Short communicationAndrogen receptor distribution in the social decision-making network of eusocial naked mole-rats

- Naked mole-rats are eusocial rodents, living in large social groups with strict hierarchies.
- Subordinate naked mole-rats have more androgen receptor protein in the social decision-making network than breeders.
- Naked mole-rats exhibit some unique features in neural androgen receptor distribution.
- Social status controls androgen receptor protein in the brain of eusocial rodents.

Naked mole-rats are highly social rodents that live in large groups and exhibit a strict reproductive and social hierarchy. Only a few animals in each colony breed; the remainder are non-reproductive and are socially subordinate to breeders. We have examined androgen receptor immunoreactive (AR+) cells in brain regions comprising the recently described social decision-making network in subordinate and breeder naked mole-rats of both sexes. We find that subordinates have a significantly higher percentage of AR+ cells in all brain regions expressing this protein. By contrast, there were no significant effects of sex and no sex-by-status interactions on the percentage of AR+ cells. Taken together with previous findings, the present data complete a systematic assessment of the distribution of AR protein in the social decision-making network of the eusocial mammalian brain and demonstrate a significant role for social status in the regulation of this protein throughout many nodes of this network.