Electrolytic lesions to the ventromedial hypothalamus abolish receptivity in female whiptail lizards, Cnemidophorus uniparens

Kendrick, Allison M.; Rand, Matthew S.; Crews, David

doi:10.1016/0006-8993(95)00191-r

Cited by 51 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Our observation that complete bilateral lesions of the VMH caused a significant reduction in female ferrets' acceptance of male neck grips coupled with increased display of aggressive behavior towards the stimulus male corroborates previous reports of reduced receptivity in a variety of vertebrate species including female whiptail lizard (Kendrick et al, 1995), rat (Clark et al, 1981;Mathews and Edwards, 1977;Pfaff and Sakuma, 1979), hamster (Malsbury et al, 1977), guinea pig (Goy and Phoenix, 1963), ewe (Clegg et al, 1958) and cat (Leedy and Hart, 1985) after the bilateral placement of VMH lesions. Partial lesions of the female ferret's VMH failed to disrupt the display of receptive behavior.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus lesions disrupt olfactory mate recognition and receptivity in female ferrets

Robarts

Baum

2007

Hormones and Behavior

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Previous research showed that ferrets of both sexes rely on the perception of conspecifics' body odors to identify and motivate approach towards opposite-sex mating partners, and exposure to male body odors stimulated Fos expression in an olfactory projection circuit of female, but not male, ferrets that terminates in the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH). We asked whether the female-typical preference of ferrets to approach male as opposed to female body odors in Y-maze tests would be disrupted by VMH lesions. Sexually experienced female ferrets were ovo-hysterectomized prior to receiving bilateral electrolytic lesions of the VMH, the preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus (POA/ AH) or a sham operation. Subsequently, while receiving estradiol benzoate, females that received either complete or partial bilateral lesions of the VMH approached volatile odors from an anesthetized male on significantly fewer trials than females given POA/AH lesions or a sham operation. Both groups of ferrets with VMH lesion damage reliably discriminated between volatile anal scents as well as urinary odors from the 2 sexes in home cage habituation/dishabituation tests, suggesting that their odor-based sex discrimination remained intact. Females with complete bilateral VMH lesions showed significantly lower acceptance of neck gripping from a stimulus male (receptivity) and more aggression towards the male than all other groups of female subjects. Estrogen-sensitive neurons in the VMH appear to play a central role in female-typical neural processing of odor inputs leading to a preference to seek out a male sex partner, in addition to facilitating females' sexual receptivity.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus lesions disrupt olfactory mate recognition and receptivity in female ferrets

Robarts

Baum

2007

Hormones and Behavior

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“…This region is also highly interconnected with the hypothalamus and amygdaloid nuclei (Bruce and Neary, 1995a,b), and appears to also be functionally similar to the mammalian VMH, as lesions decrease receptivity in female dessert grassland lizards (Cnemidophorus uniparens; Kendrick et al, 1995).…”

Section: Reptilesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Vertebrate mesolimbic reward system and social behavior network: A comparative synthesis

O’Connell

Hofmann

2011

J of Comparative Neurology

873

879

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All animals evaluate the salience of external stimuli and integrate them with internal physiological information into adaptive behavior. Natural and sexual selection impinge on these processes, yet our understanding of behavioral decision-making mechanisms and their evolution is still very limited. Insights from mammals indicate that two neural circuits are of crucial importance in this context: the social behavior network and the mesolimbic reward system. Here we review evidence from neurochemical, tract-tracing, developmental, and functional lesion/stimulation studies that delineates homology relationships for most of the nodes of these two circuits across the five major vertebrate lineages: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and teleost fish. We provide for the first time a comprehensive comparative analysis of the two neural circuits and conclude that they were already present in early vertebrates. We also propose that these circuits form a larger social decision-making (SDM) network that regulates adaptive behavior. Our synthesis thus provides an important foundation for understanding the evolution of the neural mechanisms underlying reward processing and behavioral regulation. J. Comp. Neurol. 519:3599-3639, 2011. INDEXING TERMS: social behavior; comparative neuroanatomy; amphibian; reptile; bird; teleost; reward system; social behavior network; limbic system; neural circuitsThroughout their lives, all animals constantly face situations that provide either challenges (e.g., aggression, predation) or opportunities (e.g., reproduction, foraging, habitat selection) (for a detailed review, see O'Connell and Hofmann, 2011). In all cases, environmental cues are processed by sensory systems into a meaningful biological signal while internal physiological cues (e.g., condition, maturity) and prior experience are integrated at the same time. This process usually results in behavioral actions that are adaptive, i.e., beneficial to the animal. To accomplish this, an animal's nervous system must evaluate the salience of a stimulus and elicit a context-appropriate behavioral response. Despite tremendous progress in understanding the ecology and evolution of social behavior (Lorenz, 1952;Tinbergen, 1963;Lehrman, 1965;von Frisch, 1967;Krebs and Davies, 1993;Stephens, 2008), it is less understood where in the brain these decisions (e.g., about mate choice or territory defense) are made and how these brain circuits have arisen over the course of vertebrate evolution.Recent research has begun to decipher the neural basis of social decision-making. In mammals in particular, the neural circuits that evaluate stimulus salience and/or regulate social behavior have been uncovered to some degree: the mesolimbic reward system and social behavior network (Fig. 1). It is becoming increasingly clear that the reward system (including but not limited to the midbrain dopaminergic system) is the neural circuit where the salience of an external stimulus is evaluated (Deco and Rolls, 2005;Wickens et al., 2007), as appetitive beh...

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“…The POA's role as a central integrative site for the regulation of male sexual behavior in mammals has been wellestablished [Hull et al, 2002] and can be inferred in male amphibians [Wada and Gorbman, 1977]. On the other hand, the ventromedial hypothalamus has long been known as the center for reproductive control in female mammals [Pfaff and Schwartz-Giblin, 1988], and based on studies in lizards [Wade and Crews, 1991;Kendrick et al, 1995], this might be generalized to ectotherms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex-Specific Modulation of Cell Proliferation by Socially Relevant Stimuli in the Adult Green Treefrog Brain <i>(Hyla cinerea)</i>

Almli

Wilczynski

2009

Brain Behav Evol

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Social experience plays an important role in regulating the neural, physiological and hormonal changes that accompany the expression of reproductive behavior in vertebrates. This suite of functions is sexually dimorphic, with different neural control areas preeminent in males and females. In anuran amphibians, social experience comes in the form of acoustic communication, which is central to their reproductive behavior. We sought to determine whether acoustic cues regulate cell proliferation in the brain of adult green treefrogs (Hyla cinerea). Our results show that both male and female treefrogs that heard a conspecific chorus during the breeding season exhibited increased brain cell proliferation compared to animals that heard random tones. Increased cell proliferation, as assessed by the number of 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine-immunoreactive (BrdU+) cells, were found near the ventricles of acoustically sensitive brain regions such as the preoptic area (POA) and the infundibular hypothalamus (IF). Sex differences emerged in the location of this socially modulated cell proliferation: increases occurred primarily in the male POA and the female IF. In addition, gonadal steroid hormones might have played a role in the social modulation of cell proliferation: by statistically control- ling for hormone level, we revealed that androgens might influence socially induced increases in BrdU+ cells in the male POA, but estrogen did not contribute to socially induced increases in the female IF. These results indicate that the reception of social cues increases cell proliferation in brain regions mediating sexual behavior and endocrine regulation, and moreover that social modulation of cell proliferation occurs in a sexually differentiated fashion.

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Electrolytic lesions to the ventromedial hypothalamus abolish receptivity in female whiptail lizards, Cnemidophorus uniparens

Cited by 51 publications

References 5 publications

Ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus lesions disrupt olfactory mate recognition and receptivity in female ferrets

Ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus lesions disrupt olfactory mate recognition and receptivity in female ferrets

The Vertebrate mesolimbic reward system and social behavior network: A comparative synthesis

Sex-Specific Modulation of Cell Proliferation by Socially Relevant Stimuli in the Adult Green Treefrog Brain <i>(Hyla cinerea)</i>

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