Neuroanatomy and Neurochemistry of Sexual Behavior

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The objective of this research is to identify the brain systems that excite or inhibit sexual behavior. Our previous grant began to identify excitatory neurochemical systems in the hypothalamus (medial preoptic area, mPOA and ventromedial hypothalamus, VMH) and limbic system (Nucleus accumbens, NAc and ventral tegmental area, VTA) that activate measures of sexual desire in female rats. Those systems include dopamine (DA) and melanocortins (MCs). We also found that clitoral stimulation in females activates a sexual desire state, which may involve the activation of those neurochemical systems. The proposed research will extend this work to investigate the exact role played by DA, MCs, and opioids in controlling appetitive sexual behaviors. We will also examine the role of cortical structures, e.g., medial prefrontal cortex, in sexual inhibition in both female and male rats. This research will combine pharmacology and molecular techniques to examine how these pathways interact, and whether inhibition actively diminishes the ability for excitation to occur. Finally, we will examine how steroid hormones like estradiol set the stage for sexual excitation (and possibly inhibition as well) by activating components of those neurochemical systems. These studies are designed to take our research program to the next level by examining the activation of specific neurochemical systems associated with sexual excitation under different hormonal and experiential conditions, and to begin to examine mechanisms of sexual inhibition and how those mechanisms dampen the activation of excitatory systems.