Paternal and infanticidal behavior in the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus): An approach to neuroendocrine regulation
Autor: | Brenda García-Saucedo, Juana Luis, René Cárdenas-Vázquez, Luis Romero-Morales, Agustín Carmona, Martín Martínez-Torres, Carmen Álvarez-Rodríguez |
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Rok vydání: | 2021 |
Předmět: |
Male
medicine.medical_specialty medicine.drug_class animal diseases Anterior hypothalamic nucleus Biology Gerbil Behavioral Neuroscience Internal medicine medicine Animals Periaqueductal Gray Paternal Behavior Testosterone Behavior Animal Estrogen Receptor alpha Androgen Preoptic Area Aggression Androgen receptor Stria terminalis Endocrinology Hypothalamus Anterior Receptors Androgen Hypothalamus Septal Nuclei Gerbillinae Estrogen receptor alpha |
Zdroj: | Behavioural Brain Research. 415:113520 |
ISSN: | 0166-4328 |
Popis: | This study aimed to provide evidence on estrogen and androgen pathways regulating the Mongolian gerbil's paternal and infanticidal behaviors (Meriones unguiculatus). We analyzed estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and androgen receptor (AR) distribution in the medial preoptic area (mPOA), the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST), as well as the anterior hypothalamic nucleus (AHN), the ventromedial hypothalamus nucleus (VMH), and the periaqueductal gray area (PAG) nuclei activated when males interact paternally or aggressively with the pups, respectively. Twenty aggressive males towards the pups and 10 paternal were selected through a screen paternal behavior test. Three groups of 10 males each were formed: paternal males (PAT), males with testosterone (T)-induced paternal behavior (T-PAT), and aggressive males (AGG). Male gerbils could interact with a pup for a few minutes, and their brains were removed and dissected for ERα and AR immunoreactivity (ir). The results showed that in T-PAT and PAT males, the number of ERα-ir and AR-ir cells in the mPOA/BNST was significantly higher than in AGG males. In AGG males, the number of ERα-ir and AR-ir cells in the AHN/VMH/PAG was significantly higher than PAT and T-PAT males. This difference in the presence of ERα and AR in nuclei activated in paternal interactions in the Mongolian gerbil supports the idea that these receptors participate in regulating paternal behavior. Also, these results suggest, for the first time, that they could be involved in the infanticidal behavior in this rodent. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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