美国西奈山伊坎医学院Scott J. Russo小组的一项最新研究发现皮质杏仁核在塑造社会交往中的关键作用。相关论文于2025年2月12日发表在《自然》杂志上。

通过对小鼠全脑FOS表达进行无监督加权相关网络分析，该课题组确定了一系列大脑区域，包括下丘脑和杏仁核亚区以及嗅觉皮质区域，这些区域在雄性攻击者中高度共激活，而在雌性攻击者中则没有。基于与其他区域相关的数量和强度，后外侧皮质杏仁核（COApl）——一个扩展的嗅觉结构，被发现是一个中枢区域。他们的数据还表明，仅在雄性小鼠中，COApl （COApl^Esr1）中表达雌激素受体1 （Esr1）的细胞在攻击行为和攻击前的调查期间表现出增加的活性。COApl^Esr1细胞在雄性攻击者体内的化学遗传或光遗传抑制可减少攻击行为，增加亲社会调查，但不影响社会奖励和强化行为。

该课题组进一步表明，COApl^Esr1投射到下丘脑腹内侧和中央杏仁核对这些行为是必要的。总的来说，这些数据表明，在具有攻击性的雄性中，COApl^Esr1细胞对社会刺激有特异性反应，从而增强了它们的显著性并促进了攻击行为。

研究人员表示，侵略是一种进化上的保守行为，它控制着社会等级，保护着宝贵的资源。在老鼠身上，攻击行为可以分为两个阶段，一个是食欲阶段，包括接近和调查，另一个是完善阶段，包括咬、踢和扭打。

附：英文原文

Title: A crucial role for the cortical amygdala in shaping social encounters

Author: Aubry, Antonio V., Durand-de Cuttoli, Romain, Karpman, Elizabeth, Fisher-Foye, Rachel L., Parise, Lyonna F., Cathomas, Flurin, Burnett, C. Joseph, Yang, Yewon, Yuan, Chongzhen, LaBanca, Alexa R., Chan, Kenny L., Winston, Kion T., Lin, Hsiao-yun, Dackour, Farah, Tavallaei, Arman A., Alvarez, Johana, Nishioka, Tadaaki, Morishita, Hirofumi, Froemke, Robert C., Li, Long, Russo, Scott J.

Issue&Volume: 2025-02-12

Abstract: Aggression is an evolutionarily conserved behaviour that controls social hierarchies and protects valuable resources. In mice, aggressive behaviour can be broken down into an appetitive phase, which involves approach and investigation, and a consummatory phase, which involves biting, kicking and wrestling1. Here, by performing an unsupervised weighted correlation network analysis on whole-brain FOS expression in mice, we identify a cluster of brain regions, including hypothalamic and amygdalar subregions and olfactory cortical regions, that are highly co-activated in male but not in female aggressors. The posterolateral cortical amygdala (COApl)—an extended olfactory structure—was found to be a hub region, on the basis of the number and strength of correlations with other regions in the cluster. Our data also show that oestrogen receptor 1 (Esr1)-expressing cells in the COApl (COApl^Esr1) exhibit increased activity during attack behaviour and during bouts of investigation that precede an attack, in male mice only. Chemogenetic or optogenetic inhibition of COApl^Esr1 cells in male aggressors reduces aggression and increases pro-social investigation without affecting social reward and reinforcement behaviour. We further show that COApl^Esr1 projections to the ventromedial hypothalamus and central amygdala are necessary for these behaviours. Collectively, these data suggest that, in aggressive males, COApl^Esr1 cells respond specifically to social stimuli, thereby enhancing their salience and promoting attack behaviour.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08540-4

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08540-4