Dopamine, Amygdala, and Social Behavior

描述(申请人提供)：雄性草原田鼠表现出交配诱导的配对结合，表现为对熟悉的伴侣的偏好和对同种陌生人的选择性攻击，因此是研究配对结合的神经生物学的极好模型。中枢多巴胺(DA)与草原田鼠成对键的形成有关。一些证据表明，DA，特别是杏仁核(AMY)中的DA，可能在攻击性的调节中发挥重要作用。在包括田鼠在内的各种哺乳动物中，AMY因其在处理情感相关线索方面的作用而广为人知，这些线索包括攻击性互动、社会认可和应激反应。我最近的神经解剖学数据显示了田鼠AMY中DA细胞的一种独特模式，以及这些细胞在选择性攻击过程中的激活。此外，在对不熟悉的雌性草原田鼠表现出选择性攻击的配对结合的雄性草原田鼠中，AMY DA含量增加。在目前的应用中，我建议将重点放在AMY上，以测量选择性攻击过程中DA的释放和DA受体的mRNA和结合，并研究DA在交配诱导的攻击中的药理作用的受体特异性机制。这一系列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.