Estrogen receptor-alpha in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis regulates social affiliation in male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster).

Estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) typically masculinizes male behavior, while low levels of ERalpha in the medial amygdala (MeA) and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) are associated with high levels of male prosocial behavior. In the males of the highly social prairie vole (Microtus ochr...

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Main Authors: Kelly Lei, Bruce S Cushing, Sergei Musatov, Sonoko Ogawa, Kristin M Kramer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2010-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/20111713/?tool=EBI
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spelling doaj-faf5ad6f125c414192d34a81b9bd74752021-03-03T19:54:51ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032010-01-0151e893110.1371/journal.pone.0008931Estrogen receptor-alpha in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis regulates social affiliation in male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster).Kelly LeiBruce S CushingSergei MusatovSonoko OgawaKristin M KramerEstrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) typically masculinizes male behavior, while low levels of ERalpha in the medial amygdala (MeA) and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) are associated with high levels of male prosocial behavior. In the males of the highly social prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster), increasing ERalpha in the MeA inhibited the expression of spontaneous alloparental behavior and produced a preference for novel females. To test for the effects of increased ERalpha in the BST, a viral vector was used to enhance ERalpha expression in the BST of adult male prairie voles. Following treatment, adult males were tested for alloparental behavior with 1-3-day-old pups, and for heterosexual social preference and affiliation. Treatment did not affect alloparental behavior as 73% of ERalpha-BST males and 62.5% of control males were alloparental. Increasing ERalpha in the BST affected heterosexual affiliation, with ERalpha-BST males spending significantly less total time in side-by-side contact with females relative to time spent with control males. ERalpha-BST males did not show a preference for either the familiar or novel female. These findings differed significantly from those reported in ERalpha-MeA enhanced males, where ERalpha inhibited alloparental behavior and produced a preference for a novel female. The findings from this study suggest two things: first, that increased ERalpha in the BST decreases social affiliation and second, that altering ERalpha in different regions of the social neural circuit differentially impacts the expression of social behavior.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/20111713/?tool=EBI
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Kelly Lei
Bruce S Cushing
Sergei Musatov
Sonoko Ogawa
Kristin M Kramer
spellingShingle Kelly Lei
Bruce S Cushing
Sergei Musatov
Sonoko Ogawa
Kristin M Kramer
Estrogen receptor-alpha in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis regulates social affiliation in male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster).
PLoS ONE
author_facet Kelly Lei
Bruce S Cushing
Sergei Musatov
Sonoko Ogawa
Kristin M Kramer
author_sort Kelly Lei
title Estrogen receptor-alpha in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis regulates social affiliation in male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster).
title_short Estrogen receptor-alpha in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis regulates social affiliation in male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster).
title_full Estrogen receptor-alpha in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis regulates social affiliation in male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster).
title_fullStr Estrogen receptor-alpha in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis regulates social affiliation in male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster).
title_full_unstemmed Estrogen receptor-alpha in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis regulates social affiliation in male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster).
title_sort estrogen receptor-alpha in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis regulates social affiliation in male prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster).
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2010-01-01
description Estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) typically masculinizes male behavior, while low levels of ERalpha in the medial amygdala (MeA) and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) are associated with high levels of male prosocial behavior. In the males of the highly social prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster), increasing ERalpha in the MeA inhibited the expression of spontaneous alloparental behavior and produced a preference for novel females. To test for the effects of increased ERalpha in the BST, a viral vector was used to enhance ERalpha expression in the BST of adult male prairie voles. Following treatment, adult males were tested for alloparental behavior with 1-3-day-old pups, and for heterosexual social preference and affiliation. Treatment did not affect alloparental behavior as 73% of ERalpha-BST males and 62.5% of control males were alloparental. Increasing ERalpha in the BST affected heterosexual affiliation, with ERalpha-BST males spending significantly less total time in side-by-side contact with females relative to time spent with control males. ERalpha-BST males did not show a preference for either the familiar or novel female. These findings differed significantly from those reported in ERalpha-MeA enhanced males, where ERalpha inhibited alloparental behavior and produced a preference for a novel female. The findings from this study suggest two things: first, that increased ERalpha in the BST decreases social affiliation and second, that altering ERalpha in different regions of the social neural circuit differentially impacts the expression of social behavior.
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/20111713/?tool=EBI
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