Medial preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus and sexual motivation

Paredes, Raúl G.

doi:10.1111/1467-9450.00337

Cited by 100 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 109 publications

(171 reference statements)

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“…In this study, we conclusively identify a neural substrate outside of the SCS where T acts to modulate song. Specifically, T in POM was sufficient to enhance the rate of song production but did not lead to the production of fully stereotyped vocalizations typical of birds systemically exposed to T. Thanks to the availability of extensive video recording, we also confirm in songbirds the role of T action in the preoptic area on male-typical copulatory behavior, previously described in other avian and in mammalian species (33,34,43).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

“…For instance, studies in rodents and in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) show that T actions in this brain region are sufficient for activating male-typical sexual motivation and performance (31)(32)(33)(34). Relevant to the current study, Riters and Ball (35), using bilateral electrolytic lesions of the medial preoptic nucleus (POM) of male European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), demonstrated that this nucleus is required for increases in song rate that occur in Significance Steroid hormones coordinate multiple behaviors into a functional response (reproduction, stress).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Differential effects of global versus local testosterone on singing behavior and its underlying neural substrate

Alward

Balthazart

Ball

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

119

144

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Steroid hormones regulate multiple but distinct aspects of social behaviors. Testosterone (T) has multiple effects on learned courtship song in that it regulates both the motivation to sing in a particular social context as well as the quality of song produced. The neural substrate(s) where T acts to regulate the motivation to sing as opposed to other aspects of song has not been definitively characterized. We show here that T implants in the medial preoptic nucleus (POM) of castrated male canaries (Serinus canaria) increase song rate but do not enhance acoustic features such as song stereotypy compared with birds receiving peripheral T that can act globally throughout the brain. Strikingly, T action in the POM increased song control nuclei volume, consistent with the hypothesis that singing activity induces neuroplasticity in the song control system independent of T acting in these nuclei. When presented with a female canary, POM-T birds copulated at a rate comparable to birds receiving systemic T but produced fewer calls and songs in her presence. Thus, POM is a key site where T acts to activate copulation and increase song rate, an appetitive sexual behavior in songbirds, but T action in other areas of the brain or periphery (e.g., HVC, dopaminergic cell groups, or the syrinx) is required to enhance the quality of song (i.e., stereotypy) as well as regulate context-specific vocalizations. These results have broad implications for research concerning how steroids act at multiple brain loci to regulate distinct sociosexual behaviors and the associated neuroplasticity.activity-driven plasticity | singing motivation | preoptic area S teroid hormones such as testosterone (T) can have multiple effects on physiology, morphology, and behavior (1-4). These pleiotropic effects of steroids allow coordinating suites of traits into an organized functional response (5, 6). In the case of the regulation of behavior, both motivational and performance aspects of behavior as well cognitive components are often activated by the same hormone (2, 7). The neural sites of steroid action coordinating these distinct aspects of an integrated behavioral response have not been well characterized. In this study, we investigated the site of hormone action in relation to the activation of different aspects of birdsong to illustrate how such an integrated regulation can occur.Birdsong is a species-typical, stereotypic set of usually long, learned, complex vocalizations produced in reproductive contexts (8). A discrete network of interconnected brain nuclei orchestrates song learning and production (from here on called the song control system or SCS) (3, 9-11). Areas such as HVC (acronym is proper name) and the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) regulate the production of song, whereas areas such as Area X and LMAN are involved in song learning. These forebrain nuclei can undergo remarkable plasticity in response to seasonally changing T (12, 13; see refs. 2 and 14 for review). There is also evidence that other factors such as singing ac...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential effects of global versus local testosterone on singing behavior and its underlying neural substrate

Alward

Balthazart

Ball

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

119

144

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“…In p3-V males, there was no increase in c-Fos expression associated with exposure to female urine in any forebrain nuclei whatsoever, but sexual experience did have an effect on the activation of the accessory olfactory system in Peg3-KO males, because significant activation of the AOB, MeAmgA, MeAmgPD, and BNSTp was seen in urine-exposed p3-SE males, although it was far smaller than in wt-SE males in the AOB, MeAmgA, and BNSTp. The absence of any MPOA c-Fos response to urine exposure in both mutant groups is of particular note, because it is a crucial site for the control of male sexual behavior (34,35) and is very active during copulation (36). In wt mice, the MPOA was strongly activated by female urine, but only in sexually experienced males, suggesting that simultaneous exposure to female odors and Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Genomic imprinting mediates sexual experience-dependent olfactory learning in male mice

Swaney

Curley

Champagne

et al. 2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Mammalian imprinted genes are generally thought to have evolved as a result of conflict between parents; however, recent knockout studies suggest that coadaptation between mother and offspring may have been a significant factor. We present evidence that the same imprinted gene that regulates mammalian maternal care and offspring development also regulates male sexual behavior and olfaction. We have shown that the behavior of male mice carrying a knockout of the imprinted gene Peg3 does not change with sexual experience and that the mice are consequently unable to improve their copulatory abilities or olfactory interest in female odor cues after mating experience. Forebrain activation, as indexed by female odor-induced c-Fos protein induction, fails to increase with sexual experience, providing a neural basis for the behavioral deficits that the male mice display. The behavioral and neural effects of the Peg3 knockout show that this imprinted gene has evolved to regulate multiple and varied aspects of reproduction, from male sexual behavior to female maternal care, and the development of offspring. Moreover, sexual experience-driven behavioral changes may represent an adaptive response that enables males to increase their reproductive potential over their lifespan, and the effects we have found suggest that the evolution of genomic imprinting has been influenced by coadaptation between males and females as well as between females and offspring.accessory olfactory system ͉ coadaptation ͉ mammalian brain ͉ reward ͉ sexual behavior T he expression of certain mammalian autosomal genes in a parent-of-origin fashion was first demonstrated in the 1980s and termed ''genomic imprinting'' (1); since then, close to 100 maternally and paternally expressed imprinted genes have been identified (2). Over the last 20 years, the essential roles that imprinted genes play in development, particularly that of the brain, have become clear (3, 4), suggesting that imprinted genes might have enabled the evolutionary expansion of the mammalian brain (5). Most imprinted genes are strongly expressed in the placenta (6) and are involved in regulating fetal development (7). These developmental roles, in particular those of Igf2, Igf2r, Igf2AS, and H19, have been cited as evidence to support the conflict theory for the evolution of genomic imprinting (8). This theory posits that imprinted genes evolved with placentation in mammals as a result of parental conflict over offspring investment. The fetus/placenta is a genetically half-paternal structure that provides the father with an opportunity to manipulate the mother's investment in his offspring to the possible detriment of her potential future offspring. Thus, paternally expressed genes are predicted to enhance offspring growth, whereas maternally expressed genes are predicted to resist this as a result of an evolutionary ''arms race'' over levels of investment in offspring. However, work by our group on the paternally expressed gene Peg3 has shown that as well as regulating pup development...

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“…Sexual behaviors can include courtship exhibited by males, such as vocalizations or visual displays, and copulatory behaviors that in some cases involve intromission of a penis by the male [43,87]. While the specific behaviors vary widely across species, testosterone (T) and/or its metabolites estradiol and dihydrotestosterone are vital to the expression of male sexual behaviors across many mammals, birds and reptiles [23,25,55,63,70,76,77,95,96].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Courtship and copulation in the adult male green anole: Effects of season, hormone and female contact on reproductive behavior and morphology

Neal

Wade

2007

Behavioural Brain Research

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Interactions among reproductive season, testosterone (T) and female presence were investigated on the structure and function of forebrain and neuromuscular systems controlling courtship and copulation in the green anole lizard. Under breeding (BS) or non-breeding (NBS) environmental conditions, male green anoles were implanted with either T or blank capsules and exposed to one of three female stimulus conditions: physical, visual or no female contact. T and at least visual exposure to females increased courtship displays (extension of a throat fan, or dewlap), and these effects were greater during the BS than NBS. T also facilitated copulation, and did so to a greater extent in the BS. The hormone increased soma size in the preoptic area (POA) and amygdala (AMY), and in the AMY the effects were greater in the BS than NBS. Cross-sectional areas of copulatory organs and associated muscle fibers were enhanced by T, and more so in the BS than NBS. However, no effects on morphology of dewlap motoneurons or muscles or copulatory motoneurons were detected. Thus, (1) changes in behavior and neural and/or muscular morphology are not always parallel and (2) differences in responsiveness to T exist across seasons and among tissues.

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Medial preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus and sexual motivation

Cited by 100 publications

References 109 publications

Differential effects of global versus local testosterone on singing behavior and its underlying neural substrate

Differential effects of global versus local testosterone on singing behavior and its underlying neural substrate

Genomic imprinting mediates sexual experience-dependent olfactory learning in male mice

Courtship and copulation in the adult male green anole: Effects of season, hormone and female contact on reproductive behavior and morphology

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