In Syrian hamsters, reproductive behavior relies on the perception of chemical signals released from conspecifics. The medial amygdala (MEA) processes sexual odors through functionally distinct, but interconnected, sub-regions; the anterior MEA (MEAa) appears to function as a chemosensory filter to distinguish between opposite-sex and same-sex odors, whereas the posterodorsal MEA (MEApd) is critical for generating attraction specifically to opposite-sex odors. To identify how these sub-regions interact during odor processing, we measured odor-induced Fos expression, an indirect marker of neuronal activation, in the absence of either MEAa or MEApd processing. In Experiment 1, electrolytic lesions of the MEAa decreased Fos expression throughout the posterior MEA in male hamsters exposed to either female or male odors, whereas MEApd lesions had no effect on Fos expression within the MEAa. These results indicate that the MEAa normally enhances processing of sexual odors within the MEApd and that this interaction is primarily unidirectional. Furthermore, lesions of the MEAa, but not the MEApd, decreased Fos expression within several connected forebrain nuclei, suggesting that the MEAa provides the primary excitatory output of the MEA during sexual odor processing. In Experiment 2, we observed a similar pattern of decreased Fos expression, using fiber-sparing, NMDA lesions of the MEAa, suggesting that the decreases in Fos expression were not attributable exclusively to damage to passing fibers. Taken together, these results provide the first direct test of how the different sub-regions within the MEA interact during odor processing, and highlight the role of the MEAa in transmitting sexual odor information to the posterior MEA, as well as to related forebrain nuclei.

译文

在叙利亚仓鼠中,生殖行为依赖于对同种异体释放的化学信号的感知。内侧杏仁核 (MEA) 通过功能上不同但相互关联的子区域处理性气味; 前MEA (MEAa) 似乎起着化学感觉过滤器的作用,以区分异性和同性气味,后嗅MEA (MEApd) 对于产生特别针对异性气味的吸引力至关重要。为了确定这些子区域在气味处理过程中如何相互作用,我们在没有MEAa或MEApd处理的情况下测量了气味诱导的Fos表达,这是神经元激活的间接标记。在实验1中,在暴露于雌性或雄性气味的雄性仓鼠中,MEAa的电解病变降低了整个后路MEA的Fos表达,而MEApd病变对MEAa内的Fos表达没有影响。这些结果表明,MEAa通常会增强MEApd内性气味的处理,并且这种相互作用主要是单向的。此外,MEAa的病变 (而不是MEApd) 降低了几个相连的前脑核中的Fos表达,这表明MEAa在性气味处理过程中提供了MEA的主要兴奋性输出。在实验2中,我们使用MEAa的纤维保留,NMDA病变观察到类似的Fos表达降低模式,这表明Fos表达的降低并非仅归因于对通过纤维的损害。总之,这些结果提供了有关MEA内不同子区域在气味处理过程中如何相互作用的第一个直接测试,并强调了MEAa在将性气味信息传递到后MEA以及相关的前脑中的作用核。

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