Stress during pubertal development affects female sociosexual behavior in mice

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Endocrinology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Puberty is a critical period for the development of female sexual behavior.
• Stress during puberty can negatively impact sexual behavior development, but the underlying neural mechanisms are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the neural circuits affected by pubertal stress in female mice.
• To determine how pubertal stress alters the processing of sensory cues crucial for sexual behavior.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a mouse model to induce pubertal stress.
• Assessed sexual performance and preference.
• Measured neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) expression and activation in the ventrolateral ventromedial hypothalamus (VMHvl) using immunohistochemistry and fiber photometry.
• Examined the response of VMHvl nNOS neurons to male olfactory cues.
• Administered a nitric oxide (NO) donor to assess partial restoration of sexual behavior.

Main Results:

• Pubertal stress led to permanent deficits in sexual performance but did not alter sexual preference.
• Reduced expression and activation of nNOS were observed in the VMHvl of stressed females.
• VMHvl nNOS neuron activation in response to male olfactory cues was significantly diminished in pubertally stressed females.
• Treatment with a NO donor partially restored sexual performance in stressed mice.

Conclusions:

• The ventrolateral ventromedial hypothalamus (VMHvl) and its nNOS-expressing neurons are critical for processing olfactory cues essential for female sexual behavior.
• Pubertal stress disrupts the integration of male olfactory cues, leading to impaired sexual behavior.
• These findings elucidate the neurobiological pathways through which early-life stress affects sexual behavior development.