Strange Females Increase Plasma Testosterone Levels in Male Mice

Macrides, Foteos; Bartke, Andrzej; Dalterio, S.

doi:10.1126/science.1162363

Cited by 173 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus 567 pulcher, non-reproducing males living in a school have high testosterone levels, which might 568 enable them to rapidly switch to breeding condition once they become territorial breeders 569 (Bender et al, 2008). In striped mice, testis size and sperm production may be increased by 570 social and environmental factors, for example the presence of reproductively active females 571 (Amstislavskaya and Popova, 2004;Macrides et al, 1975), high food availability and the 572 absence of a dominant male (Schradin et al, 2009b …”

Section: Reproductive Suppression But No Trade-off Between Investmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential investment into testes and sperm production in alternative male reproductive tactics of the African striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio)

Schradin¹,

Eder²,

Müller³

2012

Hormones and Behavior

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Males that follow alternative reproductive tactics might differ in their investment into testis development and sperm production. The resource-allocation hypothesis predicts that males following a sneaker tactic should invest more into sperm production than dominant territorial males which should invest more into mate guarding. This hypothesis is supported by studies in species where individual males cannot switch between tactics (fixed tactics). Here we present the first data for a species where males can switch between tactics (plastic tactics). We studied African striped mice (Rhabdomys pumilio) in captivity, mimicking three tactics observed in the field: philopatric group-living males, singly-housed males representing roaming males, and group-living breeding males. We measured quantitative and qualitative reproductive traits, as well as serum and testis hormone concentrations. We found no support for the resource-allocation hypothesis, since breeding and singly-housed males invested similarly in testes and sperm. However, philopatric males had significantly smaller testes and epididymides, lower sperm counts, lower testosterone and higher corticosterone levels than males of the two other tactics. Philopatric males did not reach a larger body mass than singly-housed males with well developed reproductive traits, indicating that they did not trade investment in sperm production against growth. Interestingly, testis testosterone concentrations of philopatric males did not differ from those of other males. Our data suggest that philopatric males are reproductively suppressed by the breeding male, but might be ready to increase their serum testosterone levels when social and environmental conditions allow for this physiological switch accompanying the behavioral switch between tactics.

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Section: Reproductive Suppression But No Trade-off Between Investmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential investment into testes and sperm production in alternative male reproductive tactics of the African striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio)

Schradin¹,

Eder²,

Müller³

2012

Hormones and Behavior

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For instance, plasma testosterone levels may be acutely altered in males by the presentation of a female and/or copulation (mice: [32,150]; rat: [128,200]; Rabbit: [107,111,220]; Hamster : [129]; marmoset : [292]; macaques: [53]; Birds: [281]). The fastest effects reported occurred within 5-15 min (in rat: [200]; in mouse: [32]; in rabbit: [220]).…”

Section: Gonadal Production Of Steroidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some studies based on repeated exposures to female odors or repeated mating suggested that mating per se was necessary [255], while other experiments indicated that the smell or sight of an estrus female or a pre-copulatory interaction with an estrus female were sufficient to increase plasma hormone levels [32,62,151,200,220,292]. It has also been suggested that these effects may be purely social, and not sexual, given that a similar increase of hormone concentrations could be evoked by exposure to a non-receptive female [97,125,129,150]. Interestingly, in male rats, LH and testosterone secretion can be conditioned so that after learning they are rapidly induced by a neutral stimulus previously associated with mating [100] or by the arena where males were previously mated [128].…”

Section: Gonadal Production Of Steroidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional significance of the rapid regulation of brain estrogen action: Where do the estrogens come from?

2006

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Estrogens exert a wide variety of actions on reproductive and non-reproductive functions. These effects are mediated by slow and long lasting genomic as well as rapid and transient non-genomic mechanisms. Besides the host of studies demonstrating the role of genomic actions at the physiological and behavioral level, mounting evidence highlights the functional significance of non-genomic effects. However, the source of the rapid changes in estrogen availability that are necessary to sustain their fast actions is rarely questioned. For example, the rise of plasma estrogens at pro-estrus that represents one of the fastest documented changes in plasma estrogen concentration appears too slow to explain these actions. Alternatively, estrogen can be synthesized in the brain by the enzyme aromatase providing a source of locally high concentrations of the steroid. Furthermore, recent studies demonstrate that brain aromatase can be rapidly modulated by afferent inputs, including glutamatergic afferents. A role for rapid changes in estrogen production in the central nervous system is supported by experiments showing that acute aromatase inhibition affects nociception as well as male sexual behavior and that preoptic aromatase activity is rapidly (within min) modulated following mating. Such mechanisms thus fulfill the gap existing between the fast actions of estrogen and their mode of production and open new avenues for the understanding of estrogenic effects on the brain.

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“…These responses are generally absent in sexually sated animals (Bronson & Desjardins 1982;Bonilla-Jaime et al 2006) and after comparable exposure to conspecific males (Macrides et al 1975;Pfeiffer & Johnston 1992;Amstislavskaya & Popova 2004), suggesting functional sensitivity to mating-relevant stimuli. Lesion studies have further demonstrated that both behavioural (for reviews, see Meisel & Sachs 1994;Paredes & Baum 1997) and hormonal (Kamel & Frankel 1978) responses to potential mates appear to be regulated by structures within a limbic -hypothalamic circuit, such as the medial amygdala and medial preoptic area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Androgen receptor gene sequence and basal cortisol concentrations predict men's hormonal responses to potential mates

2009

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Exposure to potential mates triggers rapid elevations of testosterone and glucocorticoid concentrations in males of many non-human species, and preliminary studies support similar effects in human males. The human studies have all reported large individual differences in these responses, however, and the present study tested whether specific biological variables may help explain these differences. Replicating past research, the present study found that men's salivary testosterone and cortisol concentrations increased after a brief conversation with a young woman, but did not change (or slightly decreased) after a conversation with a young man. In addition, smaller numbers of CAG repeats in men's androgen receptor gene, and lower baseline cortisol concentrations, each predicted larger testosterone responses to the interactions with women. The CAG repeat finding demonstrates that a specific genetic polymorphism predicts physiological responses to social interactions that may in turn have important downstream consequences on men's mating behaviour. The effects of cortisol are consistent with past demonstrations of glucocorticoid inhibition of testosterone production and show that such inhibition also affects testosterone responses to social stimuli. In sum, the present study both confirms men's hormonal reactions to potential mates and identifies novel biological variables that predict individual differences in these responses.

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Strange Females Increase Plasma Testosterone Levels in Male Mice

Cited by 173 publications

References 31 publications

Differential investment into testes and sperm production in alternative male reproductive tactics of the African striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio)

Differential investment into testes and sperm production in alternative male reproductive tactics of the African striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio)

Functional significance of the rapid regulation of brain estrogen action: Where do the estrogens come from?

Androgen receptor gene sequence and basal cortisol concentrations predict men's hormonal responses to potential mates

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