SEX-DIMOR-REP-BEHAV · Characterization of pheromone-evoked sexually dimorphic social and reproductive responses in wild-caught TRPC2 mutant mice, under semi-natural conditions

Sexually dimorphic behaviors represent a robust set of innate social and reproductive responses including mating, nursing and aggression. A long-standing and fundamental neurobiological question is ‘how do sex differences in behavior arise?’ Although sexually dimorphic social and reproductive behaviors represent the most extreme examples of behavioral variability within a species, the basic principles underlying the sex specificity of brain activity is largely unknown. In most mammals, pheromone signals detection play major roles in regulation of innate sexually dimorphic behaviors, along with substantial neuroendocrine responses. Recently, I have uncovered evidence to suggest the surprising possibility that circuitry mediating both female and male typical behaviors may develop and persist in both the female and male brain, but sex-specific chemosensory circuitry directs pheromonal cues to brain sites that activates same sex circuitry and represses opposite sex behavior circuitry. The research proposal aims at using multidisciplinary approaches that integrate mouse genetics with innovative ethologically-relevant paradigms, to undercover fundamental functional effects of pheromone signals on behavioral and neuroendocrinology sex-typical responses in naturally ethological-relevant system. The project main objectives are: 1. To develop new mouse model (i.e. genetic knockout wild-caught mice) and experimental design to study pheromone-mediated responses under natural biologically relevant context. 2. To use this ethological-relevant experimental approach in order to identify novel behavioral, physiological and neurobiochemical pheromone-mediated responses, in freely socially-interacting mice. This study will establish a powerful experimental model to study sexually dimorphic behavioral responses in a natural-like habitat, and provide a strong foundation for gaining new insights into normal and abnormal social and sexually dimorphic mammalian brain functions.