title: Sociality and oxytocin and vasopressin in the brain of male and female dominant and subordinate mandarin voles.
abstract: The dominant-subordinate hierarchy in animals often needs to be established via agonistic encounters and consequently affects reproduction and survival. Differences in brain neuropeptides and sociality among dominant and subordinate males and females remain poorly understood. Here we explore neuropeptide levels and sociality during agonistic encounter tests in mandarin voles. We found that dominant mandarin voles engaged in higher levels of approaching, investigating, self-grooming and exploring behavior than subordinates. Dominant males habituated better to a stimulus vole than dominant females. Dominant males displayed significantly less oxytocin-immunoreactive neurons in the paraventricular nuclei and more vasopressin-immunoreactive neurons in the paraventricular nuclei, supraoptic nuclei, and the lateral and anterior hypothalamus than subordinates. Dominant females displayed significantly more vasopressin-immunoreactive neurons in the lateral hypothalamus and anterior hypothalamus than subordinates. Sex differences were found in the level of oxytocin and vasopressin. These results indicate that distinct parameters related to central nervous oxytocin and vasopressin are associated with behaviors during agonistic encounters in a sex-specific manner in mandarin voles.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710062, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Xufeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.forename: Yating
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Ruiyong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Fadao
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tai
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Jianli
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression; D000818:Animals; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000378:metabolism*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012930:Social Dominance; D014667:Vasopressins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014667:Vasopressins; D010121:Oxytocin