (TH+) neurons of virgin female mouse anteroventral periventricular nucleus promoted maternal behaviors, including pup retrieval.
“Scott et al. (2015) found that optogenetic stimulation of tyrosine hydroxylase–positive (TH+) neurons of virgin female mouse anteroventral periventricular nucleus promoted maternal behaviors, including pup retrieval.”
From Oxytocin, Neural Plasticity, and Social Behavior (2021) · cites this paper as Scott et al. 2015
Optogenetic activation or increased expression of TH in the AVPV of the mouse hypothalamus led to elevated circulating OXT levels.
“Optogenetic activation or increased expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH, the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine biosynthesis) in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV) of the mouse hypothalamus, led to elevated circulating OXT levels, while the ablation of AVPV TH + neurons resulted in decreased OXT levels (Scott et al., 2015).”
From Convergence of oxytocin and dopamine signalling in neuronal circuits: Insights into the neurobiology of social interactions across species (2024) · cites this paper as Scott et al., 2015
Ablation of AVPV TH+ neurons resulted in decreased OXT levels.
“Optogenetic activation or increased expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH, the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine biosynthesis) in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV) of the mouse hypothalamus, led to elevated circulating OXT levels, while the ablation of AVPV TH + neurons resulted in decreased OXT levels (Scott et al., 2015).”
From Convergence of oxytocin and dopamine signalling in neuronal circuits: Insights into the neurobiology of social interactions across species (2024) · cites this paper as Scott et al., 2015
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“…of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH, the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine biosynthesis) in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV) of the mouse hypothalamus, led to elevated circulating OXT levels, while the ablation of AVPV TH + neurons resulted in decreased OXT levels (Scott et al., 2015).”
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- Authors
- Scott, N., Prigge, M., Yizhar, O., & Kimchi, T.
- Affiliations
- Weizmann Institute of Science (IL)
- Corresponding author
- Yizhar, Ofer
- Kimchi, Tali
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2015-09
- Volume
- 525
- Issue
- 7570
- Pages
- 519-522
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W1886714202
- Cited by
- 261
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 40 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 25 · 2015: 3
- FWCI
- 39.92
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Weizmann Institute of Science Institutional Repository
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Hypothalamic control of reproductive hormones
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Sexual Differentiation and Disorders
- Keywords
- sexual dimorphism, hypothalamus, maternal care, oxytocin secretion, tyrosine hydroxylase neurons, dopaminergic neurons, anteroventral periventricular nucleus, paraventricular nucleus, male-male aggression, sex differences in behavior, optogenetic stimulation, neuronal ablation, monosynaptic input
- MeSH terms
- Aggression, Animals, Female, Anterior Hypothalamic Nucleus, Hypothalamus, Male, Maternal Behavior, Oxytocin, Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus, Sex Characteristics, Synapses, Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase, Postpartum Period, Mice, Dopaminergic Neurons
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