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Sex differences in visually guided orienting behavior emerges during adolescence in mice
Rocio Gonzalez-Olvera1, Kelsey Allen1, Ting Feng1
1Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
Iscience
|August 18, 2025
Summary
Adolescent mice show sex-specific visual orienting behaviors during prey hunting. Females approach visual motion more but exhibit less predatory aggression, revealing a dissociation in adolescent mice.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Biology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Prey hunting in mice offers insights into mammalian visual stimulus detection and orienting mechanisms.
- Visual orienting develops with the visual system, but adolescent variations were unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate sex differences in visual orienting and prey hunting during mouse adolescence.
- To determine if motivational and attentional changes in adolescence impact visual orienting.
Main Methods:
- Quantified visual orienting in adolescent and adult male and female mice.
- Observed behavior during both prey capture and presentation of visual motion only.
- Utilized freely moving mouse models.
Main Results:
- Significant sex differences in visual orienting and predatory aggression emerge during adolescence.
- Adolescent females showed increased approach to visual motion, while males were more likely to arrest.
- Females exhibited the least predatory aggression, despite increased visual approach.
Conclusions:
- Opposing visual orienting and predatory biases are evident between sexes during adolescence.
- These biases become dissociated in mice during the adolescent developmental period.
