Regulation of Pheromone-mediated Instinctive Behaviors in the Brain (IMAGE)
Caption
Top: When male mice detect the ESP1 sex pheromone, they display enhanced aggressive behavior toward other male mice. A region referred to as MeApv in the part of the brain called the amygdala acts as a 'switch' that passes ESP1 information to different regions of the hypothalamus, another area of the brain, depending on the sex of the recipient mouse: the MPA subregion in males and VMHd subregion in females. Middle: ESP1 enhances sexual behaviors in female mice. The neural circuit, identified in the study, is responsible for this effect. Bottom: ESP1 and a predator cue (snake skin), which elicits defensive behaviors, use intermingled but mostly different neural circuits, extending from the peripheral receptive organ to the hypothalamus.
Credit
2017 Kazushige Touhara.
Usage Restrictions
In relation to the press release only
License
Licensed content