Response to Male Odours in Progestin Receptor‐ and Oestrogen Receptor‐Containing Cells in Female Rat Brain

Bennett, Amy L.; Greco, Béatrice; Blasberg, Meg E.; Blaustein, Jeffrey D.

doi:10.1046/j.1365-2826.2002.00806.x

Cited by 23 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…The increased Fos expression in BNST, MPOA, and MA in response to opposite-sex odors are in agreement with previous data from female mice (Halem et al, 1999), rats (Bennett et al, 2002; Hosokawa and Chiba, 2007), and build upon those previously reported in female hamsters (DelBarco-Trillo et al, 2009). Male odors can therefore induce Fos expression throughout this circuit in a fairly conserved manner across species.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Male odors can therefore induce Fos expression throughout this circuit in a fairly conserved manner across species. The results of the present study also are in good agreement with previous studies examining Fos expression in male hamsters (Been and Petrulis, 2011; Maras and Petrulis, 2010), and suggest that the same circuit processes sexual odors in both males and female hamsters as it does in rats (Bennett et al, 2002; Hurtazo and Paredes, 2005) and mice (Halem et al, 1999; Pankevich et al, 2003). …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Across many mammalian species, including sheep, mice, rats, and hamsters, expression of immediate early genes (IEGs; an indirect marker of recent neuronal activation (Pfaus and Heeb, 1997)) throughout the ventral forebrain is increased in females when exposed to male stimuli (Bennett et al, 2002; DelBarco-Trillo et al, 2009; Gelez and Fabre-Nys, 2006; Kang et al, 2009). Experiments utilizing stimulation and/or extracellular recordings in awake, behaving females provide additional evidence supporting a link between neural activity in these areas and both copulatory and solicitational responses (Hoshina et al, 1994; Kato and Sakuma, 2000; Rose, 1990).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Endogenous oxytocin is necessary for preferential Fos expression to male odors in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in female Syrian hamsters

Martínez¹,

Levy²,

Petrulis³

2013

Hormones and Behavior

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Successful reproduction in mammals depends on solicitational behaviors that enhance the probability of encountering potential mates. In female Syrian hamsters, one such behavior is vaginal scent marking. Recent evidence suggests that the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) may be critical for regulating this behavior. Blockade of OT receptors in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) or the medial preoptic area (MPOA) decreases vaginal marking responses to male odors; lesion data suggest that BNST, rather than MPOA, mediates this effect. However, how OT interacts with sexual odor processing to drive preferential solicitation is not known. To address this issue, intact female Syrian hamsters were exposed to male or female odors and their brains processed for immunohistochemistry for Fos, a marker of recent neuronal activation, and OT. Additional females were injected intracerebroventricularly (ICV) with an oxytocin receptor antagonist (OTA) or vehicle, and then tested for vaginal marking and Fos responses to sexual odors. Colocalization of OT and Fos in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus was unchanged following exposure to male odors, but decreased following exposure to female odors. Following injections of OTA, Fos expression to male odors was decreased in BNST, but not in MPOA or the medial amygdala (MA). Fos expression in BNST may be functionally relevant for vaginal marking, given that there was a positive correlation between Fos expression and vaginal marking for BNST, but not MPOA or MA. Together, these data suggest that OT facilitation of neuronal activity in BNST underlies the facilitative effects of OT on solicitational responses to male odors.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Endogenous oxytocin is necessary for preferential Fos expression to male odors in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in female Syrian hamsters

Martínez¹,

Levy²,

Petrulis³

2013

Hormones and Behavior

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“…Exposure to male odors increased the number of cells co-expressing Fos and estrogen receptor α in the female rat MeA [2]. In any case, regulation of the partner preference by estrogen would not be straightforward, because estrogen exerts different effects on aversive and appetitive 30 components in sexual interactions as exemplified by prior sexual experience in the induction of a male-directed orientation in the female rat [42].…”

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confidence: 99%

The Medial Amygdala Controls the Coital Access of Female Rats: A Possible Involvement of Emotional Responsiveness

Kondo

Sakuma

2005

JJP

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Partner preference and paced mating tests were accomplished in ovariectomized female rats 10 following bilateral radiofrequency lesions in the medial amygdala. Open field behavior and passive avoidance learning were also examined to investigate the underlying behavioral mechanism. Partner preference was determined in a chamber located between castrated and sexually active males. Airborne olfactory cues were presented to the female through small holes on the partition. The lesion diminished preference for the odor of sexually active males over that of castrated males, even after injection with 15 high-dose of estrogen. On the other hand, in a paced mating test, the lesioned females without estrogen treatment showed a significantly shorter latency for entering the male's compartment in a two-compartment apparatus, which allowed the females, but not the males, to cross the barrier through a narrow opening at the bottom. However, administration of estrogen and progesterone reduced the effect. The lesion had no effect on emotionality or exploratory behavior in an open field test, but impaired passive avoidance learning 20 capability. We suggest that a male poses an inherent threat to a female. The seemingly incompatible results of partner preference and paced mating tests can be compromised if the male is inherently aversive to the female; this emotional response can be removed by the medial amygdala lesion. [The Japanese Journal of Physiology 55(6), 2005, in press] Key words: female sexual behavior, partner preference, paced mating, medial amygdala, estrogen. 25In the wild rat, sexual interactions are initiated and paced by females in estrus through patterns of approach toward and withdrawal from sexually active males [15]. Although some components of female sexual behavior imply the appetitive aspect, the initiative by females, however, is obscured by male active pursuit when tested in ordinary laboratory situation such as in an aquarium. To solve this problem, several researchers are directing attention to paced mating situation, mimicking wild environment [14, 38]. In the 30 paced mating, female rats can stay a place inaccessible for males and visit a compartment for mating with stimulus males. The situation allows females to regulate their own copulatory pacing without disturbance by males. Pacing behavior, then, is thought to reflect their sexual motivation.Olfactory preference toward sexually active males is also affected by female sexual motivation. When presented odors of sexually active and inactive males, sexually motivated females spend longer time to 35 explore odors from sexually active males. This test also measures female sexual motivation without influence by stimulus male behavior [43].Since the body of our knowledge on neural circuits for female sexual behavior has been accumulated by studying lordosis, a reflexive component of female rat sexual behavior, some researchers start on reevaluation of the regulatory mechanisms of female sexual behavior by means of these test paradigms [16, 4...

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“…Fos IR induced by estrous odors is amplified in both sexes following testosterone treatment [33]. The scent of a male conspecific also increases Fos IR in the MeA, POA and VMN of hormone-primed female rats [34, 35] and ferrets [36]. Increasing the amount of sexual stimulation of male or female rats induces higher levels of Fos expression in nuclei associated with sexual behavior, with the highest count of Fos-positive cells observed following ejaculation [37, 38, 39, 40].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Masculinization induced by neonatal exposure to PGE2 or estradiol alters c-fos induction by estrous odors in adult rats

Nugent

Wright

Zup

et al. 2009

Physiology & Behavior

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Processing of relevant olfactory and pheromonal cues has long been known as an important process necessary for social and sexual behavior in rodents. Several nuclei that receive input from the vomeronasal projection pathway are involved in sexual behavior and show changes in immediate early gene expression after stimulation with a variety of sex-related stimuli. The nuclei in this pathway are sexually dimorphic due to the early patterning events induced by estradiol derived from testicular androgens, which developmentally defeminize and masculinize the brain and adult sexual behavior. Masculinization can be induced independently of estradiol via prostaglandin-E 2 .(PGE 2 ), and therefore assessed separately from defeminization. Here we examined the effects of brain defeminization and masculinization on neuronal response to sex-related odors using Fos, the protein product of the immediate early gene c-fos, as an indicator of activity. Female rat pups treated with a cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, to reduce PGE 2 , plus estradiol, estradiol alone, and PGE 2 alone were exposed to estrous female odor as adults and the resulting Fos expression was examined in the medial amygdala, preoptic area, and ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus. Defeminized and/or masculinized females all showed patterns of Fos activity similar to control males and significantly different from control females. These results suggest that early exposure to estradiol and PGE 2 do not affect olfaction in females, but switch the activity pattern of sex-related nuclei in females to resemble that of males following exposure to sexually-relevant cues.

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Response to Male Odours in Progestin Receptor‐ and Oestrogen Receptor‐Containing Cells in Female Rat Brain

Cited by 23 publications

References 40 publications

Endogenous oxytocin is necessary for preferential Fos expression to male odors in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in female Syrian hamsters

Endogenous oxytocin is necessary for preferential Fos expression to male odors in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in female Syrian hamsters

The Medial Amygdala Controls the Coital Access of Female Rats: A Possible Involvement of Emotional Responsiveness

Masculinization induced by neonatal exposure to PGE2 or estradiol alters c-fos induction by estrous odors in adult rats

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