Steroidal control of male hamster sexual behavior in Me and MPOA: effects of androgen dose and tamoxifen

Physiology & Behavior
R I Wood, S J Williams

Abstract

Steroids stimulate male sexual behavior through interconnected limbic nuclei, including the medial amygdala (Me) and medial preoptic area (MPOA). Although Me and MPOA each can transduce hormonal cues to induce sexual activity in castrated male hamsters, simultaneous stimulation of Me and MPOA fails to amplify mating. The present study extends our investigations of redundancy in the hormonal control of mating by testing the behavioral effects of (1) increasing steroid dose in a single brain region or (2) locally blocking steroid action with an estrogen antagonist. In Experiment 1, sexually experienced castrates received a single testosterone implant in Me, bilateral testosterone implants, or a single implant of a highly potent androgen, 7a-methyl-19-nortestosterone (MENT). These treatments stimulated mating behavior: 2 weeks after surgery, mounting was observed in > or =50% of the males in each group. In Experiment 2, castrated males received intracerebral implants of the estrogen antagonist tamoxifen in Me or MPOA, combined with systemic testosterone replacement. Tamoxifen in MPOA had minimal effects on the recovery of mating behavior. With tamoxifen in Me, mounts and intromissions were significantly reduced 18 days after surge...Continue Reading

References

Jan 1, 1986·Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·I T Landau
Jun 1, 1985·Archives of Sexual Behavior·R Blanchard
May 1, 1994·Physiology & Behavior·J Vega MatuszczykK Larsson
Feb 1, 1994·The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology·A LaMorteK Sundaram
Mar 1, 1994·Physiology & Behavior·J V Matuszczyk, K Larsson
Sep 18, 1995·The Journal of Comparative Neurology·N S CanterasL W Swanson

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Citations

Jul 2, 2003·Physiology & Behavior·Gloria G HuddlestonAndrew N Clancy
Jun 24, 2011·The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience·Baoyuan BiFlora M Vaccarino
Sep 10, 2002·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Eliot A Brenowitz, Karin Lent
May 11, 2007·Hormones and Behavior·Jin Ho ParkIrving Zucker
Feb 20, 2004·International Journal of Impotence Research·K C EvansR A Costabile
Mar 3, 2004·Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·Jennifer M SwannElizabeth K Govek

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