Figure 5.

VMHvl activity during male and female interactions reveals opposing response patterns. (A) Average activity during a male interaction increases during investigation and attack, while average activity increases slightly during investigation of a female and is suppressed during subsequent sexual behaviors. (B) Response profile across VMHvl neurons during social interactions suggests that neurons that increase activity during male interactions may be suppressed during female interactions but not vice versa. (C–D) Summary of VMHvl neurons participating in separable phases of social interactions. (E) Schematic illustrating that neurons may increase in activity during the sensory acquisition phase of social behavior to both sexes, while the action phase of the social interaction results in opposing activation patterns in populations with less overlap. (B–C adapted from Lin et al., 2011 with permissions).