Activation of “silent” nerve cells explains aggressiveness in mouse mothers
en-GBde-DEes-ESfr-FR

Activation of “silent” nerve cells explains aggressiveness in mouse mothers


A new study has found a system in the brain that explains why female mice, who are not normally aggressive, suddenly exhibit this behaviour after becoming pregnant and giving birth.

Researchers at Stockholm University and Karolinska Institutet have found a system in the brain that can explain why female mice, who are not normally aggressive, suddenly and dramatically gain access to this behaviour after becoming pregnant and giving birth (so-called maternal aggression). The study shows that a group of neurons that control aggression in the normally aggressive males are turned off in the non-pregnant female, but switch to active mode when she becomes a mother. When the researchers silenced the neurons, the mother stopped attacking cage intruders. The study also shows that oxytocin and prolactin, the hormones that control maternal bodily functions such as lactation, can powerfully activate these neurons.

The study was conducted on animals, and should be interpreted with caution in a human context. But the findings touch on a larger conceptual question: How can an individual gain access to a behaviour that is outside their normal repertoire, during a limited phase of their life? The example studied here, with a brain circuit that can be turned on and off depending on whether an animal needs access to certain behaviour (regardless of sex) for its (or its offspring’s) survival, may have general significance for how the plastic brain functions also in humans.

“Surprisingly, it turned out that the same network of cells that drive aggression in male mice lies dormant in females – until motherhood flips the switch of this hormone-sensitive system,” says the article’s first author Stefanos Stagkourakis, who now leads his own research group at SciLifeLab and Karolinska Institutet.


“This is a study on laboratory mice, and we do not currently know whether the results can be transferred to humans. But the mechanism that we identify here how a behaviour that is normally outside an individual's repertoire can become available for a limited period of its life – may reflect a principle of brain flexibility with relevance beyond maternal aggression,” says Christian Broberger, professor of neurochemistry at Stockholm University.


The study was conducted under the leadership of Christian Broberger, Professor of Neurochemistry at Stockholm University. The experiments were carried out at Karolinska Institutet, where his laboratory was previously located.

Read article in Nature Communications: Maternal aggression driven by the transient mobilisation of a dormant hormone-sensitive circuit

Read more about Christian Broberger's research

Stagkourakis, S., Williams, P., Spigolon, G. et al. Maternal aggression driven by the transient mobilisation of a dormant hormone-sensitive circuit. Nat Commun 16, 8553 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-64043-4
Attached files
  • Picture of the mouse brain where you can see the brain straight from the front and the PMv cells in pink at the bottom of the middle line. (The cut is also coloured with blue, which is a background colouring to show all the nerve cells.) The hemisphere of the brain that is not pink-blue fluorescent is a map in which the different brain regions are indicated. Credit: Broberger Lab
  • Christian Broberger. Photo: Eleonore Evers
Regions: Europe, Sweden
Keywords: Science, Life Sciences

Disclaimer: AlphaGalileo is not responsible for the accuracy of content posted to AlphaGalileo by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the AlphaGalileo system.

Testimonials

For well over a decade, in my capacity as a researcher, broadcaster, and producer, I have relied heavily on Alphagalileo.
All of my work trips have been planned around stories that I've found on this site.
The under embargo section allows us to plan ahead and the news releases enable us to find key experts.
Going through the tailored daily updates is the best way to start the day. It's such a critical service for me and many of my colleagues.
Koula Bouloukos, Senior manager, Editorial & Production Underknown
We have used AlphaGalileo since its foundation but frankly we need it more than ever now to ensure our research news is heard across Europe, Asia and North America. As one of the UK’s leading research universities we want to continue to work with other outstanding researchers in Europe. AlphaGalileo helps us to continue to bring our research story to them and the rest of the world.
Peter Dunn, Director of Press and Media Relations at the University of Warwick
AlphaGalileo has helped us more than double our reach at SciDev.Net. The service has enabled our journalists around the world to reach the mainstream media with articles about the impact of science on people in low- and middle-income countries, leading to big increases in the number of SciDev.Net articles that have been republished.
Ben Deighton, SciDevNet

We Work Closely With...


  • e
  • The Research Council of Norway
  • SciDevNet
  • Swiss National Science Foundation
  • iesResearch
Copyright 2025 by AlphaGalileo Terms Of Use Privacy Statement