Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40923300›Full record

ArticleZoological research2025

Dopaminergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus may modulate social dominance in mice.

Ying-Juan Liu, Qin An, Bai-Lin Song, Jia Tian, Lu Ren, Ya-Han Sun, Jiao-Wen Wu, Jie Zhou, Zhi-Xiong He, Fa-Dao Tai and 1 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Zoological research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Ying-Juan LiuResearch Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, Henan 473061, China.
Qin AnInstitute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710119, China.
Bai-Lin SongResearch Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, Henan 473061, China.
Jia TianResearch Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, Henan 473061, China.
Lu RenInstitute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710119, China.
Ya-Han SunInstitute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710119, China.
Jiao-Wen WuResearch Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, Henan 473061, China.
Jie ZhouResearch Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, Henan 473061, China.
Zhi-Xiong HeInstitute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710119, China.
Fa-Dao TaiInstitute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710119, China. E-mail: taifadao@snnu.edu.cn.
Lai-Fu LiResearch Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, Henan 473061, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Social hierarchies are central to the organizational structure of group-living species, shaping individual physiology, behavior, and social interactions. Dopaminergic (DA) systems, particularly within the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and dorsal raphe nucleus (DR), have been linked to motivation and competitive behaviors, yet their region-specific contributions to social dominance remain insufficiently defined. This study investigated the role of VTA and DR DA neurons in regulating social dominance in sexually naïve male C57BL/6J mice. Stable hierarchies were established using the tube test, after which both dominant and subordinate mice exhibited elevated c-Fos expression within the VTA and DR. Notably, dominant mice displayed significantly greater c-Fos activation in DR DA neurons compared to subordinates. Fiber photometry revealed that DA neurons in both regions were activated during proactive push behaviors and inhibited during passive retreats, with DR neurons showing stronger activation during dominance-related actions. Chemogenetic inhibition of DR DA neurons in dominant mice reduced their social rank, whereas activation in subordinates elevated their rank. In contrast, chemogenetic modulation of VTA DA neurons had no significant effect on social dominance. Manipulation of DA neurons in both regions produced rank-dependent changes in specific anxiety-like behavioral phenotypes. These findings highlight the distinct roles of DR and VTA DA neurons in social hierarchy regulation, identifying DR DA neurons as a critical component in the modulation of social dominance.

Indexed as

Dopaminergic NeuronsDorsal Raphe NucleusSocial DominanceAnimalsMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLProto-Oncogene Proteins c-fosVentral Tegmental AreaProto-Oncogene Proteins c-fosChemogeneticsDopamineDorsal raphe nucleusSocial hierarchyVentral tegmental area

Identifiers

PMID40923300
PMCPMC12780500

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.