LAUSR.org creates dashboard-style pages of related content for over 1.5 million academic articles. Sign Up to like articles & get recommendations!

Role of aromatase in distinct brain nuclei of the social behaviour network in the expression of sexual behaviour in male Japanese quail

Photo by fotosushi from unsplash

In male Japanese quail, brain aromatase is crucial for the hormonal activation of sexual behaviour, but the sites producing neuro‐oestrogens that are critical for these behaviours have not been completely… Click to show full abstract

In male Japanese quail, brain aromatase is crucial for the hormonal activation of sexual behaviour, but the sites producing neuro‐oestrogens that are critical for these behaviours have not been completely identified. This study examined the function of aromatase expressed in several nuclei of the social behaviour network on a measure of sexual motivation known as the frequency of rhythmic cloacal sphincter movements (RCSM) and on copulatory behaviour. Sexually experienced castrated males chronically treated with testosterone were stereotaxically implanted with the aromatase inhibitor vorozole (VOR), or cholesterol as control, and tested for sexual behaviour. In experiment 1, males were implanted in the medial preoptic nucleus (POM) with VOR, a manipulation known to reduce the expression of copulatory behaviour. This experiment served as positive control, but also showed that VOR implanted in the dorsomedial or lateral portions of the POM similarly inhibits male copulatory behaviour compared to control implants. In experiments 2 to 4, males received stereotaxic implants of VOR in the periaqueductal gray (PAG), the nucleus taeniae of the amygdala (TnA) and the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMN), respectively. Sexual behaviour was affected only in individuals where VOR was implanted in the PAG: these males displayed significantly lower frequencies of cloacal contact movements, the last step of the copulatory sequence. Inhibition of aromatase in the TnA and VMN did not alter copulatory ability. Overall, RCSM frequency remained unaffected by VOR regardless of implantation site. Together, these results suggest that neuro‐oestrogens produced in the POM contribute the most to the control of male copulatory behaviour, while aromatase expressed in the PAG might also participate to premotor aspects of male copulatory behaviour.

Keywords: copulatory behaviour; vor; male japanese; aromatase; sexual behaviour; behaviour

Journal Title: Journal of Neuroendocrinology
Year Published: 2022

Link to full text (if available)


Share on Social Media:                               Sign Up to like & get
recommendations!

Related content

More Information              News              Social Media              Video              Recommended



                Click one of the above tabs to view related content.