Dopamine D2 receptors in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex modulate social hierarchy in male mice  

作　　者：Lai-Fu Li Zi-Lin Li Bai-Lin Song Yi Jiang Yan Wang Hua-Wei Zou Lun-Guang Yao Ying-Juan Liu 

机构地区：[1]Henan Key Laboratory of Insect Biology in Funiu Mountain,Henan International Joint Laboratory of Insect Biology,College of Life Science and Agricultural Engineering,Nanyang Normal University,Nanyang 473061,Henan,China [2]Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology,College of Life Science and Agriculture,Nanyang Normal University,Nanyang 473061,Henan,China

出　　处：《Current Zoology》2023年第6期682-693,共12页动物学报（英文版）

基　　金：This study protocol was reviewed and approved by Animal Care and Use Committee of Nanyang Normal University(approved number:20201202005).

摘　　要：Social hierarchy greatly influences behavior and health.Both human and animal studies have signaled the medial prefrontal cortex(mPFC)as specifically related to social hierarchy.Dopamine D1 receptors(D1Rs)and D2 receptors(D2Rs)are abundantly expressed in the mPFC,modulat-ing its functions.However,it is unclear how DR-expressing neurons in the mPFC regulate social hierarchy.Here,using a confrontation tube test,we found that most adult C57BL/6J male mice could establish a linear social rank after 1 week of cohabitation.Lower rank individuals showed social anxiety together with decreased serum testosterone levels.D2R expression was significantly downregulated in the dorsal part of mPFC(dmPFC)in lower rank individuals,whereas D1R expression showed no significant difference among the rank groups in the whole mPFC.Virus knockdown of D2Rs in the dmPFC led to mice being particularly prone to lose the contests in the confrontation tube test.Finally,simultaneous D2R activation in the subordinates and D2R inhibition in the dominants in a pair switched their dominant-subordinate relationship.The above results indicate that D2Rs in the dmPFC play an important role in social dominance.Our findings provide novel insights into the divergent func-tions of prefrontal D1Rs and D2Rs in social dominance,which may contribute to ameliorating social dysfunctions along with abnormal social hierarchy.

关 键 词：dopamine receptors medial prefrontal cortex social dominance social hierarchy tube test 

分 类 号：Q95[生物学—动物学]