Peripheral oxytocin injection modulates vomeronasal sensory activity and reduces pup-directed aggression in male mice.

ABSTRACT: Behaviors are shaped by hormones, which may act either by changing brain circuits or by modifying sensory detection of relevant cues. Pup-directed behaviors have been previously shown to change via action of hormones at the brain level. Here, we investigated hormonal control of pup-induced activity in the vomeronasal organ, an olfactory sensory structure involved in the detection of non-volatile chemosignals. Vomeronasal activity decreases as males switch from a pup-aggressive state to a non-aggressive parenting state, after they socially contact a female. RNA sequencing, qPCR, and in situ hybridization were used to identify expression, in the vomeronasal sensory epithelium, of candidate GPCR hormone receptors chosen by in silico analyses and educated guesses. After identifying that oxytoc

SUBMITTER: Nakahara TS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7673031 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature