scholarly journals Effects of the estrous cycle and ovarian hormones on cue-triggered motivation and intrinsic excitability of medium spiny neurons in the Nucleus Accumbens of female rats

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanaira Alonso-Caraballo ◽  
Carrie R. Ferrario
Keyword(s):  
Food Intake ◽  
Estrous Cycle ◽  
Ovarian Hormones ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Intrinsic Excitability ◽  
Sprague Dawley ◽  
Food Cues ◽  
Approach Behavior ◽  
Individual Susceptibility ◽  
Conditioned Approach

AbstractNaturally occurring alterations in estradiol influence food intake in females. However, how motivational responses to food cues are affected by the estrous cycle or ovarian hormones is unknown. In addition, while individual susceptibility to obesity is accompanied by enhanced incentive motivational responses to food cues and increased NAc intrinsic excitability in males, studies in females are absent. Here, we examined basal differences in intrinsic NAc excitability of obesity-prone vs. obesity-resistant females and determined how conditioned approach (a measure of cue-triggered motivation), food intake, and motivation for food vary with the cycle in naturally cycling female obesity-prone, obesity-resistant, and outbred Sprague-Dawley rats. Finally, we used ovariectomy followed by hormone treatment to determine the role of ovarian hormones in cue-triggered motivation in selectively-bred and outbred female rats. We found that intrinsic excitability of NAc MSNs and conditioned approach are enhanced in female obesity-prone vs. obesity-resistant rats. These effects were driven by greater MSN excitability and conditioned approach behavior during metestrus/diestrus vs. proestrus/estrus in obesity-prone but not obesity-resistant rats, despite similar regulation of food intake and food motivation by the cycle in these groups. Furthermore, estradiol and progesterone treatment reduced conditioned approach behavior in obesity-prone and outbred Sprague-Dawley females. To our knowledge, these data are the first to demonstrate cycle- and hormone-dependent effects on the motivational response to a food cue, and the only studies to date to determine how individual susceptibility to obesity influences NAc excitability, cue-triggered food-seeking, and differences in the regulation of these neurobehavioral responses by the cycle.

The anorectic effect of fenfluramine is influenced by sex and stage of the estrous cycle in rats

2005 ◽  
Vol 288 (6) ◽  
pp. R1486-R1491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa A. Eckel ◽  
Heidi M. Rivera ◽  
Deann P. D. Atchley
Keyword(s):  
Food Intake ◽  
Estrous Cycle ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Gonadal Hormone ◽  
Estrous Female ◽  
Male And Female Rats ◽  
Daily Food ◽  
Hormone Status ◽  
Anorectic Effect

The controls of food intake differ in male and female rats. Daily food intake is typically greater in male rats, relative to female rats, and a decrease in food intake, coincident with the estrous stage of the ovarian reproductive cycle, is well documented in female rats. This estrous-related decrease in food intake has been attributed to a transient increase in the female rat's sensitivity to satiety signals generated during feeding bouts. Here, we investigated whether sex or stage of the estrous cycle modulate the satiety signal generated by fenfluramine, a potent serotonin (5-HT) releasing agent. To examine this hypothesis, food intake was monitored in male, diestrous female, and estrous female rats after intraperitoneal injections of 0, 0.25, and 1.0 mg/kg d-fenfluramine. The lower dose of fenfluramine decreased food intake only in diestrous and estrous females, suggesting that the minimally effective anorectic dose of fenfluramine is lower in female rats, relative to male rats. Although the larger dose of fenfluramine decreased food intake in both sexes, the duration of anorexia was greater in diestrous and estrous female rats, relative to male rats. Moreover, the magnitude of the anorectic effect of the larger dose of fenfluramine was greatest in estrous rats, intermediate in diestrous rats, and least in male rats. Thus our findings indicate that the anorectic effect of fenfluramine is modulated by gonadal hormone status.

Sexual dimorphism in vasopressin-induced contraction of rat aorta

1991 ◽  
Vol 260 (2) ◽  
pp. H453-H458 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. N. Stallone ◽  
J. T. Crofton ◽  
L. Share
Keyword(s):  
Estrous Cycle ◽  
Vascular Reactivity ◽  
Rat Aorta ◽  
Isometric Tension ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Maximal Response ◽  
Sprague Dawley ◽  
Tension Development ◽  
Sprague Dawley Rats

Previously, we reported that, in the rat, pressor responsiveness to vasopressin (VP) is higher in males than in females during most phases of the estrous cycle. To explore the role of the vasculature in this phenomenon, we examined vascular reactivity to VP in thoracic aortas of male rats and female rats during each phase of the estrous cycle. Aortic rings were prepared from age-matched male and female Sprague-Dawley rats and mounted for isometric tension recording. Maximal response of female aortas to VP (4,246 +/- 163 mg/mg ring dry wt) was more than twice (P less than 0.001) that of male aortas (1,877 +/- 215 mg/mg ring wt). Sensitivity of female aortas to VP was substantially higher (P less than 0.001) than that of male aortas (EC50: 10.9 +/- 0.7 vs. 19.0 +/- 1.6 nM, respectively). Maximal rate of tension development (dT/dtmax) during contraction with VP was nearly twofold higher (P less than 0.01) in female aortas (536 +/- 23 mg/min) than in male aortas (300 +/- 19 mg/min). Maximal response, sensitivity, and dT/dtmax of female aortas did not vary significantly during the estrous cycle. Maximal response of female aortas to phenylephrine (PE; 1,251 +/- 93 mg/mg ring wt) was half that (P less than 0.001) of male aortas (2,546 +/- 194 mg/mg ring wt); sensitivity to PE did not differ significantly (EC50: 0.33 +/- 0.02 vs. 0.38 +/- 0.06 microM, respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

scholarly journals Influence of sex, estrous cycle, and estrogen on intracranial dural mast cells

Cephalalgia ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (12) ◽  
pp. 924-931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanner Boes ◽  
Dan Levy
Keyword(s):  
Mast Cells ◽  
Estrous Cycle ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Ovarian Hormones ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Ovariectomized Rats ◽  
Migraine Headaches ◽  
Male And Female Rats ◽  
Quantitative Analyses

Background: The frequency of migraine headaches is higher in women than in men and in susceptible women attacks are related to changes in ovarian hormone levels. Intracranial mast cells (MCs) are likely to have a role in migraine headache genesis, and changes in the dural MC population might influence headache susceptibility. The present study thus tested the hypothesis that sex and ovarian hormones influence the density and phenotypic makeup of dural MCs. Methods: Histochemistry combined with quantitative analyses was used to investigate sex differences, estrous cycle and ovarian hormones on dural MC density, phenotype and degranulation level in male and female rats. Results: Our data show that in female rats, dural MC density fluctuates during the estrous cycle and is overall higher than in males. In ovariectomized rats, estradiol, but not progesterone, promoted an increase in dural MC density. This effect was abolished by a splenectomy, suggesting estrogen-related recruitment of MCs from the spleen. Finally, our data suggest that the phenotypic make up of dural MCs, which represents the level of cellular maturity, is also governed by changes in estrogen levels. Conclusions: Given the potential role of dural MCs in triggering headache, our data suggest that estrogen-related modulation of dural MC density and phenotypic makeup could have a role in mediating the higher frequency and severity of headaches such as migraine, in women.

Comparison of long-term feeding pattern between male and female Fischer 344 rats: influence of estrous cycle

1996 ◽  
Vol 270 (2) ◽  
pp. R413-R419 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Laviano ◽  
M. M. Meguid ◽  
J. R. Gleason ◽  
Z. J. Yang ◽  
T. Renvyle
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Estrous Cycle ◽  
Meal Size ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Fischer 344 Rats ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Fischer 344 ◽  
Males And Females

We studied the effect of gender on food intake, meal number, and meal size in eight 10-wk-old female and seven age-matched male Fischer 344 rats for 44 consecutive days. Although food intake (g/100 g body wt) was similar in males and females (5.42 +/- 0.10 vs. 5.13 +/- 0.13 g food.day-1.100 g body wt-1, respectively; not significant), weight gain in males was approximately seven times greater than in female rats (1.49 +/- 0.07 vs. 0.21 +/- 0.03 g/day, respectively; P < 0.001). During this time, males had a relatively constant food intake. They increased their meal size but decreased their meal number. In female rats, food intake was relatively stable for the duration of the study, despite cyclically and reciprocally recurring changes in meal number and meal size, which are synchronized with the estrous cycle. Data confirm that net food intake is a dynamic process and suggest that, in the rat, the homeostasis of food intake in response to external as well as internal stimuli is maintained via the modulation of meal number and size.

Phosphorylation of STAT3 in hypothalamic nuclei is stimulated by lower doses of leptin than are needed to inhibit food intake

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth B.S. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Food Intake ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Progressive Increase ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Sprague Dawley ◽  
Hypothalamic Nuclei ◽  
Brown Adipose ◽  
Integrated Response

This experiment investigated which hypothalamic nuclei were activated by a dose of leptin that inhibited food intake. Food intake, energy expenditure, respiratory exchange ratio (RER) and intrascapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT) temperature were measured in male and female Sprague Dawley rats for 36 hours following an intraperitoneal injection of 0, 50, 200, 500 or 1000 mg leptin/kg with each rat tested with each dose of leptin in random order. In both males and females RER and 12 hour food intake and were inhibited only by 1000 mg leptin/kg, but there was no effect on energy expenditure or IBAT temperature. At the end of the experiment pSTAT3 immunoreactivity was measured one hour after injection of 0, 50, 500 or 1000 mg leptin/kg. In male rats the lowest dose of leptin produced a maximal activation of STAT3 in the Arc and nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS). There was no response in the dorsomedial hypothalamus but there was a progressive increase in VMH pSTAT3 with increasing doses of leptin. In female rats there was no significant change in Arc pSTAT3, NTS activation was maximal with 500 mg leptin/kg, but only the highest dose of leptin increased VMH pSTAT3. These results suggest that the VMH plays an important role in the energetic response to elevations of circulating leptin, but do not exclude the possibility that multiple nuclei provide the appropriate integrated response to hyperleptinemia.

Effects of the Estrous Cycle and Ovarian Hormones on Central Expression of Interleukin-1 Evoked by Stress in Female Rats

2014 ◽  
Vol 100 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 162-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keiko Arakawa ◽  
Hiroyuki Arakawa ◽  
Cara M. Hueston ◽  
Terrence Deak
Keyword(s):  
Estrous Cycle ◽  
Interleukin 1 ◽  
Ovarian Hormones ◽  
Female Rats
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