Social behaviors often consist of a motivational phase followed by action. Here we show that neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus ventrolateral area (VMHvl) of mice encode the temporal sequence of aggressive motivation to action. The VMHvl receives local inhibitory input (VMHvl shell) and long-range input from the medial preoptic area (MPO) with functional coupling to neurons with specific temporal profiles. Encoding models reveal that during aggression, VMHvl shell^vgat+ activity peaks at the start of an attack, whereas activity from the MPO–VMHvl^vgat+ input peaks at specific interaction endpoints. Activation of the MPO–VMHvl^vgat+ input promotes and prolongs a low motivation state, whereas activation of VMHvl shell^vgat+ results in action-related deficits, acutely terminating attack. Moreover, stimulation of MPO–VMHvl^vgat+ input is positively valenced and anxiolytic. Together, these data demonstrate how distinct inhibitory inputs to the hypothalamus can independently gate the motivational and action phases of aggression through a single locus of control.

社会行为通常包括动机阶段和随后的行动。在这里，我们发现小鼠下丘脑腹内侧区（VMHvl）的神经元编码攻击行为动机的时间序列。 VMHvl 接收局部抑制输入（VMHvl 壳）和来自内侧视前区 (MPO) 的远程输入，并与具有特定时间分布的神经元进行功能耦合。编码模型显示，在攻击期间，VMHvl shell ^vgat+活动在攻击开始时达到峰值，而来自 MPO–VMHvl ^vgat+输入的活动在特定交互端点处达到峰值。 MPO-VMHvl ^vgat+输入的激活会促进并延长低动机状态，而 VMHvl shell ^vgat+的激活会导致与动作相关的缺陷，从而急剧终止攻击。此外，MPO-VMHvl ^vgat+输入的刺激具有正价和抗焦虑作用。这些数据共同证明了下丘脑的不同抑制输入如何通过单个控制点独立地控制攻击的动机和行动阶段。