Opposite-sex attraction in male mice requires testosterone-dependent regulation of adult olfactory bulb neurogenesis
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Opposite-sex attraction in most mammals depends on the fine-tuned integration of pheromonal stimuli with gonadal hormones in the brain circuits underlying sexual behaviour. Neural activity in these circuits is regulated by sensory processing in the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB), the first central station of the vomeronasal system. Recent evidence indicates adult neurogenesis in the AOB is involved in sex behaviour; however, the mechanisms underlying this function are unknown. By using Semaphorin 7A knockout (Sema7A ko) mice, which show a reduced number of gonadotropin-releasing-hormone neurons, small testicles and subfertility, and wild-type males castrated during adulthood, we demonstrate that the level of circulating testosterone regulates the sex-specific control of AOB neurogenesis and the vomeronasal system activation, which influences opposite-sex cue preference/attraction in mice. Overall, these data highlight adult neurogenesis as a hub for the integration of pheromonal and hormonal cues that control sex-specific responses in brain circuits.
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Adult neurogenesis in the AOB can be regulated by sex hormones.
“Furthermore, recent work shows that adult neurogenesis in the AOB can be regulated by sex hormones, suggesting another mechanism by which sexual experience can regulate early sensory processing (Schellino et al., 2016).”
From Neuronal Representation of Social Information in the Medial Amygdala of Awake Behaving Mice (2017) · cites this paper as Schellino et al., 2016
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Neuronal Representation of Social Information in the Medial Amygdala of Awake Behaving Mice
Li, Y., Mathis, A., Grewe, B. F., Osterhout, J. A., Ahanonu, B., Schnitzer, M. J., Murthy, V. N., & Dulac, C. (2017) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2017.10.015 · Cited by 291 · see citing works
- Authors
- Schellino, R., Trova, S., Cimino, I., Farinetti, A., Jongbloets, B. C., Pasterkamp, R. J., Panzica, G., Giacobini, P., De Marchis, S., & Peretto, P.
- Affiliations
- Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi (IT)
- University of Turin (IT)
- University Medical Center Utrecht (NL)
- Inserm (FR)
- Corresponding author
- Peretto, Paolo
- ORCID
- Venue
- Scientific Reports
- Published
- 2016-10-26
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 36063-36063
- ISSN
- 2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5080553
- OpenAlex
- W2545110727
- Cited by
- 28
- References
- 72
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 5
- FWCI
- 2.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Institutional Research Information System University of Turin (University of Turin) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-14-CE12-0015)
- Università degli Studi di Torino
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Developmental Neuroscience › Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Hypothalamic control of reproductive hormones
- Keywords
- opposite-sex attraction, accessory olfactory bulb, vomeronasal system, testosterone, gonadal hormones, pheromones, sexual behavior, GnRH neurons, castration, male mice
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Male, Olfactory Bulb, Sexual Behavior, Animal, Testosterone, Antigens, CD, Mice, Knockout, Semaphorins, Mice, Neurogenesis
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