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Aspesi D, Cornil CA. Role of neuroestrogens in the regulation of social behaviors - From social recognition to mating. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 161:105679. [PMID: 38642866 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 03/12/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/22/2024]
Abstract
In this mini-review, we summarize the brain distribution of aromatase, the enzyme catalyzing the synthesis of estrogens from androgens, and the mechanisms responsible for regulating estrogen production within the brain. Understanding this local synthesis of estrogens by neurons is pivotal as it profoundly influences various facets of social behavior. Neuroestrogen action spans from the initial processing of socially pertinent sensory cues to integrating this information with an individual's internal state, ultimately resulting in the manifestation of either pro-affiliative or - aggressive behaviors. We focus here in particular on aggressive and sexual behavior as the result of correct individual recognition of intruders and potential mates. The data summarized in this review clearly point out the crucial role of locally synthesized estrogens in facilitating rapid adaptation to the social environment in rodents and birds of both sexes. These observations not only shed light on the evolutionary significance but also indicate the potential implications of these findings in the realm of human health, suggesting a compelling avenue for further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dario Aspesi
- Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
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Heiss JE, Zhong P, Lee SM, Yamanaka A, Kilduff TS. Distinct lateral hypothalamic CaMKIIα neuronal populations regulate wakefulness and locomotor activity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2316150121. [PMID: 38593074 PMCID: PMC11032496 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2316150121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024] Open
Abstract
For nearly a century, evidence has accumulated indicating that the lateral hypothalamus (LH) contains neurons essential to sustain wakefulness. While lesion or inactivation of LH neurons produces a profound increase in sleep, stimulation of inhibitory LH neurons promotes wakefulness. To date, the primary wake-promoting cells that have been identified in the LH are the hypocretin/orexin (Hcrt) neurons, yet these neurons have little impact on total sleep or wake duration across the 24-h period. Recently, we and others have identified other LH populations that increase wakefulness. In the present study, we conducted microendoscopic calcium imaging in the LH concomitant with EEG and locomotor activity (LMA) recordings and found that a subset of LH neurons that express Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IIα (CaMKIIα) are preferentially active during wakefulness. Chemogenetic activation of these neurons induced sustained wakefulness and greatly increased LMA even in the absence of Hcrt signaling. Few LH CaMKIIα-expressing neurons are hypocretinergic or histaminergic while a small but significant proportion are GABAergic. Ablation of LH inhibitory neurons followed by activation of the remaining LH CaMKIIα neurons induced similar levels of wakefulness but blunted the LMA increase. Ablated animals showed no significant changes in sleep architecture but both spontaneous LMA and high theta (8 to 10 Hz) power during wakefulness were reduced. Together, these findings indicate the existence of two subpopulations of LH CaMKIIα neurons: an inhibitory population that promotes locomotion without affecting sleep architecture and an excitatory population that promotes prolonged wakefulness even in the absence of Hcrt signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaime E. Heiss
- Center for Neuroscience, Biosciences Division, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA94025
| | - Peng Zhong
- Center for Neuroscience, Biosciences Division, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA94025
| | - Stephanie M. Lee
- Center for Neuroscience, Biosciences Division, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA94025
| | - Akihiro Yamanaka
- Department of Neuroscience II, Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Nagoya University, Nagoya464-8601, Japan
| | - Thomas S. Kilduff
- Center for Neuroscience, Biosciences Division, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA94025
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Chen Y, Chien J, Dai B, Lin D, Chen ZS. Identifying behavioral links to neural dynamics of multifiber photometry recordings in a mouse social behavior network. bioRxiv 2024:2023.12.25.573308. [PMID: 38234793 PMCID: PMC10793434 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.25.573308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Distributed hypothalamic-midbrain neural circuits orchestrate complex behavioral responses during social interactions. How population-averaged neural activity measured by multi-fiber photometry (MFP) for calcium fluorescence signals correlates with social behaviors is a fundamental question. We propose a state-space analysis framework to characterize mouse MFP data based on dynamic latent variable models, which include continuous-state linear dynamical system (LDS) and discrete-state hidden semi-Markov model (HSMM). We validate these models on extensive MFP recordings during aggressive and mating behaviors in male-male and male-female interactions, respectively. Our results show that these models are capable of capturing both temporal behavioral structure and associated neural states. Overall, these analysis approaches provide an unbiased strategy to examine neural dynamics underlying social behaviors and reveals mechanistic insights into the relevant networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yibo Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Program in Artificial Intelligence, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Jonathan Chien
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Bing Dai
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Dayu Lin
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Zhe Sage Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY, USA
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Stagkourakis S, Spigolon G, Marks M, Feyder M, Kim J, Perona P, Pachitariu M, Anderson DJ. Anatomically distributed neural representations of instincts in the hypothalamus. bioRxiv 2023:2023.11.21.568163. [PMID: 38045312 PMCID: PMC10690204 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.21.568163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
Artificial activation of anatomically localized, genetically defined hypothalamic neuron populations is known to trigger distinct innate behaviors, suggesting a hypothalamic nucleus-centered organization of behavior control. To assess whether the encoding of behavior is similarly anatomically confined, we performed simultaneous neuron recordings across twenty hypothalamic regions in freely moving animals. Here we show that distinct but anatomically distributed neuron ensembles encode the social and fear behavior classes, primarily through mixed selectivity. While behavior class-encoding ensembles were spatially distributed, individual ensembles exhibited strong localization bias. Encoding models identified that behavior actions, but not motion-related variables, explained a large fraction of hypothalamic neuron activity variance. These results identify unexpected complexity in the hypothalamic encoding of instincts and provide a foundation for understanding the role of distributed neural representations in the expression of behaviors driven by hardwired circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanos Stagkourakis
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 156-29, Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - Giada Spigolon
- Biological Imaging Facility, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - Markus Marks
- Division of Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - Michael Feyder
- Division of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California 94305, USA
| | - Joseph Kim
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 156-29, Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - Pietro Perona
- Division of Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - Marius Pachitariu
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, VA, USA
| | - David J. Anderson
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 156-29, Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Blvd, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
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