{
  "abstract": "Social learning is a fundamental adaptive strategy that critically shapes decision-making and feeding behaviors. Through the social transmission of food preference (STFP), animals acquire information about food safety via social interactions, forming a food-odor memory that overrides innate preferences and guides subsequent food preferences. However, the neural mechanisms through which social cues durably influence feeding preferences remain unclear. Here, we identify the lateral septum (LS) as a key node in STFP. We show that LS neuronal activity increases following social learning and reliably distinguishes between socially cued and uncued foods. Chemogenetic inhibition of the dorsal LS (dLS), but not the ventral LS (vLS), abolishes STFP-driven food preference, revealing subregional specificity within the LS. Furthermore, oxytocin receptor (OXTR) signaling within the dLS is required for STFP in mice, where it enhances neuronal excitability through PLC pathway activation. Together, our results reveal a subregion-specific circuit mechanism through which the dLS integrates social information with feeding motivation, and highlight oxytocinergic modulation as a key mediator of socially guided food preferences.\n\nSocial learning is a fundamental adaptive strategy that shapes decision-making and feeding behaviors in animals via the social transmission of food preference (STFP), but the mechanisms underlying this process remain unclear. This study shows that oxytocin signaling in the dorsal lateral septum is required for SFTP in mice.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Brain Disease Bioinformation, Research Center for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China",
    "Schools of Basic Medicine and Life Science, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Hanyu Fu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Zhiqiu Liu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jingwei Zhou"
    },
    {
      "name": "Luyao Zhang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Cai Liu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Dewei Tang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shuangshuang Zhang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Anan Li"
    },
    {
      "name": "Dejuan Wang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7vj6jkbbhs8c1.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pbio.3004044",
  "fulltext_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3004044",
  "id": "7vj6jkbbhs8c1",
  "issns": [
    "1545-7885",
    "1544-9173"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3004044",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3207|Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Biochemistry/Hormones/Peptide hormones/Oxytocin"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Biochemistry/Neurochemistry/Neurochemicals/Oxytocin"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Cell biology/Cellular types/Animal cells/Neurons"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Cell biology/Signal transduction/Cell signaling/Calcium signaling"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Cellular neuroscience/Neurons"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Neurochemistry/Neurochemicals/Oxytocin"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Nutrition/Diet/Food"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Organisms/Eukaryota/Animals/Vertebrates/Amniotes/Mammals/Rodents/Mice"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Physiology/Physiological processes/Eating"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Physiology/Physiological processes/Food consumption"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Behavior/Animal behavior/Animal sociality"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Zoology/Animal behavior/Animal sociality"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Zoology/Animals/Vertebrates/Amniotes/Mammals/Rodents/Mice"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Nutrition/Diet/Food"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Behavior/Animal behavior/Animal sociality"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221798219",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3004044&type=printable",
  "pmcid": "PMC13667815",
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7vj6jkbbhs8c1.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:23Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pbio.3004044",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3004044"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:35Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13667815",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13667815"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:cell biology",
      "subfield": "cell-biology"
    },
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    },
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:animal behavior",
      "subfield": "zoology-behaviour"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Oxytocin receptor signaling in the dorsal lateral septum is essential for social transmission of food preference in mice",
  "title_text": "Oxytocin receptor signaling in the dorsal lateral septum is essential for social transmission of food preference in mice",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:35Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7vj6jkbbhs8c1",
  "venue": "PLOS Biology",
  "versions": []
}