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Pharmacol Biochem Behav

Title:		Cholinergic control of male mating behavior in hamsters: effects of central oxotremorine treatment
Author(s):		Floody OR; Katin MJ; Harrington LX; Schassburger RL;
Address:		"Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA 17837, United States. ofloody@bucknell.edu"
Journal Title:		Pharmacol Biochem Behav
Year:		2011
Volume:		20110910
Issue:		2
Page Number:		299 - 310
DOI:		10.1016/j.pbb.2011.08.030
ISSN/ISBN:		1873-5177 (Electronic) 0091-3057 (Linking)
Abstract:		"The responses of rats to intracranial injections of cholinergic drugs implicate acetylcholine in the control of male mating behavior and suggest specific brain areas as mediators of these effects. In particular, past work has linked the medial preoptic area (MPOA) to the control of intromission frequency but implicated areas near the lateral ventricles in effects on the initiation and spacing of intromissions. Studies of responses to systemic cholinergic treatments suggest that acetylcholine is even more important for the control of mating behavior in male hamsters but provide no information on the relevant brain areas. To fill this gap, we observed the effects of central injections of the cholinergic agonist oxotremorine that approached the MPOA along contrasting paths. Both studies suggest that increased cholinergic activity in or near the MPOA can facilitate behavior by reducing the postejaculatory interval and possibly affecting other parts of the mechanisms controlling the initiation of copulation and the efficiency of performance early in an encounter. In addition, oxotremorine caused other changes in behavior that could not be tied to the MPOA and may reflect actions at more dorsal sites, possibly including the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and medial septum. These effects were notably heterogeneous, including facilitatory and disruptive effects on male behavior along with a facilitation of lordosis responses to manual stimulation. These results emphasize the number and diversity of elements of sexual behavior in hamsters that are under the partial control of forebrain cholinergic mechanisms"
Keywords:		"Animals Male Muscarinic Agonists/*pharmacology Oxotremorine/*administration & dosage/pharmacology *Sexual Behavior, Animal;"
Notes:		"MedlineFloody, Owen R Katin, Michael J Harrington, Lia X Schassburger, Rachel L eng 2011/09/20 Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2011 Dec; 100(2):299-310. doi: 10.1016/j.pbb.2011.08.030. Epub 2011 Sep 10"