Maternal aggression driven by the transient mobilisation of a dormant hormone-sensitive circuit.
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Stagkourakis S, Williams P, Spigolon G, Khanal S, Ziegler K, Heikkinen L, Fisone G, Broberger C
Nat Commun 16 (1) 8553 [2025-09-29; online 2025-09-29]
Aggression is a sexually dimorphic behaviour. In some species, including the laboratory mouse, it is robustly expressed in males - while females are not aggressive in the non-puerperal state. However, during nursing, females exhibit maternal aggression, a dramatic yet transient shift in their social behaviour repertoire. This phenotypic change occurring in adulthood presents an opportunity to investigate whether sex-biased behavioural programs depend on mono- or di-morphic neural circuits. While maternal hormones are known to elicit nursing, their role in maternal aggression, particularly regarding target sites and cellular mechanisms, remains unclear. Here, we show that a molecularly defined subset of mouse ventral premammillary (PMvDAT) neurons - with an established role in intermale aggression- transitions from quiescence to a hyperexcitable state during female lactation. The maternal hormones, prolactin and oxytocin, were found to excite these cells through pre- and post-synaptic electrophysiological actions. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments related to PMvDAT neuron activity bidirectionally influence maternal aggression, while PMvDAT neuron activation suppressed the expression of a competing social behaviour. This study identifies a sexually monomorphic neural substrate in mice capable of integrating hormonal cues, providing a likely mechanism that enables the transient access to a dormant behavioural program.
PubMed 41022751
DOI 10.1038/s41467-025-64043-4
Crossref 10.1038/s41467-025-64043-4
pmc: PMC12480473
pii: 10.1038/s41467-025-64043-4