Neural circuit mechanisms underlying dominance traits and social competition

The survival of animals often hinges on their dominance status, established through repeated social competitions. The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) plays a pivotal role in regulating these competitions, yet the formation of intrinsic traits like grit and aggressiveness, crucial for competitive outcomes, remains poorly understood. In this study, we constructed a dmPFC circuit model based on experimental recordings to replicate the characteristic activities of dmPFC neurons during various behavioral patterns observed in the dominance tube test. Our findings reveal that the dmPFC circuit supports bistable behavior states—effortful and passive—depending on external conditions. This bistability is essential for understanding how animals adapt their behaviors in social competitions, thereby influencing the establishment of social hierarchies. Our results indicate that increased self-excitation in pyramidal neurons within the dmPFC enhances the robustness of effortful behaviors, akin to perseverance, but reduces flexibility in responding to rapid external changes. This suggests that dominance status benefits more from perseverance than from increased aggression. Additionally, our study shows that when rapid responses to external signals are necessary, the basal activity in dmPFC neurons can be reconfigured to enhance flexibility, albeit at higher energy costs. This research advances our understanding of the neural basis of social behavior and provides a framework for further exploration into how neural circuits contribute to complex behavioral traits, offering insights into the neural dynamics underlying social dominance. This research also opens avenues for investigating psychiatric and neurological disorders where these mechanisms may be disrupted.