Rapid effects of estrogen have now been identified throughout the brain but the extent to which these actions may be different in males and females is unknown. Previous work has shown that estrogen rapidly phosphorylates Ser133 of cAMP responsive element binding protein (CREB) through a non-genomic mechanism. Using this indicator, we have examined here whether non-genomic estrogen actions occur...

It has long been known that at the level of the midbrain pontine junction there is a neural mechanism essential for micturition. Contraction of the urinary bladder in response to increased intravesicular pressure is abolished in the cat following a subcollicular, but not after an intercollicular decerebration.' Electrical stimulation of the brain stem at the level of the inferior colliculus evo...

One of the well-defined sexually dimorphic structures in the brain is the sexually dimorphic nucleus, a cluster of cells located in the preoptic area of the hypothalamus. The rodent sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area can be delineated histologically using conventional Nissl staining or immunohistochemically using calbindin D28K immunoreactivity. There is increasing use of the bindi...

Food deprivation, as well as treatment with metabolic inhibitors, suppress steroid hormone-induced estrous behavior in ovariectomized (OVX) Syrian hamsters. Previous work indicates that 48 h of food deprivation decreases the number of detectable estrogen receptor immunoreactive (ERIR) cells in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) and the area just lateral to it (VLH), increases the number of ERI...

Male rat copulatory ability decreases dramatically following castration. This may be due in part to the impairment of medial preoptic area (MPOA) dopamine (DA) release. Previous studies showed that extracellular DA levels in the MPOA of castrates were lower than in intact males, both during basal conditions and in the presence of a receptive female. However, tissue levels of DA in the MPOA were...

Abstract Background In the central nervous system of mammals, transporters localized on presynaptic nerve terminals regulate reuptake neurotransmitters. These are selective for a specific neurotransmitter such as dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE). Specifically in synapse, transporter (DAT) reuptakes DA (NET) NE. However previous research has found that avian species do not have gene DAT, th...

Cholinergic agonists were microinjected into either the lateral ventricle or the preoptic area of sexually experienced male rats. In Experiment 1 carbachol, injected into the lateral ventricles, delayed the initiation of sexual behavior. When injected into the preoptic area, carbachol again delayed the onset of copulation, but these delays were shorter than after ventricular injections. In addi...

Seasonal changes in the neuroendocrine actions of gonadal steroid hormones are triggered by fluctuations in daylength. The mechanisms responsible for photoperiodic influences upon the feedback and behavioral effects of testosterone in Siberian hamsters are poorly understood. We hypothesized that daylength regulates the expression of androgen receptor (AR) and/or steroid receptor coactivator-1 (...