Post-weaning social isolation in male mice leads to abnormal aggression and disrupted network organization in the prefrontal cortex: Contribution of parvalbumin interneurons with or without perineuronal nets.

Adverse social experiences during childhood increase the risk of developing aggression-related psychopathologies. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is a key regulator of social behavior, where experience-dependent network development is tied to the maturation of parvalbumin-positive (PV+) interneurons. Maltreatment in childhood could impact PFC development and lead to disturbances in social behavior during later life.

Involvement of 2-arachidonoylglycerol signaling in social challenge responding of male CD1 mice.

Rationale: Endocannabinoids are strong modulators of emotionality and present a novel target for psychotropic drug development. Increasing evidence suggests that endocannabinoids anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) affect behavior differentially. While the roles of anandamide have been investigated extensively, studies regarding the specific roles of 2-AG became possible only recently, and its involvement in social behaviors has not yet been studied.