Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30254300›Full record

ArticleNature communications2018

Microglial dopamine receptor elimination defines sex-specific nucleus accumbens development and social behavior in adolescent rats.

Ashley M Kopec, Caroline J Smith, Nathan R Ayre, Sean C Sweat, Staci D Bilbo

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 161 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
161citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
10.8field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

161 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 260 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  7. Disrupted maternal care alters neural-microglia interactions in the primate paralaminar (PL) nucleus of the amygdala.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026
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  16. Microglia as critical mediators linking perinatal immune stress to mental health trajectories.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026
    Review
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  19. Article
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101 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Ashley M KopecDepartment of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, 02129, MA, USA. akopec@partners.org.
Caroline J SmithDepartment of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, 02129, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2811-0095
Nathan R AyreDepartment of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, 02129, MA, USA.
Sean C SweatDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, 27708, NC, USA.
Staci D BilboDepartment of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, 02129, MA, USA.
Harvard University · USDuke University · US

Funding

Sex Differences in Developing Microglia: Implications for Synaptic PruningR01MH101183 · NIMH · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI BILBO, STACI D · 2013 to 2017
$2.0M
Neural-Glial Interactions and Opioid Abuse: Modulation by Early-Life ExperienceR01DA034185 · NIDA · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI BILBO, STACI D · 2013 to 2017
$1.8M
Sex-Specific Neuroimmune Molecular Networks Underlying Adolescent Vulnerability to Drugs of AbuseF32DA043308 · NIDA · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI KOPEC, ASHLEY M · 2017 to 2018
$106k
NIDA NIH HHS F32 DA043308NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA034185NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH101183
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Adolescence is a developmental period in which the mesolimbic dopaminergic "reward" circuitry of the brain, including the nucleus accumbens (NAc), undergoes significant plasticity. Dopamine D1 receptors (D1rs) in the NAc are critical for social behavior, but how these receptors are regulated during adolescence is not well understood. In this report, we demonstrate that microglia and complement-mediated phagocytic activity shapes NAc development by eliminating D1rs in male, but not female rats, during adolescence. Moreover, immune-mediated elimination of D1rs is required for natural developmental changes in male social play behavior. These data demonstrate for the first time that microglia and complement-mediated immune signaling (i) participate in adolescent brain development in a sex-specific manner, and (ii) are causally implicated in developmental changes in behavior. These data have broad implications for understanding the adolescent critical period of development, the molecular mechanisms underlying social behavior, and sex differences in brain structure and function.

Indexed as

Animal CommunicationRewardAnimalsComplement System ProteinsDopamineDown-RegulationFemaleMaleMicrogliaModels, AnimalNucleus AccumbensRatsRats, Sprague-DawleyReceptors, Dopamine D1Sex FactorsComplement System ProteinsDopamineReceptors, Dopamine D1

Identifiers

PMID30254300
PMCPMC6156594
OpenAlexW2891617662

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.