| Title: | Reflexive testosterone release: a model system for studying the nongenomic effects of testosterone upon male behavior |
| Address: | "Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, 111 Research Drive, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA. jgn2@lehigh.edu" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.yfrne.2007.09.001 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1095-6808 (Electronic) 0091-3022 (Print) 0091-3022 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Male mammals of many species exhibit reflexive testosterone release in mating situations. In house mice (Mus musculus), the dramatic robustness of such release, occurring primarily in response to a novel female, suggests some function. The resulting testosterone elevations typically peak during copulatory behavior and may serve to activate transitory motivational and physiological responses that facilitate reproduction. However, such a function requires that testosterone be working through either nongenomic, or very quick genomic, mechanisms. The first part of the review describes reflexive sex hormone release in house mice. The second part summarizes research implicating testosterone's fast actions in affecting anxiety, reward, learning, analgesia, and penile reflexes in rodents, all of which could optimize male mating success. The review concludes with a speculative model of how spontaneous and reflexive hormone release might interact to regulate reproductive behavior and why mice appear to be an ideal species for examining testosterone's quick effects" |
| Keywords: | "Analgesia Animals Anti-Anxiety Agents/pharmacology Anxiety/drug therapy Aromatase/metabolism Copulation/drug effects Female Genome Luteinizing Hormone/blood Male Mice Models, Biological Rats Reflex/physiology Sex Attractants/urine Sexual Behavior, Animal/;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineNyby, John G eng R15 MH065956/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ R15 MH065956-01A1/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Review 2007/11/03 Front Neuroendocrinol. 2008 May; 29(2):199-210. doi: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2007.09.001. Epub 2007 Oct 1" |
