小柯机器人

科学家发现杏仁核回路抑制社交活动
2021-04-01 21:04

美国麻省理工学院Gloria B. Choi小组宣布他们发现杏仁核回路抑制社交活动。2021年3月31日,国际学术期刊《自然》在线发表了这一成果。

研究人员确定皮质杏仁核(COApm)后内侧核是雌性小鼠不健康时抑制雄性交配所需的基因座。使用解剖跟踪、功能成像和电路级上位性分析,研究人员表明抑制与不健康雌性交配是由COApm投射介导到内侧杏仁核(MEA)的谷氨酸能所介导。进一步研究表明,COApm-MEA连接在调节雄性交配行为中的作用依赖于神经调节的促甲状腺素释放激素(TRH)。TRH在COApm中表达,而TRH受体(TRHR)则在突触后MEA谷氨酸能神经元中被发现。在COApm中调节表达TRH神经元的神经活动可调节雄性交配行为。在MEA中,通过配体注入激活TRHR通路可抑制健康雌性小鼠的交配行为,而TRHR缺失则促进了与不健康个体的交配。

总而言之,该研究揭示了一种神经通路,该通路依赖神经调节因子TRH来根据往复运动个体的健康状况调节社交互动。个人必须权衡相对于收益的社会互动成本,因为如果不能选择健康的伴侣则可能导致疾病传播。

研究人员表示,诸如交配和打架等社会行为是动物繁殖和生存的基础。但是,有些社交活动也可能对个人产生风险。对于能够进行适当风险评估和抑制危险社会行为的神经机制知之甚少。

附:英文原文

Title: An amygdala circuit that suppresses social engagement

Author: Jeong-Tae Kwon, Changhyeon Ryu, Hyeseung Lee, Alec Sheffield, Jingxuan Fan, Daniel H. Cho, Shivani Bigler, Heather A. Sullivan, Han Kyung Choe, Ian R. Wickersham, Myriam Heiman, Gloria B. Choi

Issue&Volume: 2021-03-31

Abstract: Innate social behaviours, such as mating and fighting, are fundamental to animal reproduction and survival1. However, social engagements can also put an individual at risk2. Little is known about the neural mechanisms that enable appropriate risk assessment and the suppression of hazardous social interactions. Here we identify the posteromedial nucleus of the cortical amygdala (COApm) as a locus required for the suppression of male mating when a female mouse is unhealthy. Using anatomical tracing, functional imaging and circuit-level epistatic analyses, we show that suppression of mating with an unhealthy female is mediated by the COApm projections onto the glutamatergic population of the medial amygdalar nucleus (MEA). We further show that the role of the COApm-to-MEA connection in regulating male mating behaviour relies on the neuromodulator thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH). TRH is expressed in the COApm, whereas the TRH receptor (TRHR) is found in the postsynaptic MEA glutamatergic neurons. Manipulating neural activity of TRH-expressing neurons in the COApm modulated male mating behaviour. In the MEA, activation of the TRHR pathway by ligand infusion inhibited mating even towards healthy female mice, whereas genetic ablation of TRHR facilitated mating with unhealthy individuals. In summary, we reveal a neural pathway that relies on the neuromodulator TRH to modulate social interactions according to the health status of the reciprocating individual. Individuals must balance the cost of social interactions relative to the benefit, as deficits in the ability to select healthy mates may lead to the spread of disease.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03413-6

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03413-6

Nature:《自然》,创刊于1869年。隶属于施普林格·自然出版集团,最新IF:69.504
官方网址:http://www.nature.com/
投稿链接:http://www.nature.com/authors/submit_manuscript.html


本期文章:《自然》:Online/在线发表

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