Sexually dimorphic dopaminergic circuits determine sex preference
Sociosexual preference is critical for reproduction and survival. However, neural mechanisms encoding social decisions on sex preference remain unclear. In this study, we show that both male and female mice exhibit female preference but shift to male preference when facing survival threats; their preference is mediated by the dimorphic changes in the excitability of ventral tegmental area dopaminergic (VTA<sup>DA</sup>) neurons. In males, VTA<sup>DA</sup> projections to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) mediate female preference, and those to the medial preoptic area mediate male preference. In females, firing-pattern (phasic-like versus tonic-like) alteration of the VTA<sup>DA</sup>-NAc projection determines sociosexual preferences. These findings define VTA<sup>DA</sup> neurons as a key node for social decision-making and reveal the sexually dimorphic DA circuit mechanisms underlying sociosexual preference.
Authors
- Xinjiang Kang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0877-2438)
- Anqi Wei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0285-2974)
- Bianbian Wang
- Rong Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6901-5089)
- Jingyu Yao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0911-1363)
- Qiumin Qu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6416-6961)
- Mingjie Shao
- Chaowen Zheng
- Nan Dong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0432-7337)
- Changhe Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5902-2277)
- Frank Fuxiang Mao
- Huiying Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3431-4836)
- Kai Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8586-4486)
- Jie Jian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0742-3498)
- Shuaijie Zhong
- Yichi Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6824-576X)
- Weiwei Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5781-5401)
- Xiaoying Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3450-5683)
- Botao Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0284-4560)
- Ruolin Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0716-5206)
- Yuxin Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7398-7473)
- Qian Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5426-3041)
- Chunxiang Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3308-0265)
- Jingxiao Huo
- Yuhao Qin
- Yang Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8322-4699)
- Anran Zhao
- Xueting Duan
- Hua Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0789-7160)
- Yanggan Gu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7965-8152)
- Xu Cheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3003-5971)
- Niki Gooya
Institutions
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- Liaocheng University (CN)
- Johns Hopkins Medicine (US)
- Southwest Medical University (CN)
- Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University (CN)
- First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University (CN)
- Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University (CN)
- Shaanxi Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science
- Published
- 2025-01-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq7001
- Citations
- 26
- Primary Topic
- Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 60.96