Neural and Chemosensory Control of Behavior

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Reproductive behaviors are essential for the survival of all mammalian species. Testicular horomones are required for reproduction, and hormones activate mating in males by actions that increase the sexual responsiveness of males and females. The proposed research has to do with the neural pathways through which the olfactory systems and populations of hormones-sensitive neurons in the brain regulate reproductive behavior in the male rat. Immunocytochemical techniques will be used to identify horomone-sensitive neurons and neurons that are active during mating. Special attention ill be given to a brain region that includes the zona incerta and central tegmental field. Restoration of mating in castrate males by incerta/tegmental hormone implants can show the importance of the region for the hormonal regulation of mating. Studying the effect of small lesions to this region can help identify neuronal cell essential for copulation, and provide a foundation for tract-tracing designed to reveal the projecting systems through which horomones exert their effects on reproductive behavior. Because erection is the cardinal sign of arousal in males of all mammalian species, the studies should have relevance for understanding how male arousal and reproductive behavior are represented in the organization of the brain in rats and even more complexly evolved mammalian species.