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Volume 17, Number 23, Issue of December 1, 1997 pp. 9361-9366

Extracellular Serotonin in the Lateral Hypothalamic Area Is Increased during the Postejaculatory Interval and Impairs Copulation in Male Rats

Received July 21, 1997; revised Sept. 8, 1997; accepted Sept. 18, 1997.

Daniel S. Lorrain, Leslie Matuszewich, Ross D. Friedman, and Elaine M. Hull

Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York 14260

Serotonin (5-HT) is generally inhibitory to masculine sexual behavior. It has been suggested that 5-HT released after ejaculation may promote the sexual quiescence of the postejaculatory interval (PEI). The following experiments were conducted to test (1) whether extracellular 5-HT increases in either the anterior lateral hypothalamic area (LHA_A) or the medial preoptic area (MPOA) of male rats after ejaculation; (2) whether increasing 5-HT in these sites, by microinjecting the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor alaproclate, could inhibit copulatory abilities; and (3) whether copulation deficits produced by alaproclate were attributable to locomotor impairments. The effects of local application of alaproclate on extracellular 5-HT levels in the LHA_A and the MPOA were also tested. Extracellular serotonin was measured in all experiments using in vivo microdialysis.

Ejaculation was correlated with enhanced 5-HT release from the LHA_A; no 5-HT increases were observed before ejaculation, and levels were decreased toward basal values during a subsequent copulatory series. Elevating 5-HT in the LHA_A by microinjecting alaproclate inhibited copulation by increasing the latency to mount, intromit, and ejaculate. This inhibition did not result from nonspecific locomotor impairments. In the MPOA, 5-HT release remained stable throughout copulation, and microinjecting alaproclate into this site did not significantly alter sexual behavior.

These data support the large body of evidence suggesting that 5-HT is inhibitory to masculine sexual behavior. Furthermore, the LHA_A, but not the MPOA, may be one site responsible for serotonergic inhibition of copulation during the PEI.

Key words: serotonin; lateral hypothalamic area; medial preoptic area; copulation; postejaculatory interval; microdialysis; male rats

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. W. Muschamp, J. M. Dominguez, S. M. Sato, R.-Y. Shen, and E. M. Hull A Role for Hypocretin (Orexin) in Male Sexual Behavior J. Neurosci., March 14, 2007; 27(11): 2837 - 2845. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Marson and A. Z. Murphy Identification of neural circuits involved in female genital responses in the rat: a dual virus and anterograde tracing study Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, August 1, 2006; 291(2): R419 - R428. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J Bancroft The endocrinology of sexual arousal J. Endocrinol., September 1, 2005; 186(3): 411 - 427. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. S. Lorrain, J. V. Riolo, L. Matuszewich, and E. M. Hull Lateral Hypothalamic Serotonin Inhibits Nucleus Accumbens Dopamine: Implications for Sexual Satiety J. Neurosci., September 1, 1999; 19(17): 7648 - 7652. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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