对小鼠的一项研究表明，在争斗中取胜可能触发激励侵略性行为的神经回路，而且可能增强个人在未来赢得争斗的能力。Matthew Fuxjager及其同事为有领地的雄性小鼠提供在它们自己的家或者不熟悉的笼子里的取胜经验，方法是向它们提供更小以及无性经验的雄性，然后分析了这种动物在连续三次胜利之后大脑的变化。这组科学家发现，与没有争斗的对照组小鼠相比，在自己家和其他笼子中取胜的小鼠表现出了在被认为能够影响社会侵略性的大脑区域中雄性激素受体表达的增加。然而，只有在自己家赢得胜利的小鼠的大脑表现出了在掌管动机和奖赏的两个区域的激素敏感性的增加。与在不熟悉的笼子里赢得争斗的小鼠相比，“在家”赢得争斗的小鼠也在后续的争斗中更多地战胜了更大和有性经验的小鼠。这组作者提出，胜利的经验可能驱动着取决于胜利位置的神经变化。
论文 #10-01394: "Winning territorial disputes selectively enhances androgen sensitivity in neural pathways related to motivation and social aggression," 作者 Matthew Fuxjager, Robin Forbes-Lorman, Dylan Coss, Catherine Auger, Anthony Auger和Catherine Marler
媒体联系人：Matthew Fuxjager，威斯康星大学动物学系
Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
电话：608-512-7930
Published online before print July 6, 2010, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1001394107
PNAS July 6, 2010 vol. 107 no. 27 12393-12398
Winning territorial disputes selectively enhances androgen sensitivity in neural pathways related to motivation and social aggression
Matthew J. Fuxjagera,1, Robin M. Forbes-Lormanb, Dylan J. Cossb, Catherine J. Augerb, Anthony P. Augerb, and Catherine A. Marlera,b
Abstract
Winning aggressive disputes can enhance future fighting ability and the desire to seek out additional contests. In some instances, these effects are long lasting and vary in response to the physical location of a fight. Thus, in principle, winning aggressive encounters may cause long-term and context-dependent changes to brain areas that control the output of antagonistic behavior or the motivation to fight (or both). We examined this issue in the territorial California mouse (Peromyscus californicus) because males of this species are more likely to win fights after accruing victories in their home territory but not after accruing victories in unfamiliar locations. Using immunocytochemistry and real-time quantitative PCR, we found that winning fights either at home or away increases the expression of androgen receptors (AR) in the medial anterior bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, a key brain area that controls social aggression. We also found that AR expression in brain regions that mediate motivation and reward, nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA), increases only in response to fights in the home territory. These effects of winning were likely exclusive to the neural androgenic system because they have no detectible impact on the expression of progestin receptors. Finally, we demonstrated that the observed changes in androgen sensitivity in the NAcc and VTA are positively associated with the ability to win aggressive contests. Thus, winning fights can change brain phenotype in a manner that likely promotes future victory and possibly primes neural circuits that motivate individuals to fight.
