Female rat sexual behavior is unaffected by perinatal fluoxetine exposure

AbstractSerotonin plays an important role in adult female sexual behavior, however little is known about the influence of serotonin during early development on sexual functioning in adulthood. During early development, serotonin acts as neurotrophic factor, while it functions as a modulatory neurotransmitter in adulthood. The occurrence of serotonin release, could thus have different effects on behavioral outcomes, depending on the developmental period in which serotonin is released. Because serotonin is involved in the development of the HPG axis which is required for puberty establishment, serotonin could also alter expression patterns of for instance the estrogen receptor α (ERα).The aim of our study was to investigate the effects of increased serotonin levels during early development on adult female rat sexual behavior during the full behavioral estrus in a seminatural environment. To do so, rats were perinatally exposed with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluoxetine (10 mg/kg FLX) and sexual performance was tested during adulthood. All facets of female sexual behavior between the first and last lordosis (behavioral estrus), and within each copulation bout of the behavioral estrus were analyzed. Besides the length and onset of the behavioral estrus and the sexual behaviors patterns, other social and conflict behavior were also investigated. In addition, we studied the effects of perinatal FLX exposure on ERα expression patterns in the medial preoptic nucleus, ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus, medial amygdala, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and the dorsal raphé nucleus.The results showed that perinatal fluoxetine exposure has no effect on adult female sexual behavior. The behavioral estrus of FLX-females had the same length and pattern as CTR-females. In addition, FLX- and CTR-females showed the same amount of paracopulatory behavior and lordosis, both during the full behavioral estrus and the “most active bout”. Furthermore, no differences were found in the display of social and conflict behaviors, nor in ERα expression patterns in the brain. We conclude that increases in serotonin levels during early development do not have long-term consequences for female sexual behavior in adulthood.

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Neonatal decortication and adult female sexual behavior

Physiology & Behavior ◽

10.1016/0031-9384(82)90254-2 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 763-766 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

C SUECARTER ◽

D WITT ◽

B KOLB ◽

I WHISHAW

Keyword(s):

Sexual Behavior ◽

Adult Female ◽

Female Sexual Behavior

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Progesterone-dependent sexual behavior and protein patterns in the ventromedial hypothalamus of the adult female rat

Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience ◽

10.1016/1044-7431(91)90016-h ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 2 (6) ◽

pp. 491-500

Author(s):

Michelle E. Montemayor ◽

Carol S. Giometti ◽

John Taylor ◽

Edward J. Roy

Keyword(s):

Sexual Behavior ◽

Adult Female ◽

Ventromedial Hypothalamus ◽

Female Rat ◽

Protein Patterns

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Possible inhibitory role of the dorsal inputs to the preoptic area and hypothalamus in regulating female sexual behavior in the female rat

Brain Research ◽

10.1016/0006-8993(77)90544-3 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 127 (2) ◽

pp. 296-301 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Korehito Yamanouchi ◽

Yasumasa Arai

Keyword(s):

Sexual Behavior ◽

Preoptic Area ◽

Female Rat ◽

Female Sexual Behavior ◽

Inhibitory Role

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A Sexually Dimorphic Area of the Dorsal Hypothalamus in Mice and Common Marmosets

Endocrinology ◽

10.1210/en.2016-1428 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 157 (12) ◽

pp. 4817-4828 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Yadanar Moe ◽

Chaw Kyi-Tha-Thu ◽

Tomoko Tanaka ◽

Hiroto Ito ◽

Satowa Yahashi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sexual Behavior ◽

Sexual Behaviors ◽

Maternal Behavior ◽

Neuronal Cell ◽

Sexually Dimorphic ◽

Common Marmosets ◽

Female Sexual Behavior ◽

Bed Nucleus ◽

Female Mice ◽

Activity Marker

We found a novel sexually dimorphic area (SDA) in the dorsal hypothalamus (DH) of mice. The SDA-DH was sandwiched between 2 known male-biased sexually dimorphic nuclei, the principal nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and the calbindin-sexually dimorphic nucleus, and exhibited a female-biased sex difference in neuronal cell density. The density of neurons in the SDA-DH was increased in male mice by orchidectomy on the day of birth and decreased in female mice by treatment with testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, or estradiol within 5 days after birth. These findings indicate that the SDA-DH is defeminized under the influence of testicular testosterone, which acts via both directly by binding to the androgen receptor, and indirectly by binding to the estrogen receptor after aromatization. We measured the activity of SDA-DH neurons with c-Fos, a neuronal activity marker, in female mice during maternal and sexual behaviors. The number of c-Fos-expressing neurons in the SDA-DH of female mice was negatively correlated with maternal behavior performance. However, the number of c-Fos-expressing neurons did not change during female sexual behavior. These findings suggest that the SDA-DH contains a neuronal cell population, the activity of which decreases in females exhibiting higher performance of maternal behavior, but it may contribute less to female sexual behavior. Additionally, we examined the brain of common marmosets and found an area that appears to be homologous with the mouse SDA-DH. The sexually dimorphic structure identified in this study is not specific to mice and may be found in other species.

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Theophylline, potentiation of testosterone propionate or estradiol benzoate in inducing male but not female sexual behavior in the female rat

Hormones and Behavior ◽

10.1016/0018-506x(77)90084-8 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 170-177 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Lynwood G. Clemens ◽

Larry W. Christensen

Keyword(s):

Sexual Behavior ◽

Testosterone Propionate ◽

Estradiol Benzoate ◽

Female Rat ◽

Female Sexual Behavior

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Status epilepticus during early development disrupts sexual behavior in adult female rats: Recovery with sexual experience

Epilepsy & Behavior ◽

10.1016/j.yebeh.2014.02.028 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 34 ◽

pp. 15-19 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Genaro Alfonso Coria-Avila ◽

Pedro Paredes-Ramos ◽

Ricardo Galán ◽

Deissy Herrera-Covarrubias ◽

Maria-Leonor López-Meraz

Keyword(s):

Sexual Behavior ◽

Status Epilepticus ◽

Early Development ◽

Adult Female ◽

Sexual Experience ◽

Female Rats

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Selective Oxytocin Receptor Activation in the Ventrolateral Portion of the Ventromedial Hypothalamus Is Required for Mating-Induced Pseudopregnancy in the Female Rat

Endocrinology ◽

10.1210/en.2007-1040 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 149 (2) ◽

pp. 836-842 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Lesley E. Northrop ◽

Mary S. Erskine

Keyword(s):

Sexual Behavior ◽

Cerebral Spinal Fluid ◽

Receptor Activation ◽

Ventromedial Hypothalamus ◽

Oxytocin Receptor ◽

Spinal Fluid ◽

Female Rats ◽

Female Rat ◽

Female Sexual Behavior ◽

Cervical Stimulation

The ventrolateral region of the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMHvl) plays an essential role in female sexual behavior. Oxytocin (OT) is released from the paraventricular nucleus to downstream sites such as the VMHvl to facilitate female sexual behavior and shows characteristics of a prolactin (PRL)-releasing factor. During mating, vaginal cervical stimulation (VCS) received from a vasectomized male triggers twice-daily PRL surges that persist up to 12+ d, a period known as pseudopregnancy (PSP). To determine whether OT is involved in PSP by acting within the VMHvl, female rats were infused bilaterally with an oxytocin receptor antagonist (OTR-A), a vasopressin receptor-1a antagonist (V1a-A), or artificial cerebral spinal fluid 30 min before mating. All females received a sufficient amount of VCS, 15 intromissions, to induce PSP. Females infused with OTR-A (20 ng/0.4 μl) with implants targeting the VMHvl showed only a 22% induction of PSP, as measured using vaginal diestrus and serum PRL concentrations. In contrast, controls and V1a-A (80 ng/0.4 μl) infused females exhibited 100% induction of PSP. Females infused with OTR-A returned to estrus after 5 d, whereas females infused with either artificial cerebral spinal fluid or V1a-A remained in diestrus for 12–13 d in both the correct and missed placement groups. Although OT can act as a PRL releasing factor, the PRL surge does not begin until 18–24 h after mating. Together, our results suggest that OT release in the VMHvl mediates the effects of VCS on the induction of the PRL secretion needed to establish PSP.

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Oxytocin, Erectile Function and Sexual Behavior: Last Discoveries and Possible Advances

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms221910376 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (19) ◽

pp. 10376

Author(s):

Maria Rosaria Melis ◽

Antonio Argiolas

Keyword(s):

Sexual Behavior ◽

Sexual Behaviors ◽

Erectile Function ◽

Complex Function ◽

Laboratory Animals ◽

Men And Women ◽

Male And Female ◽

Female Sexual Behavior ◽

Sexual Behavior In Animals

A continuously increasing amount of research shows that oxytocin is involved in numerous central functions. Among the functions in which oxytocin is thought to be involved are those that play a role in social and sexual behaviors, and the involvement of central oxytocin in erectile function and sexual behavior was indeed one of the first to be discovered in laboratory animals in the 1980s. The first part of this review summarizes the results of studies done in laboratory animals that support a facilitatory role of oxytocin in male and female sexual behavior and reveal mechanisms through which this ancient neuropeptide participates in concert with other neurotransmitters and neuropeptides in this complex function, which is fundamental for the species reproduction. The second part summarizes the results of studies done mainly with intranasal oxytocin in men and women with the aim to translate the results found in laboratory animals to humans. Unexpectedly, the results of these studies do not appear to confirm the facilitatory role of oxytocin found in male and female sexual behavior in animals, both in men and women. Possible explanations for the failure of oxytocin to improve sexual behavior in men and women and strategies to attempt to overcome this impasse are considered.

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The Effects of Chronic Administration of Testosterone Propionate with or without Estradiol on the Sexual Behavior and Plasma Steroid Levels of Aged Female Rats

Endocrinology ◽

10.1210/en.2012-1578 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 153 (12) ◽

pp. 5928-5939 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Sherri Lee Jones ◽

Nafissa Ismail ◽

Leonora King ◽

James G. Pfaus

Keyword(s):

Sexual Behavior ◽

Sexual Behaviors ◽

Sexual Desire ◽

Chronic Treatment ◽

Testosterone Propionate ◽

Chronic Administration ◽

Estradiol Benzoate ◽

Female Rats ◽

Second Phase ◽

Female Rat

Abstract Low sexual desire concomitant with feelings of distress is reported in naturally and surgically menopausal women. A combination of estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T) restores sexual desire and interest in these women. The central mechanisms by which E2 and T act to restore desire are poorly understood. Here we examined the effect of chronic treatment with testosterone propionate (TP) administered by a sc SILASTIC brand capsule in aged ovary-intact female rats. Females were first treated with TP alone, followed by a second phase when TP was administered in combination with estradiol benzoate (EB; 10 μg) by sc injection 48 h prior to testing (EB+TP). Each phase consisted of 5 test days at 4-d intervals. Appetitive and consummatory female sexual behaviors were observed in bilevel chambers, and plasma E2 and T concentrations were measured with ELISA. Sexual solicitations and hops and darts were facilitated by the highest TP dose, and the lordosis quotient was increased by the two highest TP doses when administered alone, coinciding with an increase in plasma T, but those behavioral effects were not maintained across time. The lordosis quotient was inversely related to the TP dose in the EB+TP phase. These results suggest that the administration of TP by sc capsules to aged female rats facilitates appetitive and consummatory sexual behaviors; however, chronic treatment appears to be inhibitory. This is the first study to assess sexual behavior after SILASTIC brand implants of TP in the aged female rat. Additional research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the effects of T on female sexual function.

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