Dopamine, Amygdala, and Social Behavior

描述（由申请人提供）：雄性草原田鼠表现出对熟悉伴侣的偏好和对同种陌生人的选择性攻击，这是交配诱导的配对关系，因此是研究配对关系神经生物学的一个很好的模型。中央多巴胺（DA）参与草原田鼠配对关系的形成。一些证据表明，DA，特别是杏仁核（AMY）中的DA，可能在攻击行为的调节中发挥重要作用。在包括田鼠在内的多种哺乳动物中，AMY因其在处理情感相关线索（包括攻击性互动、社会识别和应激反应）中的作用而闻名。我最近的神经解剖学数据说明了田鼠AMY中DA细胞的独特模式，以及这些细胞在选择性攻击期间的激活。此外，配对结合的雄性草原田鼠对不熟悉的雌性草原田鼠表现出选择性攻击，AMY DA含量增加。在本研究中，笔者拟通过AMY检测雄性草原田鼠选择性攻击过程中DA的释放、DA受体mRNA和结合，探讨DA对雄性草原田鼠交配诱导攻击的药理作用机制。这一系列的实验将阐明攻击性的神经化学基础。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Male prairie voles display mating-induced pair bonding indicated by preferences toward familiar partners and selective aggression toward a conspecific stranger, and thus serves as an excellent model for the study of the neurobiology of pair bonding. Central dopamine (DA) is implicated in pair bond formation in prairie voles. Several lines of evidence have indicated that DA, particularly DA in the amygdala (AMY), may play an important role in the regulation of aggression. The AMY is well known for its role in processing emotionally related cues including aggressive interactions, social recognition, and stress responses in a variety of mammalian species including voles. My recent neuroanatomical data illustrate a unique pattern of DA cells in the vole's AMY and activation of those cells during selective aggression. Further, there is an increase in AMY DA content in pair-bonded male prairie voles displaying selective aggression toward unfamiliar female prairie voles. In the present application, I propose to focus on the AMY to measure DA release and DA receptor mRNA and binding during selective aggression, and to examine the receptor-specific mechanisms underlying pharmacological effects of DA on mating-induced aggression in male prairie voles. This series of experiments will shed light on the neurochemical underpinnings of aggression.