title: Serotonin signaling in the brain of adult female mice is required for sexual preference.
abstract: A role for serotonin in male sexual preference was recently uncovered by our finding that male mutant mice lacking serotonin have lost sexual preference. Here we show that female mouse mutants lacking either central serotonergic neurons or serotonin prefer female over male genital odors when given a choice, and displayed increased female-female mounting when presented either with a choice of a male and a female target or only with a female target. Pharmacological manipulations and genetic rescue experiments showed that serotonin is required in adults. Behavioral changes caused by deficient serotonergic signaling were not due to changes in plasma concentrations of sex hormones. We demonstrate that a genetic manipulation reverses sexual preference without involving sex hormones. Our results indicate that serotonin controls sexual preference.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biomembrane and Membrane Biotechnology and Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, and Peking University-International Data Group-McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
authors.forename: Shasha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rao
mesh_terms: D006916:5-Hydroxytryptophan / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000494:pharmacology; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology; D004967:Estrogens / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D005835:Genitalia / Q000737:chemistry; D060850:LIM-Homeodomain Proteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D052586:Mating Preference, Animal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009812:Odorants; D009919:Orchiectomy; D010052:Ovariectomy; D059326:Serotonergic Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism*; D012737:Sex Factors; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics; D014365:Tryptophan Hydroxylase / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D004967:Estrogens; C112149:LIM homeobox transcription factor 1 beta; D060850:LIM-Homeodomain Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D012701:Serotonin; D013739:Testosterone; D004958:Estradiol; D006916:5-Hydroxytryptophan; C487802:Tph2 protein, mouse; D014365:Tryptophan Hydroxylase
keywords: Tph2 knockout; neurotransmitter; sexual behaviors