Sexual reinforcement is blocked by infusion of naloxone into the medial preoptic area.

Ågmo, Anders; Gómez, Mónica

doi:10.1037/0735-7044.107.5.812

Cited by 107 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Å gmo and Gomez (1993) found that naloxone's disruption of the development of post-ejaculatory CPP occurred following infusions into the mPOA whereas infusions of naloxone into this brain region did not disrupt the expression of a copulatory CPP (Hughes et al, 1990). In females, pacing-related CPP was blocked by systemic injections of naloxone (Paredes & Martinez, 2001), or following infusions of naloxone to the mPOA, VMH, or medialamygdala,butnotthe NAc(GarciaHorsman, Å gmo, & Paredes, 2008).…”

Section: Black Wallmentioning

confidence: 95%

Who, What, Where, When (and Maybe Even Why)? How the Experience of Sexual Reward Connects Sexual Desire, Preference, and Performance

et al. 2012

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Although sexual behavior is controlled by hormonal and neurochemical actions in the brain, sexual experience induces a degree of plasticity that allows animals to form instrumental and Pavlovian associations that predict sexual outcomes, thereby directing the strength of sexual responding. This review describes how experience with sexual reward strengthens the development of sexual behavior and induces sexually-conditioned place and partner preferences in rats. In both male and female rats, early sexual experience with partners scented with a neutral or even noxious odor induces a preference for scented partners in subsequent choice tests. Those preferences can also be induced by injections of morphine or oxytocin paired with a male rat's first exposure to scented females, indicating that pharmacological activation of opioid or oxytocin receptors can "stand in" for the sexual reward-related neurochemical processes normally activated by sexual stimulation. Conversely, conditioned place or partner preferences can be blocked by the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone. A somatosensory cue (a rodent jacket) paired with sexual reward comes to elicit sexual arousal in male rats, such that paired rats with the jacket off show dramatic copulatory deficits. We propose that endogenous opioid activation forms the basis of sexual reward, which also sensitizes hypothalamic and mesolimbic dopamine systems in the presence of cues that predict sexual reward. Those systems act to focus attention on, and activate goal-directed behavior toward, reward-related stimuli. Thus, a critical period exists during an individual's early sexual experience that creates a "love map" or Gestalt of features, movements, feelings, and interpersonal interactions associated with sexual reward.

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Section: Black Wallmentioning

confidence: 95%

Who, What, Where, When (and Maybe Even Why)? How the Experience of Sexual Reward Connects Sexual Desire, Preference, and Performance

et al. 2012

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“…Behavioral studies indicate that male rodent sexual behaviorFand in particular ejaculationFis a rewarding and reinforcing behavior. Male rats readily develop a conditioned place preference to copulation (Agmo and Berenfeld, 1990;Agmo and Gomez, 1993;Meisel et al, 1996;Paredes and Alonso, 1997;Lopez et al, 1999;Martinez and Paredes, 2001), and will perform operant tasks to gain access to a sexually receptive female .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual Behavior and Sex-Associated Environmental Cues Activate the Mesolimbic System in Male Rats

Balfour

Coolen

2003

Neuropsychopharmacol

165

125

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The mesolimbic system plays an important role in the regulation of both pathological behaviors such as drug addiction and normal motivated behaviors such as sexual behavior. The present study investigated the mechanism by which this system is endogenously activated during sexual behavior. Specifically, the effects of sexual experience and sex-related environmental cues on the activation of several components of the mesolimbic system were studied. The mesolimbic system consists of a dopaminergic projection from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Previous studies suggest that these neurons are under tonic inhibition by local GABA interneurons, which are in turn modulated by mu opioid receptor (MOR) ligands. To test the hypothesis that opioids are acting in the VTA during sexual behavior, visualization of MOR internalization in VTA was used as a marker for ligand-induced activation of the receptor. Significant increases in MOR internalization were observed following copulation or exposure to sex-related environmental cues. The next goal was to determine if sexual behavior activates dopamine neurons in the VTA, using tyrosine hydroxylase as a marker for dopaminergic neurons and Fos-immunoreactivity as a marker for neuronal activation. Significant increases in the percentage of activated dopaminergic neurons were observed following copulation or exposure to sex-related environmental cues. In addition, mating and sex-related cues activated a large population of nondopaminergic neurons in VTA as well as neurons in both the NAc Core and Shell. Taken together, our results provide functional neuroanatomical evidence that the mesolimbic system is activated by both sexual behavior and exposure to sex-related environmental cues.

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“…The CPP paradigm used in this study was based on paradigms described in previous reports (Agmo & Berenfeld, 1990;Agmo & Gomez, 1993;Pfaus, Kippin, & Centeno, 2001). The same males used for sex behavior testing described above were used for the analysis of matinginduced CPP.…”

Section: Conditioned Place Preference (Cpp) Paradigmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Treatment with a serotonin-depleting regimen of MDMA prevents conditioned place preference to sex in male rats.

Straiko¹,

Gudelsky²,

Coolen³

2007

Behavioral Neuroscience

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Among young adults, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "ecstasy") is a popular drug of abuse, and anecdotal evidence indicates that repeated use of MDMA may result in impairments in sexual function and decreased sex drive in human users. There has been little investigation of the effects of MDMA on sexual function in rodents. In the present study, the authors determined that in male rats (Rattus novegicus) tested in a sexually naïve or a sexually experienced state, administration of a serotonin (5-HT)-depleting regimen of MDMA did not produce a change in mount, intromission, and ejaculation latency or in mount and intromission frequency compared with such latency and frequency in vehicle-treated control rats. In contrast to vehicle-treated rats, MDMA-treated rats did not form a conditioned place preference (CPP) to sex. Failure of MDMA-treated rats to form CPP to sex may be due to MDMA-induced impairments in circuits mediating sexual reward.

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Sexual reinforcement is blocked by infusion of naloxone into the medial preoptic area.

Cited by 107 publications

References 51 publications

Who, What, Where, When (and Maybe Even Why)? How the Experience of Sexual Reward Connects Sexual Desire, Preference, and Performance

Who, What, Where, When (and Maybe Even Why)? How the Experience of Sexual Reward Connects Sexual Desire, Preference, and Performance

Sexual Behavior and Sex-Associated Environmental Cues Activate the Mesolimbic System in Male Rats

Treatment with a serotonin-depleting regimen of MDMA prevents conditioned place preference to sex in male rats.

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