Estradiol increases the dendritic length of ventromedial hypothalamic neurons in female syrian hamsters

Meisel, Robert L.; Luttrell, Vickie R.

doi:10.1016/0361-9230(90)90269-6

Cited by 34 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A previous study in Syrian hamsters found that estradiol treatment increased dendrite length in the vlVMH, but not the dmVMH (Meisel and Luttrell, 1990). The apparent discrepancy with the present finding may be due to a species difference.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Estradiol and progesterone differentially regulate the dendritic arbor of neurons in the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus of the female rat (Rattus norvegicus)

Griffin

Flanagan‐Cato

2008

J of Comparative Neurology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH), with its major subdivisions, the dorsomedial and ventrolateral VMH (dmVMH and vlVMH, respectively), has been studied extensively for its role in female sexual behavior. This behavior is controlled by the vlVMH through the cellular actions of estradiol combined with progesterone. Although the effects of treatment with estradiol alone on neuronal morphology in the vlVMH have been examined, much less is known about the combined effects of estradiol and progesterone on neuronal structure. The present study employed Golgi impregnation to investigate the effects of estradiol treatment alone vs. estradiol combined with progesterone treatment on dendritic arbor of VMH neurons. The dendritic arbor of VMH neurons was somewhat different in the vlVMH vs. the dmVMH, with longer and more dendrites in the vlVMH. Estradiol treatment alone caused a marked reduction in the length of long primary dendrites in the vlVMH, but not in the dmVMH. The estradiol-induced retraction of long primary dendrites in the vlVMH was reversed within 4 hours of progesterone treatment. The differences in the dendritic arbors of dmVMH and vlVMH provide further support for the notion that these two regions have different patterns of neural connectivity. In addition, this study is the first to report opposing effects of estradiol alone vs. estradiol plus progesterone on the dendritic arbor of neurons in the vlVMH. These results suggest a structural mechanism for estradiol alone to have a modest effect on mating behavior while setting the stage for its ample expression. Keywords ovarian hormone; plasticity; VMH; dendrite length; Golgi impregnationThe ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH) has been implicated in several functions, but most especially female reproductive behavior (for review see Flanagan-Cato et al., 2001) and organismal energy homeostasis (Brobeck et al., 1943;Elias et al., 2000;Majdic et al., 2002;Powley, 1977;Sawchenko, 1998). These functions may be segregated within the major anatomic subdivisions of the VMH. The dorsomedial subdivision of the VMH (dmVMH) and ventrolateral subdivision of the VMH (vlVMH) are two cell-dense compartments of the VMH clearly discerned with various staining methods. In addition to * Correspondence to: Gerald D. Griffin, Neuroscience Graduate Group,University of Pennsylvania, 3720 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6241. E-mail: gdg@mail.med.upenn.edu. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript topography, these two subdivisions differ in their axonal projection targets and afferents (Canteras et al.,1994;Ter Horst and Luiten, 1987). The dmVMH has been implicated in energy homeostasis, based partially on its selective expression of leptin receptors (Hakansson, 1998;Mercer et al., 1998). In contrast, the vlVMH has been implicated in female sexual behavior, based in part on its population of neurons that express estradio...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Estradiol and progesterone differentially regulate the dendritic arbor of neurons in the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus of the female rat (Rattus norvegicus)

Griffin

Flanagan‐Cato

2008

J of Comparative Neurology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In the VMH, the final common pathway out of the hypothalamus of information relevant to lordosis behavior, estradiol increased spine density and dendritic branching (Frankfurt et al, 1990; Meisel and Luttrell, 1990; Calizo and Flanagan-Cato, 2000, 2002; Madeira et al, 2001; Gonzalez-Burgos et al, 2015). Interestingly, estradiol also reduced the length of long primary dendrites that extend laterally out of the VMH the potential site of afferents from the MPN that are inhibited by β-END (Sinchak et al, 2010).…”

Section: Steroid Activation Of Sexual Receptivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Neural Circuits Controlling Female Sexual Behavior

Micevych

Meisel

2017

Front. Syst. Neurosci.

Self Cite

119

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The hypothalamus is most often associated with innate behaviors such as is hunger, thirst and sex. While the expression of these behaviors important for survival of the individual or the species is nested within the hypothalamus, the desire (i.e., motivation) for them is centered within the mesolimbic reward circuitry. In this review, we will use female sexual behavior as a model to examine the interaction of these circuits. We will examine the evidence for a hypothalamic circuit that regulates consummatory aspects of reproductive behavior, i.e., lordosis behavior, a measure of sexual receptivity that involves estradiol membrane-initiated signaling in the arcuate nucleus (ARH), activating β-endorphin projections to the medial preoptic nucleus (MPN), which in turn modulate ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH) activity—the common output from the hypothalamus. Estradiol modulates not only a series of neuropeptides, transmitters and receptors but induces dendritic spines that are for estrogenic induction of lordosis behavior. Simultaneously, in the nucleus accumbens of the mesolimbic system, the mating experience produces long term changes in dopamine signaling and structure. Sexual experience sensitizes the response of nucleus accumbens neurons to dopamine signaling through the induction of a long lasting early immediate gene. While estrogen alone increases spines in the ARH, sexual experience increases dendritic spine density in the nucleus accumbens. These two circuits appear to converge onto the medial preoptic area where there is a reciprocal influence of motivational circuits on consummatory behavior and vice versa. While it has not been formally demonstrated in the human, such circuitry is generally highly conserved and thus, understanding the anatomy, neurochemistry and physiology can provide useful insight into the motivation for sexual behavior and other innate behaviors in humans.

show abstract

“…One possible caveat to this conjecture is the possibility that limbic system function in the female subjects of the present study may have been altered by their chronic ovariectomy. 37 The study of changes in CMA c-fos expression associated with aggressive and sexual priming in gonadally intact females and males would be an important extension of the present work.…”

Section: Aggression and Sexmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attack priming in female Syrian golden hamsters is associated with a c-fos-coupled process within the corticomedial amygdala

et al. 1996

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract-Allowing a resident hamster a single "priming" attack on a conspecific induces a transient aggressive arousal as indicated by a reduction in the latency and increase in the probability of attack on a second intruder presented within the next 30 min. We present two lines of evidence identifying the corticomedial amygdala as an important locus mediating this effect. (I) Attack priming significantly increases the number of neurons expressing immunocytochemically identified Fos protein in the corticomedial amygdala, but not elsewhere. Pursuit and biting of an inanimate object does not induce corticomedial amygdala c-fos expression of the same pattern or magnitude. The corticomedial amygdala contribution to the priming effect involves more than a non-specific arousal, since corticomedial amygdala c-fos expression does not correlate with locomotor activity, a standard indicator of such arousal. (2) Radiofrequency lesions of the corticomedial amygdala reduce aggression, the greatest reduction occurring with the more anterior lesions. Other behaviors, including a priming-like locomotor practice effect in a running wheel, are unaffected by corticomedial amygdala lesions. These findings suggest that attack priming is an aggression-specific effect resulting from a Fos-coupled change within neural circuitry of which the corticomedial amygdala is a part.From a theoretical point of view, these experiments suggest a new approach to the analysis of the mechanisms underlying aggressive behavior and the persistence of aggressive arousal. We present a sketch of a quantitative neurobehavioral model which relates attack probability to neural activation within the corticomedial amygdala. From a methodological viewpoint, these experiments extend the utility of mapping c-Ios expression as a technique for localizing endogenous, behavior-specific processes within the central nervous system. Copyright © 1996 !BRO. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. appeared. To investigate the neural bases of such persisting aggressive arousal, we first developed a laboratory model of this phenomenon within the standard resident/intruder paradigm used in the study of rodent aggression. "Attack priming" a resident hamster by allowing it a single attack on a conspecific intruder introduced into its home cage reduces the latency and increases the probability of attack on a second, "probe" intruder. 47 ,52,53 This priming effect appears relatively specific in terms of both the responses it triggers and its effective stimuli.On the response side, we have found that other behaviors such as wheel running and eating (in female hamsters) and copulation (in male hamsters) are unaffected by priming 53 (Potegal, Hebert and Meyerhoff, unpublished observations). Experiment I of the present report examines the specificity of the stimulus by comparing the effects following attack priming to those following the detection, pursuit and biting of an inanimate object. Other experiments have eliminated a number of alternatives to the 869

show abstract

Estradiol increases the dendritic length of ventromedial hypothalamic neurons in female syrian hamsters

Cited by 34 publications

References 11 publications

Estradiol and progesterone differentially regulate the dendritic arbor of neurons in the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus of the female rat (Rattus norvegicus)

Estradiol and progesterone differentially regulate the dendritic arbor of neurons in the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus of the female rat (Rattus norvegicus)

Integrating Neural Circuits Controlling Female Sexual Behavior

Attack priming in female Syrian golden hamsters is associated with a c-fos-coupled process within the corticomedial amygdala

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About