A Defect in Nurturing in Mice Lacking the Immediate Early Gene fosB

Although expression of the Fos family of transcription factors is induced by environmental stimuli that trigger adaptive neuronal responses, eidence that Fos family members mediate these responses is lacking. To address this issue, mice were generated with an inactivating mutation in the fosB gene....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cell 1996-07, Vol.86 (2), p.297-309
Main Authors: Brown, Jennifer R, Ye, Hong, Bronson, Roderick T, Dikkes, Pieter, Greenberg, Michael E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Brain Chemistry - genetics
Female
Gene Expression - physiology
Genes, Immediate-Early - physiology
Immunohistochemistry
Labor, Obstetric - genetics
Lactation - genetics
Male
Mammary Glands, Animal - physiology
Maternal Behavior - physiology
Maze Learning - physiology
Mice
Mice, Knockout - physiology
Mutation - physiology
Phenotype
Pregnancy
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos - analysis
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos - genetics
Smell - physiology
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Summary:Although expression of the Fos family of transcription factors is induced by environmental stimuli that trigger adaptive neuronal responses, eidence that Fos family members mediate these responses is lacking. To address this issue, mice were generated with an inactivating mutation in the fosB gene. fosB mutant mice are profoundly deficient in their ability to nurture young animals but are normal with respect to other cognitive and sensory functions. The nurturing defect is likely due to the absence of FosB in the preoptic area, a region of the hypothalamus that is critical for nurturing. These observations suggest that a transcription factor controls a complex behavior by regulating a specific neuronal circuit and indicate that nurturing in mammals has a genetic component.
ISSN:0092-8674
1097-4172
DOI:10.1016/S0092-8674(00)80101-4