Dopamine D2 receptors in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex modulate social hierarchy in male mice

作     者：Lai-Fu Li Zi-Lin Li Bai-Lin Song Yi Jiang Yan Wang Hua-Wei Zou Lun-Guang Yao Ying-Juan Liu 

作者机构：Henan Key Laboratory of Insect Biology in Funiu MountainHenan International Joint Laboratory of Insect BiologyCollege of Life Science and Agricultural EngineeringNanyang Normal UniversityNanyang 473061HenanChina Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and TechnologyCollege of Life Science and AgricultureNanyang Normal UniversityNanyang 473061HenanChina 

出 版 物：《Current Zoology》 (动物学报（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2023年第69卷第6期

页      面：682-693页

核心收录：

学科分类：0710[理学-生物学] 07[理学] 071002[理学-动物学] 

基　　金：This study protocol was reviewed and approved by Animal Care and Use Committee of Nanyang Normal University(approved number:20201202005). 

主　　题：dopamine receptors medial prefrontal cortex social dominance social hierarchy tube test 

摘      要：Social hierarchy greatly influences behavior and health.Both human and animal studies have signaled the medial prefrontal cortex(mPFC)as specifically related to social hierarchy.Dopamine D1 receptors(D1Rs)and D2 receptors(D2Rs)are abundantly expressed in the mPFC,modulat-ing its functions.However,it is unclear how DR-expressing neurons in the mPFC regulate social hierarchy.Here,using a confrontation tube test,we found that most adult C57BL/6J male mice could establish a linear social rank after 1 week of cohabitation.Lower rank individuals showed social anxiety together with decreased serum testosterone levels.D2R expression was significantly downregulated in the dorsal part of mPFC(dmPFC)in lower rank individuals,whereas D1R expression showed no significant difference among the rank groups in the whole mPFC.Virus knockdown of D2Rs in the dmPFC led to mice being particularly prone to lose the contests in the confrontation tube test.Finally,simultaneous D2R activation in the subordinates and D2R inhibition in the dominants in a pair switched their dominant-subordinate relationship.The above results indicate that D2Rs in the dmPFC play an important role in social dominance.Our findings provide novel insights into the divergent func-tions of prefrontal D1Rs and D2Rs in social dominance,which may contribute to ameliorating social dysfunctions along with abnormal social hierarchy.