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The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress

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Published on: July 4, 2013

Identification of Serotonergic Neuronal Modules that Affect Aggressive Behavior.

Vera Niederkofler¹, Tedi E Asher¹, Benjamin W Okaty¹

¹Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

|November 17, 2016

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers identified specific serotonin neuron groups that control aggression in male mice. Blocking these neurons significantly increased aggressive behavior, revealing targeted neurobiological mechanisms.

Keywords:

aggression axonal projections dopamine intersectional genetics neuronal subtype serotonin

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Last Updated: Mar 12, 2026

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Area of Science:

Neurobiology
Behavioral Science
Genetics

Background:

Aggression has severe societal impacts, but its neurobiological underpinnings remain unclear.
Serotonergic (Pet1+) neurons are implicated in regulating various behaviors, including aggression.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the specific roles of distinct serotonergic neuron subtypes in modulating aggression.
To identify the neurobiological mechanisms underlying aggression regulation by serotonin.

Main Methods:

Utilized intersectional genetic tools (Drd1a::cre and Drd2::cre) to selectively block neurotransmission in specific Pet1+ neuron subsets in mice.
Characterized identified neuron subtypes based on axonal projections, gene expression, and electrophysiological properties.
Assessed effects on inter-male mouse aggression and non-aggressive behaviors.

Main Results:

Constitutive blockade of neurotransmission in two specific Pet1+ neuron subsets (marked by Drd1a::cre and Drd2::cre) significantly increased male mouse aggression.
Blocking other Pet1+ neuron subsets of comparable size or location did not affect aggression, indicating subtype specificity.
Drd2::cre-marked serotonin neurons showed dopamine-dependent inhibition, suggesting direct dopaminergic-serotonergic interaction.

Conclusions:

Specific subtypes of Pet1+ serotonergic neurons critically regulate aggression.
Dopamine directly inhibits a subset of serotonin neurons involved in aggression control.
Identified distinct serotonergic modules that shape aggressive behavior.