Sex-dependent effects of social status on the regulation of arginine-vasopressin (AVP) V1a, oxytocin (OT), and serotonin (5-HT) 1A receptor binding and aggression in Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus).

Dominance status in hamsters is driven by interactions between arginine-vasopressin V1a, oxytocin (OT), and serotonin 1A (5-HT1A) receptors. Activation of V1a and OT receptors in the anterior hypothalamus (AH) increases aggression in males, while decreasing aggression in females. In contrast, activation of 5-HT1A receptors in the AH decreases aggression in males and increases aggression in females. The mechanism underlying these differences is not known. The purpose of this study was to determine if dominance status and sex interact to regulate V1a, OT, and 5-HT1A receptor binding. Same-sex hamsters (N = 47) were paired 12 times across six days in five min sessions. Brains from paired and unpaired (non-social control) hamsters were collected immediately after the last interaction and processed for receptor binding using autoradiography. Differences in V1a, OT, and 5-HT1A receptor binding densities were observed in several brain regions as a function of social status and sex. For example, in the AH, there was an interaction between sex and social status, such that V1a binding in subordinate males was lower than in subordinate females and V1a receptor density in dominant males was higher than in dominant females. There was also an interaction in 5-HT1A receptor binding, such that social pairing increased 5-HT1A binding in the AH of males but decreased 5-HT1A binding in females compared with unpaired controls. These results indicate that dominance status and sex play important roles in shaping the binding profiles of key receptor subtypes across the neural circuitry that regulates social behavior.

Dopamine in the nucleus accumbens modulates the memory of social defeat in Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus).

Conditioned defeat (CD) is a behavioral response that occurs in Syrian hamsters after they experience social defeat. Subsequently, defeated hamsters no longer produce territorial aggression but instead exhibit heightened levels of avoidance and submission, even when confronted with a smaller, non-aggressive intruder. Dopamine in the nucleus accumbens is hypothesized to act as a signal of salience for both rewarding and aversive stimuli to promote memory formation and appropriate behavioral responses to significant events. The purpose of the present study was to test the hypothesis that dopamine in the nucleus accumbens modulates the acquisition and expression of behavioral responses to social defeat. In Experiment 1, bilateral infusion of the non-specific D1/D2 receptor antagonist cis(z)flupenthixol (3.75 µg/150 nl saline) into the nucleus accumbens 5 min prior to defeat training significantly reduced submissive and defensive behavior expressed 24h later in response to a non-aggressive intruder. In Experiment 2, infusion of 3.75 µg cis-(Z)-flupenthixol 5 min before conditioned defeat testing with a non-aggressive intruder significantly increased aggressive behavior in drug-infused subjects. In Experiment 3, we found that the effect of cis-(Z)-flupenthixol on aggression was specific to defeated animals as infusion of drug into the nucleus accumbens of non-defeated animals did not significantly alter their behavior in response to a non-aggressive intruder. These data demonstrate that dopamine in the nucleus accumbens modulates both acquisition and expression of social stress-induced behavioral changes and suggest that the nucleus accumbens plays an important role in the suppression of aggression that is observed after social defeat.