Fos expression in the prefrontal cortex and mesencephalic dorsal raphe nucleus in lactating rats after social instigation
Psychol. neurosci. (Impr.)
;
6(1): 115-121, Jan.-June 2013. ilus
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: lil-687860
ABSTRACT
Females are often less aggressive than males, but they exhibit high levels of agonistic behavior against an intruder in the area of the nest during lactation. This behavior is referred to as maternal aggression. In rats, maternal aggressive behavior occurs more often from postpartum day 3 (PPD 3) to PPD 12. Social instigation is an experimental protocol used to increase the levels of aggression that are typical of the species. In the present study we used social instigation to analyze the expression of a marker of neuronal activity, c-fos. Lactating rats on PPD 5, in the presence of their pups, were divided into four groups (1) no social instigation and no aggressive behavior, (2) social instigation and no aggressive behavior, (3) no social instigation and aggressive behavior, and (4) social instigation and aggressive behavior. Sixty minutes after the aggression test we used immunohistochemistry to detect Fos in two brain regions, the ventral-orbital region of the prefrontal cortex (VO PFC) and dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN). Our results showed that rats with aggressive behavior that were provoked exhibited an increase in Fos expression in the VO PFC compared with the control group (i.e., no social instigation and no aggressive behavior). No change in Fos expression was found in the DRN. These results complement previous findings with microinjection of serotonin 5-hydroxytryptamine-1B receptor agonists into the same region, demonstrating that the VO PFC is an important region in the modulation of maternal aggressive behavior.
Full text:
Available
Index:
LILACS (Americas)
Main subject:
Raphe Nuclei
/
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos
/
Prefrontal Cortex
/
Aggression
/
Maternal Behavior
Type of study:
Prognostic study
Limits:
Animals
Language:
English
Journal:
Psychol. neurosci. (Impr.)
Journal subject:
Neurology
/
Psychology
Year:
2013
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Brazil
/
United States
Institution/Affiliation country:
Tufts University/US
/
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina/BR
/
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul/BR
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