Building neural choice points for love and war.
The molecular specification of central circuits that coordinate expression of innate behaviors in response to specific sensory cues from the environment remains a puzzle. In this issue of Neuron, Choi, Dong, and colleagues used expression profiling and genetic axonal tracing to visualize a hypothalamic point of convergence for defensive and reproductive olfactory cues that may function as a gating mechanism for sensory activation of defensive responses over reproduction.
Simerly
Richard
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Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center and Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton 97006, USA.
D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology*; D000679:Amygdala / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000502:physiology; D007323:Instinct; D051379:Mice; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000378:metabolism*; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*