title: Vasopressin and aggression in cross-fostered California mice (Peromyscus californicus) and white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus).
abstract: To examine how developmental experiences alter neural pathways associated with adult social behavior, we cross-fostered pups between the more aggressive and monogamous California mouse (Peromyscus californicus) and the less aggressive and polygamous white-footed mouse (P. leucopus). Cross-fostered males became more like their foster parents when tested as adults. Male white-footed mice became more aggressive only in an aggression test in a neutral arena, whereas the territorial California mice became less aggressive in resident-intruder aggression test, as measured by attack latency. Only the species that displayed a change in resident-intruder aggression showed a change in arginine vasopressin (AVP) levels: cross-fostered California mice had significantly lower levels of AVP-immunoreactive (AVP-ir) staining than controls in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) and the supraoptic nucleus (SON) and a nonsignificant trend toward lower levels in the medial amygdala (MA). Neither species showed changes in AVP-ir staining in a control area, the paraventricular nucleus (PVN). The changes in AVP-ir staining in the BNST and SON may not be caused by stress because cross-fostering was not associated with changes in adult plasma concentrations of two steroid hormones, corticosterone and testosterone, that have been associated with stress-related alterations in AVP pathways. These results suggest that manipulating the early parental environment can directly alter both a neurotransmitter system and species-typical patterns of social behavior, but that these effects may vary between species and under different social contexts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, 1202 W. Johnson Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Bester-Meredith
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Marler
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology*; D000378:Agonistic Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D000679:Amygdala / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D000818:Animals; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000097:blood*; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D010542:Peromyscus / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012686:Septal Nuclei / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D013045:Species Specificity; D013495:Supraoptic Nucleus / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D013731:Territoriality; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D001127:Arginine Vasopressin; D013739:Testosterone; D003345:Corticosterone