Different functionality of the medial and orbital prefrontal cortex during a sexually motivated task in rats

Hernández‐González, Miguel; Prieto-Beracoechea, C.A.; Arteaga-Silva, Marcela; Guevara, Miguel Ángel

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2006.10.006

Cited by 28 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Accordingly, it is well known that dopamine exerts facilitatory effects on the anticipatory and the consummatory phases of sexual behavior in laboratory animals and also in humans not only in the nucleus accumbens (Everitt, 1990; Pfaus et al, 1990; Hull et al, 1991; Pfaus and Everitt, 1995; Melis and Argiolas, 2011), but also in other brain areas, such as the medial preoptic area, the hypothalamus and its nuclei (i.e., paraventricular nucleus (PVN); Pfaus and Phillips, 1991; Argiolas and Melis, 1995, 2005, 2013; Hull et al, 1995, 1999; Melis and Argiolas, 1995; Melis et al, 2003; Succu et al, 2007; Pfaus, 2010). Another area that contains dopamine and may play a role in sexual behavior is the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC; Fernández-Guasti et al, 1994; Agmo and Villalpando, 1995; Agmo et al, 1995; Hernández-Gonzáles et al, 1998, 2007; Kakeyama et al, 2003; Balfour et al, 2006; Afonso et al, 2007; Davis et al, 2010; Febo, 2011). In fact, in this brain area are found the nerve endings of the mesocortical dopamine neurons, with their cell bodies localized in the ventral tegmental area as mesolimbic dopamine neurons.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As for the nucleus accumbens, the exact role of this brain area in sexual behavior is far from being clear. Indeed, lesions of the mPFC are usually found unable to alter sexual behavior of male rats with a sexually receptive female (Fernández-Guasti et al, 1994; Agmo and Villalpando, 1995; Agmo et al, 1995; Hernández-Gonzáles et al, 1998, 2007; Kakeyama et al, 2003; Balfour et al, 2006; Afonso et al, 2007), nor the expression of conditioned place preference for sexual reward (Davis et al, 2010). However mPFC lesions, which did not alter the appearance of conditioned place preference for sexual reward, abolished in the same animals the ability to form conditioned aversion toward sexual activity when paired with aversive stimuli (Davis et al, 2010) and selective cell firing during approaching behaviors of a male rat toward an inaccessible sexually receptive female have been measured in the mPFC of male rats (Febo, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Dopamine, Noradrenaline and Differences in Sexual Behavior between Roman High and Low Avoidance Male Rats: A Microdialysis Study in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex

Sanna

Bratzu

Piludu

et al. 2017

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Roman High- (RHA) and Low-Avoidance (RLA) outbred rats, which differ for a respectively rapid vs. poor acquisition of the active avoidance response in the shuttle-box, display differences in sexual activity when put in the presence of a sexually receptive female rat. Indeed RHA rats show higher levels of sexual motivation and copulatory performance than RLA rats, which persist also after repeated sexual activity. These differences have been correlated to a higher tone of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system of RHA rats vs. RLA rats, revealed by the higher increase of dopamine found in the dialysate obtained from the nucleus accumbens of RHA than RLA rats during sexual activity. This work shows that extracellular dopamine and noradrenaline (NA) also, increase in the dialysate from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of male RHA and RLA rats put in the presence of an inaccessible female rat and more markedly during direct sexual interaction. Such increases in dopamine (and its main metabolite 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, DOPAC) and NA were found in both sexually naïve and experienced animals, but they were higher: (i) in RHA than in RLA rats; and (ii) in sexually experienced RHA and RLA rats than in their naïve counterparts. Finally, the differences in dopamine and NA in the mPFC occurred concomitantly to those in sexual activity, as RHA rats displayed higher levels of sexual motivation and copulatory performance than RLA rats in both the sexually naïve and experienced conditions. These results suggest that a higher dopaminergic tone also occurs in the mPFC, together with an increased noradrenergic tone, which may be involved in the different copulatory patterns found in RHA and RLA rats, as suggested for the mesolimbic dopaminergic system.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dopamine, Noradrenaline and Differences in Sexual Behavior between Roman High and Low Avoidance Male Rats: A Microdialysis Study in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex

Sanna

Bratzu

Piludu

et al. 2017

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A predominance of low frequencies (6 -12 Hz) has been related to spatial orientation, voluntary movements and motivated tasks, as well as to motiveemotional conditions during alert immobility in rats [55]. Similarly, a higher proportion and inter-prefrontal correlation at these low frequencies have been reported in sexually-motivated male rats placed near an inaccessible receptive female rat [36]. The fact that during the P-E phase a higher correlation between the prefrontal cortices was obtained in association with the cries of adult male rats does not indicate a higher degree of participation in the processing of this stimuli, but simply reflects a characteristic coupling in the functionality of the prefrontal areas in relation to the aroused condition that exists when the female rat perceives remote stimuli from an adult male rat.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…For example, studies have shown that PFC neurons show different responses to conditioned sensory stimuli (auditory or visual) associated, or not, with a reward [32,33], and that in response to the presentation of emotionally-relevant maternal nursing calls, the mPFC of Octodon degus pups manifest an enhanced metabolic activation [34], similar to that of human mothers when they hear an infant's cries [35]. Also, a characteristic electroencephalographic (EEG) pattern of the PFC has been demonstrated when male rats are exposed to the stimuli emitted by a receptive female rat [36]. With respect to the Acc, certain microdialysis studies have indicated that extracellular DA in the Acc increases when male rats are exposed to inaccessible receptive females [37,38].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prefrontal and Accumbal Electric Activity during Auditory Stimulation in Virgin Female Rats: Changes Related to the Estrous Cycle

Hernández‐González¹,

Abascal²,

Guevara³

et al. 2013

JBBS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The estrous cycle is a physiological process modulated by hormonal changes associated, in turn, with alterations of the attraction or sensitivity with which females perceive different sensory stimuli. Auditory stimuli play an important role in the social interaction of several mammals, including their sexual behavior and the mother-young relationship. Since the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and nucleus accumbens (Acc) had been associated with the processing and assignation of the incentive value of stimuli, this study was designed to analyze whether electroencephalographic (EEG) activity in the PFC and Acc was modified during the two antagonist phases of the estrous cycle (proestrus-estrus and diestrus) when female rats heard sound recordings with different types of cries emitted by other rats. EEGs were recorded in eight female virgin Wistar rats, 80 -100 days old, bilaterally implanted in the PFC and Acc during an awake-quiet state, in three conditions: when hearing 1) cries of pups; 2) cries of adult male rats; and, 3) cries of adult female rats. The cries were recorded from pups (2 -10 days old) and male and female adult rats after gentle prodding by a human hand. Each auditory stimulus (which included vocalizations up to 22 kHz) was randomly played back through a speaker placed near the female rats. Only upon perceiving the cries of male rats did the females in the proestrus-estrous phase show a lower relative power in the 14 -30 Hz band in the Acc and an increased inter-prefrontal correlation in the 8 -13 Hz band. It is probable that these EEG changes are associated with the lower activation or non-anxious state that the female rat presents specifically during the proestrus-estrous phase in response to the alarm cries of adult male rats.

show abstract

“…This effect on penile erection (the main index of sexual arousal) has been attributed to alcohol's action on the prefrontal cortex (PFC), since this structure is particularly vulnerable to acute or chronic alcohol consumption [11,12], and plays a pivotal role in the inhibition of sexual impulses [13][14][15], the processing of sexual motivation/aroused states [16][17][18][19], and cognitive processing [20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alcohol Suppresses the Electroencephalographic Response to Visual Erotic Stimuli in Young Men

Hernández‐González¹,

Sanz-Martín²,

Guevara³

et al. 2012

JBBS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although the combination of alcohol and sex is frequently observed in human social interaction, many questions concerning alcohol's effects on the processing of sexual stimuli and brain functionality remain unanswered. Erotic films eliciting sexual arousal in humans and affect electroencephalographic (EEG) activity. This study examines the effects of alcohol on cortical EEG activity in young men while viewing an erotic film. Heterosexual males participated in an independent alcohol/placebo group protocol. Thirty-five minutes after beverage ingestion, EEGs were recorded at prefrontal, temporal and parietal derivations in three conditions: baseline, and while watching erotic and neutral films. During the observation of erotic films, only the participants who drank the placebo beverage showed a decrease in alpha1 and an increase in the fast frequencies of the prefrontal regions, as well as a decrease in inter-prefrontal synchronization in the alpha and beta bands. Alcohol suppressed the prefrontal EEG changes associated with watching erotic visual stimuli without affect the sexual arousal. EEG data show that alcohol affecting the functioning of the prefrontal cortex, which could interfere with the adequate processing of visual erotic stimuli. These findings may contribute to improving our understanding of the brain mechanisms that underlie alcohol's effects on the processing of sexual stimuli.

show abstract

Different functionality of the medial and orbital prefrontal cortex during a sexually motivated task in rats

Cited by 28 publications

References 44 publications

Dopamine, Noradrenaline and Differences in Sexual Behavior between Roman High and Low Avoidance Male Rats: A Microdialysis Study in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex

Dopamine, Noradrenaline and Differences in Sexual Behavior between Roman High and Low Avoidance Male Rats: A Microdialysis Study in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex

Prefrontal and Accumbal Electric Activity during Auditory Stimulation in Virgin Female Rats: Changes Related to the Estrous Cycle

Alcohol Suppresses the Electroencephalographic Response to Visual Erotic Stimuli in Young Men

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About