Medial Preoptic Area Modulates Courtship Ultrasonic Vocalization in Adult Male Mice  

作　　者：Shu-Chen Gao Yi-Chao Wei Shao-Ran Wang Xiao-Hong Xu 

机构地区：[1]Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China [2]University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

出　　处：《Neuroscience Bulletin》2019年第4期697-708,共12页神经科学通报（英文版）

基　　金：the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31871066, 31471065);the National Basic Research Development Program (973 Program) of China (2015CB559201);the Thousand Young Talents Program of China;the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB32010200);as part of the Chinese Academy of Science interdisciplinary innovation team

摘　　要：Adult male mice emit highly complex ultrasonic vocalizations(USVs)in response to female conspecifics.Such US Vs,thought to facilitate courtship behaviors,are routinely measured as a behavioral index in mouse models of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders such as autism.While the regulation of US Vs by genetic factors has been extensively characterized,the neural mechanisms that control USV production remain largely unknown.Here,we report that optogenetic activation of the medial preoptic area(mPOA)elicited the production of USVs that were acoustically similar to courtship US Vs in adult mice.Moreover,mPOA vesicular GABA transporter-positive(Vgat +)neurons were more effective at driving USV production than vesicular glutamate transporter 2-positive neurons.Furthermore,ablation of mPOA Vgat+ neurons resulted in altered spectral features and syllable usage of USVs in targeted males.Together,these results demonstrate that the mPOA plays a crucial role in modulating courtship USVs and this may serve as an entry point for future dissection of the neural circuitry underlying USV production.Adult male mice emit highly complex ultrasonic vocalizations(USVs)in response to female conspecifics.Such US Vs,thought to facilitate courtship behaviors,are routinely measured as a behavioral index in mouse models of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders such as autism.While the regulation of US Vs by genetic factors has been extensively characterized,the neural mechanisms that control USV production remain largely unknown.Here,we report that optogenetic activation of the medial preoptic area(mPOA)elicited the production of USVs that were acoustically similar to courtship US Vs in adult mice.Moreover,mPOA vesicular GABA transporter-positive(Vgat +)neurons were more effective at driving USV production than vesicular glutamate transporter 2-positive neurons.Furthermore,ablation of mPOA Vgat+ neurons resulted in altered spectral features and syllable usage of USVs in targeted males.Together,these results demonstrate that the mPOA plays a crucial role in modulating courtship USVs and this may serve as an entry point for future dissection of the neural circuitry underlying USV production.

关 键 词：MPOA OPTOGENETICS VGAT Vglut2 Ultrasonic vocalization COURTSHIP 

分 类 号：R[医药卫生]