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Behavioural neuroscience

The feminine touch dampens aggression

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 15, pages 2–3 (2014)Cite this article

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When the authors monitored the duration and frequency of fighting episodes between pairs of naïve males (those that had not been previously exposed to females), they found that these males showed increased levels of aggressive behaviour towards each other when they were in the presence of virgin females. However, if the males had been previously housed with virgin females for 24 hours (experienced males), the sex-related male–male aggression was largely inhibited. This suppression lasted for 2 days and only affected sex-related aggression as there were no notable differences in the aggression levels between naïve and experienced pairs in the absence of females.

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References

  1. Yuan, Q. et al. Female contact modulates male aggression via a sexually dimorphic GABAergic circuit in Drosophila. Nature Neurosci. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nn.3581 (2013)

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Authors
  1. Monica Hoyos Flight
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Flight, M. The feminine touch dampens aggression. Nat Rev Neurosci 15, 2–3 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3651

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3651

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