Neuropharmacology

Biography

Biography: Eelke Snoeren

Abstract

This study investigated the role of estrogen receptors alpha (ERα) in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMN),the preoptic area (POA), the medial amygdala (MePD) and the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST) in sociosexual behavior in female rats. We used a short hairpin ribonucleic acid (shRNA) encoded within an adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector directed against the ERα gene to reduce the number of ERα in the VMN or POA, or in BNST or MePD in female rats. The rats were housed in groups of four ovariectomized females and three males in a seminatural environment for 8 days. In comparison to traditional test set-ups, the seminatural environment provides an arena in which the rats can express their full behavioral repertoire, which allowed us to investigate multiple aspects of social and sexual behavior in groups of rats. A reduction of ERα expression in the VMN or POA diminished the display of paracopulatory behaviors and lordosis responses compared to controls, while the lordosis quotient remained unaffected. This suggests that ERα in the VMN and POA play an important role in intrinsic sexual motivation. The reduction in ERα did not affect the social behavior of the females, but the males sniffed and pursued the females with reduced ERα less than the controls. This suggests that the ERα in the VMN and POA is involved in the regulation of sexual attractiveness of females. The ERα in the MePD and BNST, on the other hand, plays no role in sociosexual behavior.