title: Acute corticosterone sexually dimorphically facilitates social learning and inhibits feeding in mice.
abstract: In numerous species social learning is predominant and adaptive, yet, we know little of its neurobiological mechanisms. Social learning is modulated by motivations and emotions, in a manner that is often sexually dimorphic. Additionally, stress hormones acutely modulate the related social cognitive process of social recognition. Whether this is true even for social learning is currently unknown. We investigated the acute effects of the stress hormone corticosterone (CORT) on the social transmission of food preferences (STFP) in male and female mice. During a brief social interaction an observer (OBS) acquires a food preference from a same-sex demonstrator (DEM). CORT (1.0, 2.5, 5.0 mg/kg), its ethanol vehicle (0.1%), and saline solution (0.9%) were administered intraperitoneally to the OBS, 10 min before a 30-min social interaction. Levels of plasma CORT were assessed in other mice that had received the same doses of CORT and either had or had not gone through a 30 min social interaction 10 min post-treatment. Exogenous CORT elicited levels of plasma level comparable to those seen at the peak of the circadian cycle and facilitated the STFP with males responding more than females both in terms of the duration of the food preference and the minimum effective dose. CORT also sexually dimorphically inhibited feeding, with females showing a greater dose-response than males. Saline solution and ethanol vehicles also sexually dimorphically facilitated the STFP and reduced feeding, but less than CORT did. These results indicate that CORT facilitates social learning, like social recognition. Hence, CORT may generally increase social information processing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada. Electronic address: echoleri@uoguelph.ca.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Choleris
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Unità di Biologia del Comportamento, Universita' di Parma, Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cazzin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Jennifer M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lymer
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Talya R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Amor
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Ray
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kavaliers
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Unità di Biologia del Comportamento, Universita' di Parma, Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Valsecchi
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007858:Learning / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D003345:Corticosterone
keywords: Acute effect; Food consumption; Sex differences; Social learning; Social transmission of food preferences; Stress