As an essential means of resolving conflicts, aggression is expressed by both sexes but often at a higher level in males than in females. Recent studies suggest that cells in the ventrolateral part of the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMHvl) that express estrogen receptor-α (Esr1) and progesterone receptor are essential for male but not female mouse aggression. In contrast, here we show that VMHvl^Esr1+ cells are indispensable for female aggression. This population was active when females attacked naturally. Inactivation of these cells reduced female aggression whereas their activation elicited attack. Additionally, we found that female VMHvl contains two anatomically distinguishable subdivisions that showed differential gene expression, projection and activation patterns after mating and fighting. These results support an essential role of the VMHvl in both male and female aggression and reveal the existence of two previously unappreciated subdivisions in the female VMHvl that are involved in distinct social behaviors.

中文翻译：

---

下丘脑腹内侧的 Esr1+ 细胞控制女性的攻击性。


作为解决冲突的重要手段，攻击性在两性中都会表现出来，但男性的攻击程度往往高于女性。最近的研究表明，表达雌激素受体-α (Esr1) 和孕激素受体的下丘脑腹内侧部分 (VMHvl) 的腹外侧细胞对于雄性而非雌性小鼠的攻击性至关重要。相比之下，我们在这里表明 VMHvl ^Esr1+细胞对于女性的攻击性是不可或缺的。当雌性自然攻击时，这个种群就很活跃。这些细胞的失活减少了雌性的攻击性，而它们的激活则引发了攻击。此外，我们发现雌性 VMHvl 包含两个解剖学上可区分的细分，在交配和战斗后显示出差异的基因表达、投射和激活模式。这些结果支持了 VMHvl 在男性和女性攻击行为中的重要作用，并揭示了女性 VMHvl 中存在两个以前未被认识到的细分，它们涉及不同的社会行为。