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Peer-reviewedCC BYPLOS Biology

Oxytocin receptor signaling in the dorsal lateral septum is essential for social transmission of food preference in mice

  • Hanyu Fu1
  • Zhiqiu Liu2
  • Jingwei Zhou
  • Luyao Zhang
  • Cai Liu
  • Dewei Tang
  • Shuangshuang Zhang
  • Anan Li
  • Dejuan Wang
  1. 1Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Brain Disease Bioinformation, Research Center for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
  2. 2Schools of Basic Medicine and Life Science, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
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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.

Social 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.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{fu2026oxytocin,
  title = {{Oxytocin receptor signaling in the dorsal lateral septum is essential for social transmission of food preference in mice}},
  author = {Hanyu Fu and Zhiqiu Liu and Jingwei Zhou and Luyao Zhang and Cai Liu and Dewei Tang and Shuangshuang Zhang and Anan Li and Dejuan Wang},
  journal = {PLOS Biology},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1371/journal.pbio.3004044},
  url = {https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3004044},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Oxytocin receptor signaling in the dorsal lateral septum is essential for social transmission of food preference in mice
AU  - Hanyu Fu
AU  - Zhiqiu Liu
AU  - Jingwei Zhou
AU  - Luyao Zhang
AU  - Cai Liu
AU  - Dewei Tang
AU  - Shuangshuang Zhang
AU  - Anan Li
AU  - Dejuan Wang
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/01
JO  - PLOS Biology
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pbio.3004044
UR  - https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3004044
AB  - 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.  Social 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.
SN  - 1545-7885
SN  - 1544-9173
ER  -