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The Journal of Neuroscience, October 8, 2008, 28(41):10399-10403; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1928-08.2008

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Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Estrogen Receptors in the Medial Amygdala Inhibit the Expression of Male Prosocial Behavior

Bruce S. Cushing,^1,2,3 Adam Perry,³ Sergei Musatov,^4,5 Sonoko Ogawa,⁶ and Eros Papademetriou³

¹Department of Biology and ²Integrated Bioscience Program, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325-3908, ³The Brain–Body Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60612, ⁴Neurologix, Fort Lee, New Jersey 07024, ⁵Laboratory of Neurobiology and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10021, and ⁶Kansei Behavioral and Brain Sciences Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577, Japan

Correspondence should be addressed to Bruce S. Cushing, Department of Biology and Integrated Bioscience Program, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325-3908. Email: cbruce{at}uakron.edu

Studies using estrogen receptor (ER) knock-out mice indicate that ER masculinizes male behavior. Recent studies of ER and male prosocial behavior have shown an inverse relationship between ER expression in regions of the brain that regulate social behavior, including the medial amygdala (MeA), and the expression of male prosocial behavior. These studies have lead to the hypothesis that low levels of ER are necessary to "permit" the expression of high levels of male prosocial behavior. To test this, viral vectors were used to enhance ER in male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), which display high levels of prosocial behavior and low levels of MeA ER. Adult male prairie voles were transfected with ER in the MeA (MeA-ER) or the caudate–putamen (ER control) or luciferase (MeA-site-specific control), and 3 weeks later tested for spontaneous alloparental behavior and partner preference. Enhancing ER in the MeA altered/reduced male prosocial behavior. Only one-third of MeA-ER males, compared with all control males, were alloparental. MeA-ER males also displayed a significant preference for a novel female. This is a critical finding because the manipulations of neuropeptides, oxytocin and vasopressin, can inhibit the formation of a partner preference, but do not lead to the formation of a preference for a novel female. The results support the hypothesis that low levels of ER are necessary for high levels of male prosocial behavior, and provide the first direct evidence that site-specific ER expression plays a critical role in the expression of male prosocial behavior.

Key words: estrogen receptor ; Microtus ochrogaster; transfection; viral vector; aggression; amygdala

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Received May 2, 2008; revised Aug. 24, 2008; accepted Aug. 24, 2008.

Correspondence should be addressed to Bruce S. Cushing, Department of Biology and Integrated Bioscience Program, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325-3908. Email: cbruce{at}uakron.edu

Related articles in J. Neurosci.:

Toward Understanding the Neurobiology of Social Attachment: Role of Estrogen Receptors in the Medial Amygdala

Viviana Trezza and Patrizia Campolongo
J. Neurosci. 2009 29: 1-2. [Full Text]  

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				V. Trezza and P. Campolongo Toward Understanding the Neurobiology of Social Attachment: Role of Estrogen Receptors in the Medial Amygdala J. Neurosci., January 7, 2009; 29(1): 1 - 2. [Full Text] [PDF]

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