Brett DiBenedictisMaternal, sexual, brotherhood vs. fighting, territorial behaviorOne brings everyone together, one isolate individuals

Consequence: Depression, social disorder, as consequence\

Social Behavior Neural Network (SBNN)Very complicated,1.Regulates social behaviors,2.Contains nerons that express gonadal steroid receptor Medial amygdala Medial olfactory tubercle lateral septumkeep researching to understand more and learn to manipulate this system

Medial amzgdala contains: anterior (Mea) and posterior(MeP)They subserve different sociosexual behavioral functions?

Test #1> odor preference testPheromones: attractive social chemical signals>>>Female mouses attracted to testosteroneFemales with MeP lesions lost their hardwired preference for intact male vs. Castrated male urinarz odors>>>Decrease interest and sexual motivation when lesions lost preference

Odor Discrimination TestLost of preference is not due to lesion but because of the odor???

Female sexual behavior: the lordosis reflexMeP-lesioned subject(no lordosis or have)have: they intercoursedno: investigate each other, female want but male donot want>>>>female mice with lesions of Mea or Mep showed a significant reduction the displaz of lordosis in response to male mounts

>>>>the medial amy is critical for mate recognition and the displaz of sexual behaviors in female mice

the medial olfactorz tubercle is a component of the mesolimbic dopamine systemthe medial olfactory tubercle receive synaptic input from the medial amygdalathe medial olfactory tubercle responds selectivelz to male odors in female mice

find out which areas of the brain project these:can connect this to attractive pheromonewhen turn off the medial olfactory tubercle, still get the same response

females with silenced tubercles lost their hardwired preference for male vs. Female urinarz odors >> CNO no preference, no CO: has preferencefemales with silenced mOTs can differnciate odors but prefer food odors , show no locomotor impairments

another experiment: is dopamine signalling the signal necessary for the normal display of pheromone-driven approach behaviors in female mice?

Ventral striatal dopamine-lesioned animals lost prefernce for sex-different urinary odorsStill show preference for malePrefer sucrose and show no locomotor impairments

Summary: mea and mep plaz distinct complementary roles in mediating approach and sexual aspects of behaviorsMedia amygdala send projections to medial olfactory...

Other neuromodulator important to social behavior: oxztocin, vasopressin, gonadal steroid hormonesOxytocin:Sexual, pair bondings, other social behaviorsVasopressin:Water-retention, improtant behaviorsSex hormones control production of these two hormones

Current work: Dynamic synaptic vasopressin release in the lateral septumShort term research goals:1. vasopressin and oxytocin receptor antagonist microinjections in the medial olfactorz tubercleSee if there|s any difference between male and female mice>> expand experiment target2. role of the medial olfactory tubercle in reinforcement of sexual interactionshabituation -> conditioning -> preference testing

longterm research goal> measuring dynamic neuromodulator release and systems level circuit dissection of the SBNN