ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2016
Serotonin and arginine-vasopressin mediate sex differences in the regulation of dominance and aggression by the social brain.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 72 papers.
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Who cites it
72 citing papers in PubMed, 121 citations in OpenAlex.
- Serotonin deficiency caused by inactivation of Tph2 in mice leads to widespread sex-dependent changes in cerebral oxidative metabolic activity.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2026Article
- Dichotomous Regulation of Social Behaviors by Nucleus Accumbens Neurons in Female and Male Syrian Hamsters.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026Article
- Glutamatergic projections from the substantia nigra pars reticulata to the dorsal raphe nucleus regulate male social hierarchies.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Sex differences in the neural circuitry of aggression.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- CRISPR-mediated knockdown of oxytocin receptor in extended amygdala reduces stress-induced social avoidance in female California mice.Hormones and behavior · 2025Article
- Comparative gene editing reduces dopamine receptor levels across rodent species.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Distinct subcircuits within the mesolimbic dopamine system encode the salience and valence of social stimuli.Psychopharmacology · 2025Article
- The aporetic dialogues of Modena on gender differences: Is it all about testosterone? EPISODE I: CRIME.Andrology · 2025Review
- Maternal aggression driven by the transient mobilisation of a dormant hormone-sensitive circuit.Nature communications · 2025Article
- CRISPR-mediated knockdown of oxytocin receptor in extended amygdala reduces stress-induced social avoidance in female California mice.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- How dopamine guides our social world.Pharmacological reviews · 2025Review
- GABAergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus regulate social hierarchy in mice.Communications biology · 2025Article
- A review of the effects of different types of social behaviors on the recruitment of neuropeptides and neurotransmitters in the nucleus accumbens.Frontiers in neuroendocrinology · 2025Review
- Neuropeptide receptor distributions in male and femaleBiology letters · 2025Article
- Arginine vasopressin in mood disorders: A potential biomarker of disease pathology and a target for pharmacologic intervention.Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2024Review
- The effects of different types of social interactions on the electrophysiology of neurons in the nucleus accumbens in rodents.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2024Review
- TheFrontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Exploring the relationships between dominance behavioral system, mentalization, theory of mind and assertiveness: analysis in a non-clinical sample.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Understanding Others' Distress Through Past Experiences: The Role of Memory Engram Cells in Observational Fear.Advances in neurobiology · 2024Review
- Sex influences the effects of social status on socioemotional behavior and serotonin neurochemistry in rhesus monkeys.Biology of sex differences · 2023Article
12 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
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Abstract
There are profound sex differences in the incidence of many psychiatric disorders. Although these disorders are frequently linked to social stress and to deficits in social engagement, little is known about sex differences in the neural mechanisms that underlie these phenomena. Phenotypes characterized by dominance, competitive aggression, and active coping strategies appear to be more resilient to psychiatric disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared with those characterized by subordinate status and the lack of aggressiveness. Here, we report that serotonin (5-HT) and arginine-vasopressin (AVP) act in opposite ways in the hypothalamus to regulate dominance and aggression in females and males. Hypothalamic injection of a 5-HT1a agonist stimulated aggression in female hamsters and inhibited aggression in males, whereas injection of AVP inhibited aggression in females and stimulated aggression in males. Striking sex differences were also identified in the neural mechanisms regulating dominance. Acquisition of dominance was associated with activation of 5-HT neurons within the dorsal raphe in females and activation of hypothalamic AVP neurons in males. These data strongly indicate that there are fundamental sex differences in the neural regulation of dominance and aggression. Further, because systemically administered fluoxetine increased aggression in females and substantially reduced aggression in males, there may be substantial gender differences in the clinical efficacy of commonly prescribed 5-HT-active drugs such as selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitors. These data suggest that the treatment of psychiatric disorders such as PTSD may be more effective with the use of 5-HT-targeted drugs in females and AVP-targeted drugs in males.
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