Chaves, T.; Török, B.; Fazekas, C.L.; Correia, P.; Sipos, E.; Várkonyi, D.; Tóth, Z.E.; Dóra, F.; Dobolyi, Á.; Zelena, D. The Dopaminergic Cells in the Median Raphe Region Regulate Social Behavior in Male Mice. Int. J. Mol. Sci.2024, 25, 4315.
Chaves, T.; Török, B.; Fazekas, C.L.; Correia, P.; Sipos, E.; Várkonyi, D.; Tóth, Z.E.; Dóra, F.; Dobolyi, Á.; Zelena, D. The Dopaminergic Cells in the Median Raphe Region Regulate Social Behavior in Male Mice. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25, 4315.
Chaves, T.; Török, B.; Fazekas, C.L.; Correia, P.; Sipos, E.; Várkonyi, D.; Tóth, Z.E.; Dóra, F.; Dobolyi, Á.; Zelena, D. The Dopaminergic Cells in the Median Raphe Region Regulate Social Behavior in Male Mice. Int. J. Mol. Sci.2024, 25, 4315.
Chaves, T.; Török, B.; Fazekas, C.L.; Correia, P.; Sipos, E.; Várkonyi, D.; Tóth, Z.E.; Dóra, F.; Dobolyi, Á.; Zelena, D. The Dopaminergic Cells in the Median Raphe Region Regulate Social Behavior in Male Mice. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25, 4315.
Abstract
According to previous studies the median raphe region (MRR) is known to contribute significantly to social behavior. Beside serotonin, there are reports of a small population of dopaminergic neu-rons in this region. Dopamine is linked to reward and locomotion, but very little has been known about its role in the MRR. To address that, we first confirmed the presence of dopaminergic cells in the MRR of mice (immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR) and humans (RT-PCR). Next, we used chemogenetic technology in mice containing Cre enzyme under the promoter of the dopamine transporter (DAT). With the help of an adeno-associated virus, artificial receptors were expressed in the dopaminergic cells of the MRR (DAT-MRR). Four weeks later, extensive behavioral charac-terization started 30 minutes after the injection of the artificial ligand (Clozapine-N-Oxide). Stimu-lation of DAT-MRR decreased social interest without influencing aggression and with an increase in social discrimination. Additionally, inhibition of the same cells increased the friendly social be-havior during social interaction test. No behavioral changes were detected in anxiety, memory and locomotion. All in all, dopaminergic cells were present both in the mice and human MRR, and manipulation of dopaminergic neurons of the MRR elicited a specific social response.
Keywords
Dopamine; Median Raphe Region; Behavior; DREADD
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Behavioral Sciences
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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