ArticleProceedings. Biological sciences2015
The agonistic adrenal: melatonin elicits female aggression via regulation of adrenal androgens.
Article in Proceedings. Biological sciences, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 61 citations in OpenAlex.
- Melatonin and aggressive behavior: A systematic review of the literature on preclinical and clinical evidence.Journal of pineal research · 2022Pooled it
- Timed melatonin administration increases territorial but not non-territorial aggression in female Siberian hamsters.Hormones and behavior · 2026Article
- Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) as a tool for conservation.Environmental monitoring and assessment · 2026Review
- Unpredictable warm spells in winter increase blood cortisol level but lengthen telomeres in a seasonal rodentProceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Brain transcriptomics of a social challenge and maternal aggression in incubating female tree swallows.Hormones and behavior · 2025Article
- Melatonin effects on animal behavior: circadian rhythm, stress response, and modulation of behavioral patterns.Journal of animal science and technology · 2025Review
- Association between the plasma concentration of melatonin and behavioral temperament in horses.Journal of animal science and technology · 2023Article
- Sex and seasonal differences in neural steroid sensitivity predict territorial aggression in Siberian hamsters.Hormones and behavior · 2023Article
- Impact of Gut Microbiota on Host Aggression: Potential Applications for Therapeutic Interventions Early in Development.Microorganisms · 2023Review
- Sex-specific endocrine regulation of seasonal aggression in Siberian hamsters.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2022Article
- CRISPR-Cas9 editing of the arginine-vasopressin V1a receptor produces paradoxical changes in social behavior in Syrian hamsters.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Article
- Adrenal MTHormones and behavior · 2022Article
- Women's mood at high altitude. sexual dimorphism in hypoxic stress modulation by the tryptophan-melatonin axis.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Review
- How research on female vertebrates contributes to an expanded challenge hypothesis.Hormones and behavior · 2020Review
- Saliva cortisol, melatonin levels and circadian rhythm alterations in Chinese primary school children with dyslexia.Medicine · 2020Article
- Photoperiod modulates the gut microbiome and aggressive behavior in Siberian hamsters.The Journal of experimental biology · 2020Article
- Melatonin mediates seasonal transitions in aggressive behavior and circulating androgen profiles in male Siberian hamsters.Hormones and behavior · 2020Article
- A Teleost Fish Model to Understand Hormonal Mechanisms of Non-breeding Territorial Behavior.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2020Review
- Early-life sickness may predispose Siberian hamsters to behavioral changes following alterations of the gut microbiome in adulthood.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2018Article
- Dissociation of Puberty and Adolescent Social Development in a Seasonally Breeding Species.Current biology : CB · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Classic findings have demonstrated an important role for sex steroids as regulators of aggression, but this relationship is lacking within some environmental contexts. In mammals and birds, the adrenal androgen dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a non-gonadal precursor of biologically active steroids, has been linked to aggression. Although females, like males, use aggression when competing for limited resources, the mechanisms underlying female aggression remain understudied. Here, we propose a previously undescribed endocrine mechanism regulating female aggression via direct action of the pineal hormone melatonin on adrenal androgens. We examined this in a solitary hamster species, Phodopus sungorus, in which both sexes are highly territorial across the seasons, and display increased aggression concomitant with decreased serum levels of sex steroids in short 'winter-like' days. Short- but not long-day females had increased adrenal DHEA responsiveness co-occurring with morphological changes in the adrenal gland. Further, serum DHEA and total adrenal DHEA content were elevated in short days. Lastly, melatonin increased DHEA and aggression and stimulated DHEA release from cultured adrenals. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that DHEA is a key peripheral regulator of aggression and that melatonin coordinates a 'seasonal switch' from gonadal to adrenal regulation of aggression by direct action on the adrenal glands.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.