A dedicated hypothalamic oxytocin circuit controls aversive social learning

Abstract

To survive in a complex social group, one needs to know who to approach and, more importantly, who to avoid. In mice, a single defeat causes the losing mouse to stay away from the winner for weeks¹. Here through a series of functional manipulation and recording experiments, we identify oxytocin neurons in the retrochiasmatic supraoptic nucleus (SOR^OXT) and oxytocin-receptor-expressing cells in the anterior subdivision of the ventromedial hypothalamus, ventrolateral part (aVMHvl^OXTR) as a key circuit motif for defeat-induced social avoidance. Before defeat, aVMHvl^OXTR cells minimally respond to aggressor cues. During defeat, aVMHvl^OXTR cells are highly activated and, with the help of an exclusive oxytocin supply from the SOR, potentiate their responses to aggressor cues. After defeat, strong aggressor-induced aVMHvl^OXTR cell activation drives the animal to avoid the aggressor and minimizes future defeat. Our study uncovers a neural process that supports rapid social learning caused by defeat and highlights the importance of the brain oxytocin system in social plasticity.