1. Female sexual behavior in mice is controlled by kisspeptin neurons
- Author
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Michael Candlish, Richard Piet, Hellier, William H. Colledge, Aoki M, Julie Bakker, Allan E. Herbison, Prevot, Christian Mayer, Ulrich Boehm, Olivier Brock, Elodie Desroziers, Neurobiologie morphofonctionnelle, Université Bordeaux Segalen - Bordeaux 2-Institut François Magendie-IFR8-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), University of Otago [Dunedin, Nouvelle-Zélande], Centre de Recherche Jean-Pierre AUBERT Neurosciences et Cancer - U837 (JPArc), Université Lille Nord de France (COMUE)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Université de Lille, Mayer, Christian [0000-0003-3152-5574], Herbison, Allan [0000-0002-9615-3022], Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NIN), Centre de Recherche Jean-Pierre AUBERT Neurosciences et Cancer - U1172 Inserm - U837 (JPArc), and Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Université Lille Nord de France (COMUE)-Université de Lille
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Science ,[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] ,Posture ,Biology ,Nitric Oxide ,Article ,Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone ,Sexual Behavior, Animal ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Kisspeptin ,Internal medicine ,Journal Article ,medicine ,Animals ,lcsh:Science ,ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS ,030304 developmental biology ,Mice, Knockout ,Neurons ,Kisspeptins ,0303 health sciences ,Mating Preference, Animal ,Endocrinology ,Sexual behavior ,Ventromedial Hypothalamic Nucleus ,Odorants ,lcsh:Q ,Female ,Nitric Oxide Synthase ,hormones, hormone substitutes, and hormone antagonists ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
Sexual behavior is essential for the survival of many species. In female rodents, mate preference and copulatory behavior depend on pheromones and are synchronized with ovulation to ensure reproductive success. The neural circuits driving this orchestration in the brain have, however, remained elusive. Here, we demonstrate that neurons controlling ovulation in the mammalian brain are at the core of a branching neural circuit governing both mate preference and copulatory behavior. We show that male odors detected in the vomeronasal organ activate kisspeptin neurons in female mice. Classical kisspeptin/Kiss1R signaling subsequently triggers olfactory-driven mate preference. In contrast, copulatory behavior is elicited by kisspeptin neurons in a parallel circuit independent of Kiss1R involving nitric oxide signaling. Consistent with this, we find that kisspeptin neurons impinge onto nitric oxide-synthesizing neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus. Our data establish kisspeptin neurons as a central regulatory hub orchestrating sexual behavior in the female mouse brain., Mate preference and copulatory behavior in female rodents are coordinated with the ovulation cycles of the animal. This study shows that hypothalamic kisspeptin neurons control both mate choice and copulation, and therefore, that sexual behavior and ovulation may be synchronized by the same neuropeptide.
- Published
- 2018