Previous data have consistently demonstrated an inhibitory effect of androgens on stressinduced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) responses. Several brain regions may influence androgen-mediated inhibition of the HPA axis, including the medial preoptic area. To test the role of the medial preoptic nucleus (MPN) specifically, we examined in highand low-testosterone replaced gonadectomized rat...

acetylcholinesterase (ache) is a large glycoprotein that, aside from its known cholinolytic activity, co-exists with other transmitter systems and possesses other functions. in the present study, the effects of short-term rapid-eye-movement sleep deprivation (rem-sd) on ache activity in the anterior hypothalamic area have been investigated. using the flower-pot method, adult male albino rats we...

Chemosensory input is important for mating behavior in male hamsters. Chemosignals found in female hamster vaginal fluid activate regions of the brain that receive input from the vomeronasal /accessory olfactory system and are important for mating behavior. Mating or exposure to these chemosignals produces increased Fos protein expression in the amygdala, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, an...

Chemosensory input is important for mating behavior in male hamsters. Chemosignals found in female hamster vaginal fluid activate regions of the brain that receive input from the vomeronasal/accessory olfactory system and are important for mating behavior. Mating or exposure to these chemosignals produces increased Fos protein expression in the amygdala, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and...

Environmental and social factors have important effects on aggressive behaviors. We examined the effect of reproductive experience on aggression in a biparental species of mouse, Peromyscus californicus. Estrogens are important in mediating aggressive behavior so we also examined estrogen receptor expression and c-fos for insights into possible mechanisms of regulation. Parental males were sign...

By using a combined technique of immunocytochemistry and [3H]thymidine autoradiography, we have determined the "birth date" of opioid peptide-containing neurons in several hypothalamic nuclei and regions. These include proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons (represented by ACTH immunoreactivity) in the arcuate nucleus; dynorphin A neurons in the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei and the lateral...

Oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (VP) can profoundly affect animal physiology and behavior. Over the past 20 years, the genes that encode OT and VP, as well as their respective receptors, have been identified and intensively studied leading to a greater understanding of the hormones’ functions. The use of transgenic animals, including knockout mice, and viral vectors have opened new vistas of rese...