Hormones And Behavior[JOURNAL]
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200 papers
Social experience affects patterns of vasopressin receptor 1a expression in a way that differs by sex.
Friesen CN, Selke A, de Vries GJ … +1 more , Petrulis A
Horm Behav · 2026 May · PMID 41945977 · Publisher ↗
Social animals navigate aggressive and affiliative interactions in their pursuit to find a mate and reproduce. Vasopressin (AVP) and the vasopressin 1a receptor (V1aR) can modulate these interactions, often in sex-specif...
Social animals navigate aggressive and affiliative interactions in their pursuit to find a mate and reproduce. Vasopressin (AVP) and the vasopressin 1a receptor (V1aR) can modulate these interactions, often in sex-specific ways. Here we test whether social experience affects the expression of V1aR in male and female mice exposed to two conditions - one in which they interacted aggressively and sexually with unrelated conspecifics (experienced) and one in which they did not (baseline). We measured V1aR binding density across seven brain regions - the vertical and horizontal diagonal band (VDB, HDB), lateral septum (LS), ventral pallidum (VP), lateral hypothalamic area (LHA), lateral habenula (LHb), supramamillary nucleus (SUM). Using region-specific and multivariate analysis, we found that in the baseline condition, females had higher V1aR binding density in the HDB and anterior LS than males. No sex differences were found in the experienced condition. Patterns of correlations of V1aR binding across these seven brain regions also differed between baseline and experienced conditions for each sex. Importantly, changes in correlated patterns of V1aR binding density associated with experience also differed by sex. We identified focal brain regions associated with these changes that were male-specific (LS), female-specific (LHA, SUM), and shared between the sexes (VP, HDB). These findings highlight the presence of sex differences in, and potential plasticity of, V1aR expression in response to social experience.
Endocrine drivers of incubation performance in a High Arctic seabird, the little auk (Alle alle).
Hocquet M, Devogel M, Grissot A … +4 more , Jakubas D, Chastel O, Parenteau C, Wojczulanis-Jakubas K
Horm Behav · 2026 May · PMID 41930816 · Publisher ↗
Parental care in long-lived seabirds is mediated by complex hormonal and behavioural mechanisms, yet the links between endocrine profiles and incubation performance remain poorly understood. We investigated how baseline...
Parental care in long-lived seabirds is mediated by complex hormonal and behavioural mechanisms, yet the links between endocrine profiles and incubation performance remain poorly understood. We investigated how baseline and stress-induced levels of prolactin and corticosterone relate to incubation behaviour in the little auk (Alle alle), a High Arctic seabird with biparental care. Using a standardised capture-restraint protocol, we measured hormonal responses to an acute stressor in males and females as well as their subsequent nest attendance. As expected, acute stress elicited a decrease in prolactin and an increase in corticosterone, consistent with patterns reported for other long-lived polar seabirds. Sex differences were non-significant: females only tended to have higher circulating prolactin and a stronger corticosterone stress response, potentially reflecting that females spend less time at the colony outside incubation, whereas males also invest in territorial defence and social activities. Baseline corticosterone was positively associated with time spent outside the colony in parents that maintained incubation (attentive individuals), suggesting a role in supporting foraging activity, while no such relationship was observed in birds that subsequently abandoned incubation (neglectful individuals). No differences in stress-induced hormone levels were found between attentive and neglectful individuals, raising the possibility that relevant endocrine changes occurred outside the sampling window. These findings highlight the subtle interplay between hormones, sex-specific roles, and parental behaviour in a long-lived seabird, and suggest that both proximate endocrine mechanisms and individual life-history strategies shape incubation decisions.
Cellular mechanisms regulating the timing of organizational effects of sex steroid hormones.
Sakata JT, Balthazart J
Horm Behav · 2026 May · PMID 41880779 · Publisher ↗
Social behavior and the neural circuits that regulate it are organized by sex steroid hormones during critical periods in development (i.e., sexual differentiation). Much is known about how exposure to testosterone and e...
Social behavior and the neural circuits that regulate it are organized by sex steroid hormones during critical periods in development (i.e., sexual differentiation). Much is known about how exposure to testosterone and estradiol during the critical period drive lasting changes to the brain. However, relatively little is known about how the timing of critical periods for sexual differentiation is regulated. Given that many parts of the brain (e.g., sensory and cognitive circuitry) are shaped during critical periods, it is not surprising that the regulation of plasticity has been extensively addressed by systems neuroscientists. We advocate that those studying organizational effects of sex steroid hormones should investigate the neural populations, molecules, chemicals, and extracellular matrices that have been found to regulate critical period timing and plasticity in cortical and cognitive circuitry. In particular, we propose that it would be fruitful to investigate how cellular and molecular "brakes" in the preoptic area-hypothalamus and limbic system could stabilize the organizational effects of sex steroid hormones. Here, we provide an overview of organizational effects of sex steroid hormones and of mechanisms underlying the timing of critical periods in sensory and cognitive circuitry, emphasizing how brakes like perineuronal nets could restrict plasticity and cause organizational changes to persist. We also discuss how research on the song system in songbirds serves as an ideal interface between systems neuroscience and behavioral neuroendocrinology and as a powerful opportunity to understand the role of molecular brakes in the organization of social behaviors.
Maternal androgens shape vocal begging patterns in meerkats, providing competitive advantages in dominant matrilines.
Walkenhorst B, Goncalves IB, Drea CM … +1 more , Manser MB
Horm Behav · 2026 May · PMID 41880778 · Publisher ↗
Maternal effects provide a non-genomic pathway by which individual phenotypes shape offspring traits. Consistent with this phenomenon, we previously found that socially and experimentally mediated variation in maternal a...
Maternal effects provide a non-genomic pathway by which individual phenotypes shape offspring traits. Consistent with this phenomenon, we previously found that socially and experimentally mediated variation in maternal androgen action in the meerkat (Suricata suricatta) - a female-dominant, cooperatively breeding mongoose - influenced the developmental pace of offspring vocalisations, with increased prenatal androgen exposure accelerating their transition between different call types. Here, we test for effects on the fine-scale, temporal structure of two types of begging vocalisations: repeat and digging calls. We measured call durations, inter-call intervals, and call rates in offspring of dominant control (DC; high-testosterone), subordinate control (SC; lower-testosterone), and dominant treated (DT; blocked-testosterone) females, that had received an antiandrogen during late gestation. DC offspring, especially daughters, displayed the most intense begging, producing calls at the highest rates and with the shortest intervals, potentially enhancing the caller's likelihood of being provisioned; DC daughters also showed the steepest decline in call intensity whilst learning to forage. Conversely, SC and DT offspring displayed less intense, potentially less effective, calls that may have delayed nutritional independence. These intergenerational effects show that maternal androgens can mediate resource acquisition strategies by modifying the temporal structure of begging vocalisations in a wild mammal. Moreover, these competitive advantages were reinforced along dominant matrilines, most notably among daughters, offering new insights into the evolutionary significance of female hormonal 'masculinisation'.
Little evidence for group differences in 2D:4D ratios based on sexual orientation after adjusting for publication bias.
Shiramizu V, Bartoš F, Jones BC … +1 more , Pollet TV
Horm Behav · 2026 Apr · PMID 41861700 · Publisher ↗
The ratio between the lengths of the second and fourth digits (2D:4D) has been proposed as a putative marker of prenatal androgen exposure and investigated for its potential link to sexual orientation. In a recent update...
The ratio between the lengths of the second and fourth digits (2D:4D) has been proposed as a putative marker of prenatal androgen exposure and investigated for its potential link to sexual orientation. In a recent updated meta-analysis, Swift-Gallant et al. (2025) reported more male-typical digit ratios in same-sex-oriented women than in heterosexual women, while homosexual men showed more female-typical ratios than heterosexual men. Their analyses found no evidence of publication bias for female sexual orientation but did for male sexual orientation, with effects remaining statistically significant after adjustment. Here, we reanalyzed the dataset compiled by Swift-Gallant et al. (2025) using Robust Bayesian Meta-Analysis (RoBMA), a framework that models uncertainty across multiple sources, including the presence or absence of an effect, heterogeneity, and publication bias. Our analyses showed little evidence for group differences in 2D:4D ratios by sexual orientation: RoBMA indicated moderate evidence against differences between homosexual and heterosexual women, with moderate to strong evidence of publication bias, and for men, moderate evidence against a right-hand difference but a small left-hand effect moderated by publication status. Thus, when publication bias was modeled directly using Bayesian model averaging of complementary bias adjustments, the evidence for a difference in 2D:4D ratios according to sexual orientation was substantially weakened, with this evidence for publication bias not attributable to unmodeled heterogeneity. Overall, these findings challenge claims of reliable group differences in 2D:4D ratios based on sexual orientation and question assertions that publication bias in this literature is negligible or reversed.
Disentangling bidirectional relationships between glucocorticoids and behavior: Experimentally elevated corticosterone levels correlate with rapid, sex-specific changes in food-acquisition behaviors of food-limited seabird chicks.
Benowitz-Fredericks ZM, Will AP, Pete SN … +3 more , Walsh SM, Whelan S, Kitaysky AS
Horm Behav · 2026 Apr · PMID 41831419 · Publisher ↗
Bidirectional relationships between hormones and behaviors are hypothesized: i.e. energetic consequences of behaviors may alter glucocorticoid levels, and elevated glucocorticoids may alter behavioral responses to stimul...
Bidirectional relationships between hormones and behaviors are hypothesized: i.e. energetic consequences of behaviors may alter glucocorticoid levels, and elevated glucocorticoids may alter behavioral responses to stimuli in context-appropriate ways. We tested these relationships between the avian glucocorticoid corticosterone and behaviors related to food-acquisition in free-living seabird chicks (Black-legged kittiwakes, Rissa tridactyla) with robust HPA axis activity. First, we tested the hypothesis that behavior affects HPA axis activity by quantifying chick behavior for 60 min, then taking blood samples at baseline and 15-min post-restraint. Only feeding predicted subsequent corticosterone levels (fewer feeds = higher restraint-induced corticosterone). However, the hypothesis that increased corticosterone secretion alters behavior was supported: post-restraint corticosterone levels were positively correlated with increases in begging and aggression in the subsequent hour, primarily in males. In a second experiment, we isolated the role of corticosterone from other components of the stress response by administering exogenous topical corticosterone, which confirmed a positive relationship between subsequent corticosterone levels and changes in aggression, but not begging or feeding. Corticosterone:behavior relationships depended on nutritional context - they were eliminated in nests with experimental food supplementation. Finally, higher levels of corticosterone in response to restraint were associated with more rapid elimination of siblings, presumably increasing chick direct fitness by eliminating competition. We conclude that the magnitude of the endogenous corticosterone response to challenges is a) negatively correlated with recent feeding rates, b) subsequently associated with rapid, sex- and context-specific changes in chick behaviors, at least some of which are likely causally-driven by elevated corticosterone, and c) associated with fitness-relevant consequences.
Introduction to the special issue on "Nuance and novelty in the behavioral neuroendocrinology of hormonal contraceptives".
Beltz AM, Leuner B
Horm Behav · 2026 Apr · PMID 41813556 · Publisher ↗
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The evolution of sex differences in competitive and social dream content.
Grant Z, Mir A, Perogamvros L … +3 more , Sterpenich V, Abbas N, Samson DR
Horm Behav · 2026 Apr · PMID 41807893 · Publisher ↗
Why do we dream? Evolutionary theories suggest that dreams may confer a fitness advantage by simulating real-world challenges. Simulation-based models suggest that dreams serve adaptive functions, including resolving emo...
Why do we dream? Evolutionary theories suggest that dreams may confer a fitness advantage by simulating real-world challenges. Simulation-based models suggest that dreams serve adaptive functions, including resolving emotional stress and enhancing readiness for waking encounters. From this perspective, evidence of evolutionary pressures reflected in dream content would support the view that dreaming could serve an evolutionary purpose. We explore whether sex differences in evolved behavioral and cognitive strategies shaped by distinct evolutionary pressures are expressed in dream content. We hypothesized that biological sex influences dream content; specifically, that females would report more dreams featuring social and emotional themes, while males would more frequently report dreams involving competition-related content (e.g., risk, reward, and threat), reflecting sex-differentiated ancestral challenges. With a sample of 298 participants logging 4641 dreams, we evaluated dream content across six thematic domains: Emotional Valence, Positive Emotional Content, Negative Emotional Content, Social Content, Competition-based Content, and Resource Acquisition-based Content. Using a mixed-effects model, we discovered that males were significantly more likely to report dreams involving competitive content, while females showed a higher propensity for social dream content. No other themes, including the domains of emotional content, yielded significant results. While these patterns are consistent with possible adaptive functions of dreaming, they may also reflect hormonal influences, socio-cultural factors, personality differences, or other non-evolutionary contributors. Our results extend existing literature on sex differences in dream content using text-based scoring methods, offering a nuanced perspective on how dreams may relate to both biological and social influences.
Early-life adversity and the role of habitat: Consequences for females growing up in a marginal environment.
Boonstra R, Castillo J, Bosson CO … +2 more , Karels TJ, Dobson FS
Horm Behav · 2026 Apr · PMID 41797116 · Publisher ↗
Early-life adversity has life-long consequences on physiology, behavior, survival, and fitness. It is fundamentally influenced by habitat quality in the pre-adult developmental environment. Suboptimal habitat has impacts...
Early-life adversity has life-long consequences on physiology, behavior, survival, and fitness. It is fundamentally influenced by habitat quality in the pre-adult developmental environment. Suboptimal habitat has impacts at the individual level, and if it affects all animals similarly in that habitat, at the population level. Columbian ground squirrels (Urocitellus columbianus) are herbivores that survive winter by hibernating for 8-9 months each year. Females are highly philopatric - living and reproducing in the same area in which they were born. Critical in preparing for hibernation in summer is foraging to accumulate sufficient body fat levels from forage, especially polyunsaturates. These are found in forbs, but not in grasses with their high structural cellulose. Using a hormonal-challenge protocol, we tested the hypothesis that females of all ages living in a human-altered low-quality meadow with an abundance of grasses would be in poorer condition than those living in a high-quality natural meadow with an abundance of forbs. Females of all ages on the low-quality meadow had lower body masses, lower hematocrit levels, higher neutrophil:lymphocyte ratios, a stress axis that was less tightly regulated, and energy mobilization that was more poorly regulated than those on the high-quality meadow. Yearlings and young adults on the low-quality meadow showed reduced ability to mobilize free fatty acids, possibly related to lower endogenous levels. Overwinter survival of juveniles was significantly lower on the low-quality meadow, but that in the older age classes was similar on the two meadows. We conclude that female Columbian ground squirrels likely experience life-long, negative consequences from living in human-caused, low-quality habitat and that related scuirids may be similarly affected by such habitat changes.
Leveraging nature's experiments: David Crews' legacy in behavioral neuroendocrinology.
Sakata JT, Woolley SC, Gillette R … +2 more , Nelson RJ, Rhen T
Horm Behav · 2026 Apr · PMID 41793959 · Publisher ↗
Evolution provides a magnificent set of natural experiments, offering a window into factors shaping morphology, physiology, behavior, and reproductive strategies. David Crews (18 April 1947-16 September 2025) embraced th...
Evolution provides a magnificent set of natural experiments, offering a window into factors shaping morphology, physiology, behavior, and reproductive strategies. David Crews (18 April 1947-16 September 2025) embraced the power of natural experiments to gain insight into biological mechanisms and championed the study of reptiles to uncover general principles of behavioral biology. Here we synthesize his decades of research into comparative and behavioral neuroendocrinology, underscoring how his studies on temperature-dependent sex determination, neural and hormonal mechanisms of sexual differentiation, the evolution of brain mechanisms for social behavior, and transgenerational epigenetic inheritance revealed some of the most fascinating and unimaginable mechanisms of reproduction. While he focused on biological mechanisms in lizards, snakes, and turtles, his research has implications beyond reptiles, challenging dogma and forcing reconsideration of classic paradigms and frameworks.
Sex change in clownfish as an ARCH-governed biological decision.
Rahman T
Horm Behav · 2026 Apr · PMID 41785597 · Publisher ↗
Single causal factors rarely govern biological transitions that are rapid, discrete, and largely irreversible. Instead, they emerge from the coordinated alignment of multiple regulatory domains that collectively determin...
Single causal factors rarely govern biological transitions that are rapid, discrete, and largely irreversible. Instead, they emerge from the coordinated alignment of multiple regulatory domains that collectively determine whether execution occurs. Here, we apply the ARCH framework-a multiplicative, threshold-based model of biological decision-making-to socially controlled sex change in clownfish (Amphiprion spp.). The ARCH model formalizes execution as requiring convergence across four jointly necessary domains: Archetype (latent structural readiness), Drive (endocrine activation favoring ovarian differentiation), Context (social and environmental permissiveness), and Phase (temporal, developmental, and physiological gating). Using evidence from behavioral, endocrine, molecular, and developmental studies, we show that sex change in clownfish exhibits defining properties of ARCH-governed decisions, including zero-term veto effects, persistence of metastable intermediate states, non-linear interactions among regulatory inputs, and hysteresis following commitment. Removal of the dominant female is necessary but insufficient for transition; endocrine manipulations can veto execution despite social permissiveness, and stress and developmental constraints modulate the timing and probability of commitment. Framing sex change as an ARCH-governed biological decision unifies disparate empirical findings and generates explicit, falsifiable predictions regarding how perturbations across domains interact to control the probability, timing, and stability of sexual transition. More broadly, this work positions sequential hermaphroditism as a model system for studying threshold-governed decision architectures linking social context, endocrine signaling, and irreversible behavioral change.
Acute and chronic extreme cold weather events influence hypothalamic and testicular gene networks in a free-living Arctic breeding songbird, the Lapland longspur.
Krause JS, Reid AMA, Pérez JH … +6 more , Cheah JC, Bishop VR, Trejo-Reveles V, Johnston AR, Wingfield JC, Meddle SL
Horm Behav · 2026 Apr · PMID 41775172 · Publisher ↗
Here we explore the regulatory mechanisms underlying breeding stage specific endocrine phenotypes and their response to both acute and chronic extreme weather in male Lapland longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus). In the chro...
Here we explore the regulatory mechanisms underlying breeding stage specific endocrine phenotypes and their response to both acute and chronic extreme weather in male Lapland longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus). In the chronically extreme cold spring of 2013, birds were collected following a delayed arrival on their Alaskan breeding grounds. Whereas in 2016 during typical weather conditions, birds were collected at their arrival on their breeding grounds and during incubation - either in the presence or absence of a snowstorm. We quantified hypothalamic and gonadal gene expression, steroid hormones, and testicular volume to characterize both activatory and inhibitory signaling pathways across breeding stages. Network co-expression was strongly structured during arrival, with pronounced functional segregation of hypothalamic, testes inhibition and testes activation signaling modules. Functional segregation weakened during incubation and was absent during the extreme cold arrival, reflecting increased cross-module integration. Transitions across stages, particularly from arrival to incubation, were characterized by substantial edge level co-expression reorganization, suggesting restructuring of hormone and gene connectivity. Under typical conditions the transition from arrival to incubation was associated with declines in hypothalamic gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) and aromatase, gonadal lutropin receptor, steroidogenic enzymes, and circulating testosterone, while testicular corticosteroid signaling genes remained stable. Chronic cold during arrival elevated hypothalamic type 2 deiodinase and estrogen receptor, and gonadal mineralocorticoid receptor, and reduced hypothalamic GnIH, testicular volume, and plasma testosterone. Snowstorms during incubation caused elevations in hypothalamic TSHβ and aromatase without detectable testicular changes. Our study provides insight into how weather extremes shape endocrine phenotypes of wild organisms.
Sex differences in corticotropin-releasing factor receptor-2α expressing neurons in acutely stressed mice.
Lafrican JJ, Parra KE, Rybka KA … +12 more , Ladison JM, Hellman NA, Amato E, Taroc EZM, Kolaib AS, Thayer R, Sakeria AA, Meunier P, Zuloaga KL, Forni PE, Justice NJ, Zuloaga DG
Horm Behav · 2026 Apr · PMID 41764876 · Full text
Females are 2-3 times more likely than males to be diagnosed with mood disorders, including depression and anxiety, yet the neurobiological mechanisms contributing to this sex difference are not fully understood. Cortico...
Females are 2-3 times more likely than males to be diagnosed with mood disorders, including depression and anxiety, yet the neurobiological mechanisms contributing to this sex difference are not fully understood. Corticotropin-releasing factor receptor 2 (CRFR2) plays a key role in regulating stress responses, with evidence suggesting it may dampen hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation and behavioral stress responses. Although CRFR2 has been implicated in stress buffering, little is known about how its expression and activation differs by sex, particularly in the mouse model. To address this gap, we used newly generated CRFR2-Cre-2α-TdTomato mice to investigate sex differences in CRFR2-expressing neurons and their activation across stress-regulating brain regions following an acute restraint. Males exhibited significantly more CRFR2-expressing neurons in the lateral septum, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, and central amygdala, while females had more CRFR2-expressing neurons in the medial amygdala and ventromedial hypothalamus. Activation of CRFR2 neurons also showed region-specific sex differences, with males generally exhibiting greater CRFR2 colocalization with c-Fos, a marker for neural activation. Corticosterone levels following restraint were correlated with CRFR2 expression or activation in several brain regions, including the paraventricular hypothalamus, medial amygdala, and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. These findings identify novel sex differences in CRFR2 expression and stress-induced activation of CRFR2 neurons across multiple stress-regulating brain areas. Together, these results suggest that sex differences in CRFR2 signaling may mediate sex differences in HPA axis responsivity as well as behavioral stress responses.
Paternal anabolic-androgenic steroid exposure promotes autism-like behavior in adult mouse offspring of both sexes.
Lau RDS, de Souza JS, da Conceição RR … +7 more , Giannocco G, Silva-Almeida C, Marinho BG, Rocha FFD, Ahmed RG, Côrtes WDS, Laureano-Melo R
Horm Behav · 2026 Apr · PMID 41762787 · Publisher ↗
Paternal environmental factors before conception and during sperm development may influence the offspring's health later in life. This study aimed to investigate whether paternal exposure to anabolic-androgenic steroids...
Paternal environmental factors before conception and during sperm development may influence the offspring's health later in life. This study aimed to investigate whether paternal exposure to anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) before conception predisposes mouse offspring to autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-like behavior. For this purpose, male Swiss mice were randomly divided into two groups: the control group received peanut oil, while the treated group was administered testosterone propionate (7.5 mg/kg, s.c.) twice a week for five weeks. After this period, these males were mated, and their offspring underwent a behavioral test battery at 70 days of age, including the open field test, object recognition task, three-chamber social approach test, and light-dark box test. At the end of the experiment, the hippocampus was dissected for RNA analysis. Our results indicate that paternal AAS treatment induces long-lasting behavioral alterations in both female and male offspring, including increased anxiety-like behavior, impaired memory, and deficits in social interaction. Additionally, a strong effect of paternal AAS treatment during preconception period was verified in Gad1, Gabra2 and Bdnf expression. These findings suggest that paternal AAS exposure may program neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities in offspring, contributing to ASD-like phenotypes.
Prosocial support in adolescence regulates behavior and corticosterone responses following early life adversity in male rats.
Lynch A, Brenhouse HC, Breton JM
Horm Behav · 2026 Mar · PMID 41762533 · Publisher ↗
Experiencing early life adversity (ELA) increases risk for developing psychiatric disorders later in life. Social environments during adolescence can influence hormonal and behavioral outcomes. Maternal separation (MS),...
Experiencing early life adversity (ELA) increases risk for developing psychiatric disorders later in life. Social environments during adolescence can influence hormonal and behavioral outcomes. Maternal separation (MS), a well-validated model of ELA, generally increases anxiety-and-depression-related behaviors and corticosterone (CORT) responses in rats, especially in males. Prosocial support encompasses receiving active and motivated help, often while experiencing distress. How and if receiving prosocial support in adolescence mitigates such negative impacts of ELA is unknown. In this study, male rats were reared under MS or control (CON) conditions. In adolescence, all rats experienced one week of restraint stress and were either freed (received prosocial support) or not freed from the restrainer by another rat. Blood samples were collected throughout restrainer testing to measure CORT, and several behavioral assays examining anxiety-like and depressive-like behaviors were carried out in adolescence and adulthood. MS rats demonstrated greater anxiety-like behavior at baseline compared to CON rats. After restraint stress, all rats who did not receive prosocial support demonstrated greater anxiety-like behavior, increased motivation for reward, and disrupted social behavior in adolescence compared to their supported counterparts, regardless of rearing condition. MS-induced blunting in adolescent baseline CORT was also rescued following prosocial support, while repeated stress exposure, without prosocial support, sensitized CORT stress responses in MS, but not CON animals. In adulthood, rats who did not receive prosocial support showed greater anxiety-like behavior and decreased food-seeking behavior in an anxiogenic context. Together, these results suggest that receiving prosocial support in adolescence shifts behavioral and hormonal outcomes following ELA.
Hormonal regulation of androgen, estrogen receptor-α, and progesterone receptor expression in the adult male rabbit brain.
Molina B, Hernández-Ortega K, Hernández-Lúa LN … +2 more , González-Mariscal G, Camacho-Arroyo I
Horm Behav · 2026 Mar · PMID 41747668 · Publisher ↗
Sex hormones regulate a broad range of brain functions beyond reproduction via specific receptors, whose expression can be modulated by hormones. However, the regulation of sex hormone receptors across different brain re...
Sex hormones regulate a broad range of brain functions beyond reproduction via specific receptors, whose expression can be modulated by hormones. However, the regulation of sex hormone receptors across different brain regions in male rabbits remains unknown. We investigated the effects of two hormone treatments in castrated male rabbits: testosterone propionate (TP) and dihydrotestosterone plus estradiol benzoate (DHT + EB), on androgen receptor (AR), estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), and progesterone receptor (PR) expression in the brain. Adult male New Zealand White rabbits were bilaterally castrated and daily treated with TP or DHT + EB for 16 days. One day after treatments (day 17), AR, ERα, and PR mRNA and protein levels were determined in the olfactory bulb, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, preoptic area, hypothalamus, mesencephalon, and cerebellum using RT-qPCR and Western blot. AR mRNA levels increased with both treatments in the prefrontal cortex, preoptic area, and the hypothalamus following TP treatment. Notably, AR protein content increased across all regions after TP, and in the olfactory bulb, prefrontal cortex, preoptic area, and hypothalamus following DHT + EB. Both treatments reduced ERα mRNA in the olfactory bulb, hippocampus, preoptic area, hypothalamus, and mesencephalon; DHT + EB also decreased ERα mRNA in the cerebellum, while ERα protein content remained unchanged in all regions. TP and DHT + EB reduced PR mRNA expression in most regions, with DHT + EB showing broader effects. As with ERα, PR protein content showed no significant changes after treatments. These findings indicate that androgens and estrogens regulate AR, ERα, and PR expression, notably affecting AR protein content.
Central liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide 2 induces anxiety- and depression-related behaviors and activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in male mice.
Tufvesson-Alm M, Jerlhag E
Horm Behav · 2026 Mar · PMID 41747667 · Publisher ↗
The ghrelinergic system is a key regulator of feeding and metabolism. Beyond this, the ghrelinergic system has been implicated for reward, anxiety and depression. In this regard, the effects of the endogenous ghrelin rec...
The ghrelinergic system is a key regulator of feeding and metabolism. Beyond this, the ghrelinergic system has been implicated for reward, anxiety and depression. In this regard, the effects of the endogenous ghrelin receptor inverse agonist liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide (LEAP) 2 on mental health parameters are unknown. In the present study, the aim was to delineate LEAP2's central effects on anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors in mice, as well as downstream central monoaminergic signaling and HPA-axis activation. Acute intracerebroventricular administration was used to evaluate the effect of central LEAP2. The anxiogenic and depressive-like effects were measured through open-field test, elevated plus maze and forced swim test. Corticosterone and monoamine levels were measured in ex vivo blood and brain tissues, respectively. Acute central administration of LEAP2 increased anxiety-like behavior in both open-field test and elevated plus maze, and increased immobility time in forced swim test, compared to vehicle. Further, LEAP2 administration was associated with a marked increase in blood corticosterone, elevated dopamine in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and a trend to increased serotonin in the nucleus accumbens, ventral tegmental area and hypothalamus. These results highlight the influence of the ghrelinergic system on central signaling and mental health, in particular where LEAP2 is elevated or dysregulated, for example in obesity and anorexia nervosa which are often associated with anxiety and depression. Here, LEAP2 emerges as a potential target to treat depression and anxiety in eating disorders.
Neonatal lipopolysaccharide has long-term effects on steroids and gene expression in the adult mouse brain.
Bajaj H, Salehzadeh M, Mazurenko A … +3 more , Choo C, Ciernia AV, Soma KK
Horm Behav · 2026 Mar · PMID 41719808 · Publisher ↗
Early-life infections can exert profound and lasting effects on brain development and function, potentially through sustained alterations in glucocorticoid (GC) signaling. Here, we investigated whether a neonatal immune...
Early-life infections can exert profound and lasting effects on brain development and function, potentially through sustained alterations in glucocorticoid (GC) signaling. Here, we investigated whether a neonatal immune challenge alters brain steroids and gene expression in adulthood. Male and female C57BL/6J mice were injected intraperitoneally with saline vehicle or 50 μg/kg lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at postnatal day (PND) 4 and PND6, and then with either vehicle or LPS in adulthood (2 × 2 design). The brain and serum were collected 4 h after adult treatment. Using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, we measured steroids in serum (total and free) and in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), dorsal hippocampus, ventral hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus. In both groups of adults, neonatal LPS increased progesterone levels in the PFC. In LPS-treated adults, neonatal LPS increased corticosterone levels (total and free) in serum, as well as in all regions. Moreover, in LPS-treated adults, neonatal LPS increased 11-dehydrocorticosterone (DHC) levels in the dorsal hippocampus, ventral hippocampus, and hypothalamus, as well as aldosterone levels in the dorsal hippocampus and amygdala. Using bulk RNA sequencing, we examined gene expression in the dorsal hippocampus. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis identified modules showing impacts of neonatal LPS, adult LPS, and sex. Further, correlations between steroid levels and module eigengenes suggest that neonatal LPS modulates the effects of adult LPS on gene expression. These findings clarify how neonatal LPS exposure shapes brain steroid profiles and gene expression, providing new insights into the enduring impacts of early-life infection on brain function and behavior.
The competitive side of social living: Maternal hormonal programming and phenotypic outcomes in blue tit offspring.
García-Antón A, Müller W, García-Campa J … +2 more , Riñones F, Morales J
Horm Behav · 2026 Mar · PMID 41712982 · Publisher ↗
Social interactions are vital in animal life, providing access to key information about foraging opportunities, mates, and predators. Yet in highly competitive environments, being social can be costly, as increased inter...
Social interactions are vital in animal life, providing access to key information about foraging opportunities, mates, and predators. Yet in highly competitive environments, being social can be costly, as increased interaction rates may lead to more frequent aggressive encounters, favouring the development of more competitive phenotypes. Remarkably, these environmental pressures can have transgenerational effects. For example, mothers can respond to their social environment by transferring non-genetic compounds, such as hormones, to their offspring. However, evidence for an effect of social density on maternal hormone allocation and subsequent offspring social phenotypes remains scarce. Here, we experimentally manipulated social density in the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) by rearranging nest-boxes before egg-laying, thus creating areas of high and low density -and likely high and low competition levels. We measured yolk testosterone and assessed nestling behaviour through a social preference test (sociability) and breathing rate (a proxy for proactivity). As predicted, mothers in low-density areas deposited less testosterone than those in high-density areas. Nestlings raised at low density showed higher sociability, though this effect was male-specific. Breathing rate had a non-linear, positive relationship with yolk testosterone concentration but was, unexpectedly, lower in high-density areas. Together, these findings suggest that competitive environments increase maternal testosterone transfer, likely promoting more competitive and less social offspring phenotypes.
Paternal deprivation in biparental zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) affects care of offspring with consequences for adult stress-induced corticosterone levels.
Goff-Riley AK, Grindstaff JL
Horm Behav · 2026 Mar · PMID 41712981 · Publisher ↗
The development of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is sensitive to early life perturbations. We examined how an early-life perturbation, paternal deprivation, affects the HPA axis development of offspring a...
The development of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is sensitive to early life perturbations. We examined how an early-life perturbation, paternal deprivation, affects the HPA axis development of offspring and how maternal behavior is impacted by paternal deprivation. Using captive zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, we set up two paternal deprivation treatment groups in which we removed the father at hatching or at fledging. These two periods were chosen because they comprise two important stages during dependency at which offspring can differentially be impacted by changes in parental care. In the offspring, we measured growth, nestling baseline corticosterone and adult baseline and isolation-induced corticosterone. In the parents, we quantified parental care through the dependency period. We found that single mothers increased feedings to match the combined feedings of mothers and fathers in biparental nests but could not match the amount of time spent in contact with offspring. Nestling growth was not affected by paternal deprivation. Additionally, offspring that experienced paternal deprivation from hatching and fledging had higher corticosterone levels relative to their baseline corticosterone levels after experiencing social isolation, which is reflective of a hyper-responsive stress response. This suggests that the HPA axis development of offspring is altered when fathers are absent and that these effects are possibly driven by decreased parental contact rather than nutritional constraint.
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