The posteroventral part of the medial amygdala nucleus glutamatergic neurons encodes conspecifics' individual identity in rodents.

Abstract

The medial amygdala (MeA) processes social olfactory cues, but its precise neural mechanisms remain unclear. We identified the posteroventral MeA (MeApv) as critical for individual conspecific odor discrimination in mice. Exposure to conspecifics or their odors markedly elevates calcium signals and c-Fos expression in MeApv VGluT2-positive neurons. Optogenetic silencing of these neurons or activating Gad2-positive neurons disrupts odor-driven social behaviors, including identity recognition, odor discrimination, and sex discrimination. Social information is directly relayed from the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) to the MeApv, and acute AOB-MeApv pathway disruption impairs social discrimination. A distinct MeApv VGluT2-positive neuron population encodes individual-specific cues, as revealed by microendoscopic calcium imaging at a single-cell resolution. Selective silencing of these neurons induces deficits in odor-guided social interactions with related conspecifics, confirming the MeApv as a central hub for social information encoding. These findings establish the MeApv's dual necessity and sufficiency in translating olfactory signals into social behavioral responses.