A Scientometric Approach to Review the Role of the Medial Preoptic Area (MPOA) in Parental Behavior

Research investigating the neural substrates underpinning parental behaviour has recently gained momentum. Particularly, the hypothalamic medial preoptic area (MPOA) has been identified as a crucial region for parenting. The current study conducted a scientometric analysis of publications from 1 January 1972 to 19 January 2021 using CiteSpace software to determine trends in the scientific literature exploring the relationship between MPOA and parental behaviour. In total, 677 scientific papers were analysed, producing a network of 1509 nodes and 5498 links. Four major clusters were identified: “C-Fos Expression”, “Lactating Rat”, “Medial Preoptic Area Interaction” and “Parental Behavior”. Their content suggests an initial trend in which the properties of the MPOA in response to parental behavior were studied, followed by a growing attention towards the presence of a brain network, including the reward circuits, regulating such behavior. Furthermore, while attention was initially directed uniquely to maternal behavior, it has recently been extended to the understanding of paternal behaviors as well. Finally, although the majority of the studies were conducted on rodents, recent publications broaden the implications of previous documents to human parental behavior, giving insight into the mechanisms underlying postpartum depression. Potential directions in future works were also discussed.

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A Scientometric Approach to Review the Role of the Medial Preoptic Area (MPOA) in Parental Behavior

10.20944/preprints202102.0612.v2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alessandro Carollo ◽

Jan Paolo Macapinlac Balagtas ◽

Michelle Jin-Yee Neoh ◽

Gianluca Esposito

Keyword(s):

Preoptic Area ◽

Parental Behavior ◽

Neural Substrates ◽

Medial Preoptic Area ◽

Brain Network ◽

Scientometric Analysis ◽

Parental Behaviour ◽

Scientific Papers ◽

The Relationship

Research investigating the neural substrates underpinning parental behaviour has recently gained momentum. Particularly, the hypothalamic medial preoptic area (MPOA) has been identified as a crucial region for parenting. The current study conducted a scientometric analysis of publications from 01 January 1972 to 19 January 2021 using CiteSpace software to determine trends in the scientific literature exploring the relationship between MPOA and parental behaviour. In total, 677 scientific papers were analysed, producing a network of 1509 nodes and 5498 links. Four major clusters were identified: "C-Fos Expression'', "Lactating Rat'', "Medial Preoptic Area Interaction'' and "Parental Behavior''. Their content suggests an initial trend in which the properties of the MPOA in response to parental behavior were studied, followed by a growing attention towards the presence of a brain network, including the reward circuits, regulating such behavior. Furthermore, while attention was initially directed uniquely to maternal behavior, it has recently been extended to the understanding of paternal behaviors as well. Finally, although the majority of the studies were conducted on rodents, recent publications broaden the implications of previous documents to human parental behavior, giving insight into the mechanisms underlying postpartum depression. Potential directions in future works were also discussed.

Download Full-text

A Scientometric Approach to Review the Role of the Medial Preoptic Area (MPOA) in Parental Behavior

10.20944/preprints202102.0612.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alessandro Carollo ◽

Jan Paolo Macapinlac Balagtas ◽

Michelle Jin-Yee Neoh ◽

Gianluca Esposito

Keyword(s):

Preoptic Area ◽

Parental Behavior ◽

Neural Substrates ◽

Medial Preoptic Area ◽

Brain Network ◽

Scientometric Analysis ◽

Parental Behaviour ◽

Scientific Papers ◽

The Relationship

Research investigating the neural substrates underpinning parental behaviour has recently gained momentum. Particularly, the hypothalamic medial preoptic area (MPOA) has been identified as a crucial region for parenting and other parent-related behaviour. The current study conducted a scientometric analysis of publications from 01 January 1972 to 19 January 2021 using CiteSpace software to determine trends in the scientific literature exploring the relationship between MPOA and parental behaviour. 677 scientific papers were analysed, producing a network of 1,509 nodes and 5,498 links. Four major clusters were identified: ``C-Fos Expression", ``Lactating Rat", ``Medial Preoptic Area Interaction" and ``Parental Behavior". Their content suggests an initial trend in which the properties of the MPOA in response to parental behavior were studied, followed by a growing attention towards the presence of a brain network, including the reward circuits, regulating such behavior. Furthermore, while attention was initially directed uniquely to maternal behavior, it has recently been extended to the understanding of paternal behaviors as well. Finally, although the majority of the studies were conducted on rodents, recent publications broaden the implications of previous documents to human parental behavior, giving insight into the mechanisms underlying postpartum depression. Potential directions in future works were also discussed.

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Male-predominant galanin mediates androgen-dependent aggressive chases in medaka

eLife ◽

10.7554/elife.59470 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Junpei Yamashita ◽

Akio Takeuchi ◽

Kohei Hosono ◽

Thomas Fleming ◽

Yoshitaka Nagahama ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Preoptic Area ◽

Parental Behavior ◽

Social Behaviors ◽

Neural Substrates ◽

Medial Preoptic Area ◽

Histological Studies ◽

Functional Differences ◽

Evolutionarily Conserved

Recent studies in mice demonstrate that a subset of neurons in the medial preoptic area (MPOA) that express galanin play crucial roles in regulating parental behavior in both sexes. However, little information is available on the function of galanin in social behaviors in other species. Here, we report that, in medaka, a subset of MPOA galanin neurons occurred nearly exclusively in males, resulting from testicular androgen stimulation. Galanin-deficient medaka showed a greatly reduced incidence of male–male aggressive chases. Furthermore, while treatment of female medaka with androgen induced male-typical aggressive acts, galanin deficiency in these females attenuated the effect of androgen on chases. Given their male-biased and androgen-dependent nature, the subset of MPOA galanin neurons most likely mediate androgen-dependent male–male chases. Histological studies further suggested that variability in the projection targets of the MPOA galanin neurons may account for the species-dependent functional differences in these evolutionarily conserved neural substrates.

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