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The Journal of Neuroscience, May 1, 2001, 21(9):3236-3241
The Role of Dopamine in the Nucleus Accumbens and Striatum during
Sexual Behavior in the Female Rat
Jill B.
Becker1, 2,
Charles N.
Rudick1, and
William J.
Jenkins1
1 Psychology Department, and 2 Reproductive
Sciences Program and Neuroscience Program, The University of Michigan,
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
 |
ABSTRACT |
Dopamine in dialysate from the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) increases
during sexual and feeding behavior and after administration of drugs of
abuse, even those that do not directly activate dopaminergic systems
(e.g., morphine or nicotine). These findings and others have led to
hypotheses that propose that dopamine is rewarding, predicts that
reinforcement will occur, or attributes incentive salience. Examining
increases in dopamine in NAcc or striatum during sexual behavior in
female rats provides a unique situation to study these relations. This
is because, for the female rat, sexual behavior is associated with an
increase in NAcc dopamine and conditioned place preference only under
certain testing conditions. This experiment was conducted to determine
what factors are important for the increase in dopamine in dialysate
from NAcc and striatum during sexual behavior in female rats. The
factors considered were the number of contacts by the male, the timing
of contacts by the male, or the ability of the female to control
contacts by the male. The results indicate that increased NAcc dopamine is dependent on the timing of copulatory stimuli, independent of
whether the female rat is actively engaged in regulating this timing.
For the striatum, the timing of copulatory behavior influences the
magnitude of the increase in dopamine in dialysate, but other factors
are also involved. We conclude that increased extracellular dopamine in
the NAcc and striatum conveys qualitative or interpretive information
about the rewarding value of stimuli. Sexual behavior in the female rat
is proposed as a model to determine the role of dopamine in motivated behavior.
Key words:
dopamine; microdialysis; nucleus accumbens; striatum; motivation; sexual behavior; incentive salience
 |
INTRODUCTION |
The release of dopamine (DA) in the
nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and, to a lesser extent, the striatum has been
postulated to mediate the reinforcing properties of food, drugs of
abuse, and the sexual experience (Wise and Rompre, 1989
; Phillips et
al., 1991
; Robinson and Berridge, 1993
). Alternatively, it has been suggested that an increase in extracellular DA in NAcc or striatum is
associated with stimuli that predict reinforcement or that this
activity attributes incentive salience to the stimuli (Phillips et al.,
1993
; Schultz et al., 1993
; Berridge and Robinson, 1998
). By looking at
the time when DA increases in the striatum and the NAcc, we can gain
additional insight into the roles of these neural structures in
motivated behaviors.
Sexual behavior in the female rat is unique among naturally occurring
motivated behaviors in that copulation under standard laboratory
conditions is not rewarding for the female rat (Oldenburger et al.,
1992
; Paredes and Alonso, 1997
). In female rats and hamsters, there is enhanced DA in dialysate from striatum and NAcc during copulation (Meisel et al., 1993
; Mermelstein and Becker, 1995
; Pfaus et
al., 1995
). For female rats, however, this increase in NAcc DA has been
found only under conditions in which the female can control or pace the
timing of intromissions (Mermelstein and Becker, 1995
; Pfaus et al.,
1995
). Pacing of intromissions determines whether hormones that promote
implantation (i.e., the progestational reflex) will be released.
When the female rat is pacing, intromissions are spaced ~1-2 min
apart, and the chance that insemination will result in pregnancy is
significantly enhanced, compared with reproductive success when the
rate of intromissions is at the faster rate of copulation for the male
(Adler et al., 1970
).
There are individual differences among female rats in the optimal pace
of intromissions (Adler, 1978
). Each female rat has an individual
"vaginal code" that is optimal to induce the progestational reflex
in that individual rat (Adler et al., 1970
; McClintock and Anisko,
1982
; McClintock et al., 1982
; McClintock, 1984
; Adler and Toner,
1986
). In the laboratory situation, pacing behavior occurs if there is
a barrier behind which the female rat can escape from the male rat
(McClintock, 1984
; Erskine, 1989
). Furthermore, as mentioned above, the
increase in DA concentrations in dialysate from striatum and NAcc of
female rats that are pacing copulation is significantly greater than
that of female rats that cannot pace or behaviorally receptive animals
tested without a male rat (Mermelstein and Becker, 1995
). This is true
even when pacing females and nonpacing females receive the same number
of mounts, intromissions, and ejaculations during an hour of copulatory
experience. These results raise the following questions. What is
important for the increase in extracellular DA in the NAcc and striatum during pacing of sexual behavior? Is it the amount of copulatory stimuli, the timing of copulatory stimuli, or the act of controlling the copulatory behavior of the male rat that induces the increases in
extracellular DA? The results of this experiment will help us to better
understand the role of the striatum and NAcc in the sexual experience
and in motivated behaviors in general.
 |
MATERIALS AND METHODS |
Subjects. Adult male and female Long-Evans rats
(Charles River Laboratories, Wilmington, MA) weighed 180-200 gm
at the beginning of this experiment. Females were housed two or three
per cage until they underwent stereotaxic surgery, after which they
were housed individually. Male rats were housed in pairs throughout this experiment. All rats were maintained on a 14/10 hr light/dark cycle with free access to phytoestrogen-free rat chow (2014 Teklad Global 14% protein rodent maintenance diet; Harlan, Madison, WI) and water.
Surgical procedures. Female rats were ovariectomized (OVX)
by a dorsal approach under methoxyflurane anesthesia ~2 weeks after arrival. The vaginal epithelium was examined daily by saline lavage for
8 consecutive days after surgery to determine whether all animals were
completely OVX.
Stereotaxic surgery was performed under sodium pentobarbital anesthesia
(45 mg/kg, i.p.) supplemented with methoxyflurane. Guide cannulas were
implanted chronically through the skull and aimed at the dorsolateral
striatum and contralateral nucleus accumbens (left-right randomized).
The guide cannulas were secured with dental acrylic held on the skull
with jeweler's screws. Stereotaxic coordinates (from bregma, skull
flat) were as follows: for the dorsolateral striatum, rostral 0.2 mm,
lateral 3.2 mm, and ventral 1 mm; for the nucleus accumbens, rostral
1.8 mm, lateral 1.5 mm, and ventral 1 mm.
Behavioral testing. OVX animals that were exhibiting a
diestrous vaginal smear continuously were tested for pacing of sexual behavior after subcutaneous priming with 5 µg estradiol
benzoate (EB) for 3 consecutive days, beginning 72 hr before testing,
and with 500 µg progesterone 4-6 hr before the behavioral test on the fourth day. The testing chamber (61 × 25 × 46 cm) was Plexiglas, with an opaque wall (20 × 0.25 × 25 cm) that separated the sexual behavior arena (where the male was)
from a portion of the chamber in which the female could escape from the
male. The female had free access to both sides; the male was trained by
passive avoidance to stay on one side. Pacing was defined by the
difference in the return latency (time in seconds from contact by male
to return of female to the male's side of the arena) between
mounts, intromissions, and ejaculations. Females were pacing
only if the return latency after mounts was less than the return
latency after intromissions, which was less than the return latency
after ejaculations. OVX females that did not exhibit a 10% difference
in the intervals between contacts on this test were eliminated from the
study (n = 9 of 59 rats).
One week after stereotaxic surgery, OVX rats were tested again for
pacing behavior as described above. The average return latency after
intromissions (for the two pacing sessions) was used as the preferred
pacing interval of the animal.
OVX female rats were randomly assigned to one of the following groups
(described below): pacing (n = 8), preferred pacing interval (PPI; n = 9), vaginal mask (n = 8), nonpacing (n = 9), nonpacing 30 sec interval
(NP-30 sec; n = 8), or nonpacing 10 min interval
(NP-10 min; n = 8). Before dialysis, all OVX rats were
treated with EB and progesterone as described above. The pacing group
was tested during dialysis in the pacing chamber. The PPI group was
tested in the same chamber with the barrier removed, and the male rat
was removed from the chamber after an intromission or ejaculation and
returned at the preferred interval of the female (87-120 sec;
mean = 100.1 sec), as determined in the previous pacing
situations. The vaginal mask group was tested under pacing conditions,
but with a small piece of masking tape occluding the vagina. The tape
was put in place before the initial collection of baseline samples and
remained in place throughout dialysis. The nonpacing group was placed
in the testing chamber without the opaque barrier, so the male had free
access to the female during the time he was in the chamber. The
nonpacing interval groups were also tested without the barrier in
place, but the male was removed after an intromission or ejaculation
and returned either 30 sec or 10 min later. Behavior was videotaped
during the 1 hr period of time that the male was present in the
chamber. Behavior was scored by observers blind to the experimental
hypothesis. For animals in the pacing chamber, return latency was
determined after mounts, intromissions, and ejaculations during each 15 min interval of dialysis sample collection. For all animals, the number of times the female crossed the center of the chamber (crossings) was
determined, as was the number of mounts, intromissions, and ejaculations during each 15 min dialysis sample collection interval.
Microdialysis testing. We used either dialysis probes as
described by Robinson and Whishaw (1988)
or commercially available probes (CMA/11; CMA/Microdialysis AB, Chelmsford, MA). All probes were
tested for recovery in vitro at 37°C before use as
described previously (Becker and Rudick, 1999
). Probes that had DA
recovery of 18 ± 4% for striatum or 12 ± 4% for the
accumbens were used. The probes were lowered to 6.25 mm (4 mm dialysis
membrane) for striatum or 8.25 mm (2 mm dialysis membrane) for
accumbens. Microdialysis probes were inserted into the dorsolateral
striatum and contralateral nucleus accumbens under methoxyflurane
anesthesia 12-18 hr before the collection of samples. The flow rate
through the probe was 1.5 µl/min, and samples were collected at 15 min intervals. The concentrations of DA, dihydroxyphenylacetic acid
(DOPAC), and homovanillic acid (HVA) were determined in dialysate using
HPLC and electrochemical detection as described previously
(Becker and Rudick, 1999
). The average of two baseline samples was used to determine the basal extracellular concentration of DA, DOPAC, and
HVA (corrected for percentage of recovery). All values are expressed as
femtomol in 15 µl of dialysate.
Histology. At the conclusion of microdialysis, females were
given a lethal injection of sodium pentobarbital and intracardial perfusions of 0.9% saline followed by 4% formalin. The position of
the probe in the dorsolateral striatum or NAcc was determined from
cresyl violet-stained 50 µm sections. The site of the lesion was
determined by an observer blind to the treatment of the animal. Dialysis data were excluded for four animals with dialysis probes in
the striatum and eight animals with probes in the NAcc, but these were
not the same animals and were distributed across the groups. Dialysis
probes in the NAcc were predominantly found to be in the core
(n = 34), but a few were in the core-shell boundary (n = 4) or solely in the shell (n = 4).
The variation in core-shell distribution was randomized across groups,
and dialysis data did not vary with probe placement. Final numbers for
dialysate data of each group are indicated in the legends to the
Figures. Behavior was analyzed for all animals.
Statistical analyses. Data were evaluated with repeated
measures ANOVA to determine whether there were group
differences. Post hoc comparisons at individual time points
were made using the Bonferroni-Dunn correction. Comparisons within a
group to determine whether there had been a change in extracellular DA during exposure to the male were done with paired t tests.
All analyses were conducted using Statview 4.5+ for the Macintosh computer.
 |
RESULTS |
Nucleus accumbens
DA in dialysate from NAcc increased significantly more than
baseline during the hour that the male rat was present in the testing
chamber for all groups except for the NP-10 min group (mean during
baseline vs mean during hour with male present; paired t
tests; p < 0.05). The increase in extracellular DA was
significantly greater for the pacing and PPI groups than for all other
groups (Fig. 1) (main effect of group,
F(5,42) = 9.49; p < 0.0001). On pairwise comparisons, the increases in extracellular DA for
the pacing and PPI groups were significantly greater than for all other
groups (p < 0.003), and there were no other
differences between groups. The increases in extracellular DA for the
pacing and PPI groups did not differ from each other.

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Figure 1.
DA concentrations in dialysate (fmole/15
min) obtained from nucleus accumbens of sexually receptive female
rats. The value obtained for time 0 is the mean of two 15 min baseline
samples obtained immediately before the introduction of the male rat
into the chamber. Values indicate the mean ± SEM. **The increase
in DA in dialysate during the time the male was present was
significantly greater for the pacing and PPI groups than for all other
groups (p < 0.003). There were no other
differences among the groups.
|
|
As can be seen in Figure 1, there were small differences in the basal
extracellular DA, with the NP-10 min group starting the experiment with
higher basal DA in dialysate than the nonpacing, vaginal mask, or NP-30
sec groups. The NP-30 sec group began with lower extracellular DA than
the vaginal mask, pacing, and PPI groups. Basal extracellular DA
concentrations had no apparent influence on whether an animal showed an
increase in extracellular DA during the testing period.
Striatum
DA in dialysate from striatum increased significantly from
baseline during the hour that the male rat was present in the testing chamber for all groups except for the NP-10 min and NP-30 sec groups
(mean during baseline vs mean during hour with male present; paired
t tests; p < 0.02). The increase in
extracellular DA was significantly greater for the pacing group and the
PPI group than for all other groups (Fig.
2) (main effect of group,
F(5,40) = 16.68; p < 0.0001). On pairwise comparisons, the increase in extracellular DA for
the pacing and PPI groups was significantly greater than for all other
groups (p < 0.003) and did not differ from one
to the other. The increase in extracellular DA for the nonpacing group was significantly greater than that seen in the NP-10 min and
NP-30 sec groups (p < 0.0033).

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Figure 2.
DA concentrations in dialysate (fmole/15
min) obtained from striatum of sexually receptive female rats.
Values indicate the mean ± SEM. **The increase in DA in dialysate
during the time the male was present was significantly greater for the
pacing and PPI groups than for all other groups
(p < 0.003). *The increase in DA in
dialysate during the time the male was present was significantly
greater for the nonpacing group than for the NP-10 min and NP-30 sec
groups (p < 0.0033).
|
|
As can be seen in Figure 2, there were also small differences in the
basal extracellular DA, with the NP-30 sec group beginning the
experiment with lower extracellular DA than the pacing, PPI, and
nonpacing groups. Basal extracellular DA concentrations had no apparent
influence on whether an animal showed an increase in extracellular DA
during the testing period.
The amount of HVA and DOPAC detected in dialysate from both NAcc and
striatum increased during the period of time when the male rat was in
the chamber, but there were no differences among groups in either brain
region (data not shown).
Behavior
As can be seen in Figure
3A, the vaginal mask group
received the largest number of mounts during the first 15 min interval. Over the entire hour, the NP-10 min group received fewer mounts than
the vaginal mask group and the NP-30 sec group (Fig. 3A) (p < 0.005). This is most likely an artifact of
the male being repeatedly removed from the chamber for 10 min in the
NP-10 min group.

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Figure 3.
Sexual behavior (A,
B) and activity (C) during the
hour that the male was in the testing chamber with the female rat.
A, Mounts received by females during each of the 15 min
sample collection periods when the male was present. B,
Intromissions plus ejaculations received by females during each of the
15 min sample collection periods when the male was present. The
nonpacing group received more intromissions plus ejaculations than did
the pacing or PPI groups (p < 0.01). The
NP-30 sec group received more intromissions plus ejaculations than did
the PPI group (p < 0.01). C,
General activity (number of times crossing a midline in the cage)
during the hour that the male rat was present in the chamber with the
female rat. Collection periods were times when the male was present.
The nonpacing group made more cage crossings than did the NP-10 min,
vaginal mask, pacing, or PPI groups (p < 0.003). The NP-30 sec group made more cage crossings than did the NP-10
min or pacing groups (p < 0.0033).
|
|
When the number of intromissions received by the pacing, nonpacing,
NP-30 sec, and PPI groups were compared, there was a significant effect
of group (Fig. 3A) (F(3,30) = 4.986; p = 0.0063; the vaginal mask group did
not receive intromissions, the NP-10 min group received very few
intromissions, and both were excluded to avoid skewing the
statistics). In pairwise comparisons, the nonpacing group
received more intromissions plus ejaculations than did the pacing or
PPI groups (p < 0.01), and the NP-30 sec group
received more intromissions plus ejaculations than did the PPI group
(p < 0.01).
Finally, all rats were active during the hour that the male rat was
present in the testing chamber, with all animals exhibiting at least 25 crossings across a midline in the chamber. The nonpacing group
exhibited more crossings than the NP-10 min, the PPI, the vaginal mask,
or the pacing groups (p < 0.0033). The NP-30
sec group exhibited more crossings than the NP-10 min group and the pacing group (p < 0.0033).
When looking at the behavior engaged in by the female, the latency
after a contact until the next male-female contact occurs can be
examined to determine the temporal pattern of coital stimulation that
the female receives. As seen in Figure 4,
females in the pacing group had the longest intervals after
ejaculations, with periods that were significantly longer than the
nonpacing or PPI groups (p < 0.008). The pacing
and PPI groups had longer periods after intromissions than did the
other groups (p < 0.008). Finally, the PPI
group had shorter latencies after mounts than the NP-30 sec group
(p < 0.008).

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Figure 4.
Latency after a contact with the male rat before
the next male-female contact for each group. Data not shown for the
NP-10 min group because the values were artificially controlled by the
experimenter and were always >10 min. These data were also not
included in the data analyses for return latency for the same reason.
Histograms indicate the mean; error bars indicate ± SEM.
P, Pacing; PPI, preferred pacing
interval; NP, nonpacing; NP-30 sec,
nonpacing-30 sec group; NP-10 min, nonpacing 10 min
group. *The pacing and PPI groups had longer periods after
intromissions than did the other groups (p < 0.008). **The interval after an ejaculation was longer for animals
in the pacing group than the nonpacing or PPI groups
(p < 0.008). The PPI group
had shorter periods after mounts than did the NP-30 sec group
(p < 0.008).
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|
 |
DISCUSSION |
The results of this experiment indicate that the timing of
copulatory stimuli is critical for the magnitude of the increase in
extracellular DA in dialysate from the NAcc. Although nonpacing and
NP-30 sec animals received the greatest number of intromissions and
ejaculations, the pacing and PPI groups had the greatest increase in DA
in dialysate from the NAcc. For the striatum, copulatory stimuli that
occurred at the preferred interval of the female also induced the
greatest increase in extracellular DA. This was true whether or not the
female actively controlled the rate of the interval. The increase in
striatal DA seen for the nonpacing group, however, was greater than for
groups in which the male had been removed and returned at intervals
other than that preferred by the female. The data from the PPI group
indicate that the female rat does not need to be actively engaged in
behaviors associated with pacing (i.e., leaving the male or returning
to the male) in order for the increase in extracellular DA in NAcc or
striatum to be greater than that seen under all other testing
conditions. The significant increase in extracellular DA in the PPI
group, in contrast with the lack of increase in extracellular DA in
groups with shorter (NP-30 sec) or longer (NP-10 min)
inter-intromission intervals, supports the idea that the timing of the
coital stimulation is critical for the DA increase. The results from
the vaginal mask group indicate that the pacing apparatus and the
presence of a male rat can induce a small increase in extracellular DA in NAcc or striatum, but in the absence of vaginocervical stimulation this increase is significantly lower than for the pacing or PPI groups.
One could postulate that the increase in DA in dialysate from the NAcc
and striatum is dependent on the quantity of intromissions and
ejaculations. If this were the case, then one would have expected an
initial DA increase in the nonpacing and NP-30 sec groups. These two
groups received ~20 intromissions plus ejaculations per 15 min,
whereas the pacing and PPI groups received less than five intromissions
plus ejaculations per 15 min (Fig. 3B). In the NAcc, there
was a small increase in extracellular DA during the hour that the male
rat was in the chamber for the nonpacing and NP-30 sec groups. For the
striatum, the DA increase was significantly greater for the nonpacing
group than the NP-30 sec and NP-10 min groups. During all
intervals, however, the increase in NAcc and striatal DA for the pacing
and PPI groups was significantly greater than all other groups. Thus,
the DA response is not a measure of how much vaginocervical stimulation
has been received. The increase in DA in the striatum and NAcc is also
not related to locomotor activity because the nonpacing and NP-30 sec
groups were also more active than the other groups, and yet had lower extracellular DA.
Pacing behavior in female rats has only recently become a topic of
laboratory investigation (Erskine, 1989
). Sexual behavior in the female
rat has typically been studied in the laboratory under conditions in
which the male rat is able to copulate with the female rat at will.
This results in low levels of female-initiated contacts and high rates
of reflexive and defensive behaviors in the female rat. Using
seminatural conditions, it was observed that the female rat actively
controls the pace of copulatory behavior by exhibiting hopping and
darting behaviors as well as by actively withdrawing from the male
(McClintock, 1984
). The evolutionary importance of pacing behavior for
reproductive success is evident. For the male rat, a rapidly paced
series of intromissions (<1 min between intromissions) is optimal to
induce ejaculation in the fewest number of intromissions (Adler, 1978
).
The female rat, on the other hand, requires behavioral activation of a
progestational reflex. When intromissions are paced by the female, the
chance that insemination will result in pregnancy is enhanced
significantly (Adler, 1978
). These sexually dimorphic mating strategies
are optimal for the reproductive success of both males and females. In
the wild, mating is reported to occur within a group of animals, rather
than in individual male-female pairs. With rapid intromissions and
ejaculation, the mating strategy of the male maximizes the number of
females he is able to inseminate. The pacing behavior of the female
increases the probability that pregnancy will occur.
In addition to enhanced fertility with pacing behavior, the female rat
develops a preference for a place in which she has engaged in sex if
she can pace the rate of intromissions (Oldenburger et al., 1992
;
Paredes and Alonso, 1997
). On the other hand, female rats do not
develop a preference for a place in which they engaged in sex under
standard laboratory conditions (Oldenburger et al., 1992
). Thus,
engaging in sexual behavior when pacing of intromissions is possible is
associated with increased DA in striatum and NAcc and is reinforcing
for the female rat.
In a recent study from this laboratory, we found that female rats with
bilateral NAcc lesions that include the shell are more likely to avoid
sexual contact with a male than are animals with control lesions or
lesions of the NAcc core (Jenkins and Becker, 2001
). These results
suggest that sexual motivation is mediated by the NAcc, in particular
the shell portion of the NAcc. In the present study, the location of
the probes within the NAcc was examined post hoc. Most
probes were placed within the core of the NAcc. Results of selective
microdialysis in shell versus core of the NAcc suggest that increases
in DA would be even greater, but in the same direction, if probes had
been placed in the shell selectively (Sokolowski et al., 1998
.). There
are not enough data from this experiment, however, to address this issue.
The results from this experiment indicate that the increase in DA in
dialysate from the NAcc is not a passive response to coital stimulation
or copulation-related motor activity. Instead, it reflects qualitative
information about the timing of copulatory stimuli received. In the
striatum, however, an increase in DA can also be induced by coital
stimulation not received at the preferred interval of the female, as
seen in the nonpacing group. Thus, the timing of coital stimulation
does not appear to be as critical for the increase in DA in striatum as
it is for the DA increase in the NAcc.
Conditioned place preferences are formed when female rats are pacing
sexual behavior, but not when they engage in nonpaced sex (Oldenburger
et al., 1992
). From these studies, we infer that paced sexual behavior
is rewarding. Taken with the findings of this experiment, results
suggest that the increase in NAcc DA in the PPI group indicates that
the copulatory stimuli have been interpreted as being rewarding.
Experiments in progress will test the hypothesis that introducing the
male at the PPI of the female is sufficient to induce a preferred place preference.
The question can then be raised about whether the increase in NAcc DA
during paced copulation indicates the hedonic value of the stimulation
or its incentive salience (i.e., liking vs wanting). If the increase in
NAcc DA reflects the hedonic value of stimuli, then during nonpaced
sexual behavior the female could experience pleasure with the first few
initial intromissions, coincident with an increase in NAcc DA. However,
when intromissions occur too frequently (or too infrequently), the
sensation would lose hedonic value, and DA would decrease. During paced
sexual behavior, if samples are obtained at appropriate intervals,
shorter than those in this experiment, DA should rise during an
intromission and fall before the female reinitiates contact with the
male to seek another intromission. A comparable pattern is seen during self-administration of cocaine (Wise et al., 1995
). On the other hand,
if NAcc DA attributes incentive salience to the sexual experience, one
would predict that the DA increase would not occur in the PPI group
until after a few intromissions have been received at the preferred
interval. Furthermore, if NAcc DA attributes incentive salience, DA
should increase as the female reinitiates contact with the male. In
other words, because it is the timing of the stimuli that is either
wanted or liked, the timing of the increase in NAcc DA, relative to
when a female receives an intromission, can be used to learn what role
DA is playing in this regard.
The finding that the magnitude of the increase in NAcc DA did not
differ between groups that were actively pacing sexual behavior and
those in the PPI group suggests that this neural system is not
specifically mediating the control or initiation of behaviors to seek
reinforcement. The converse is true. This DA system is activated as a
consequence of the copulation occurring at the preferred interval of
the female. These data also suggest that the DA system is not primarily
interested in signals which predict that a reward will occur. Taken
with the finding that NAcc lesions that include the shell inhibit the
initiation of sexual behavior in female rats (Jenkins and Becker,
2001
), it is possible that information from DA in the NAcc is
interpreted by intrinsic neurons to induce the female to seek the male
(in this instance).
We conclude that the role of DA in the NAcc and, to a lesser extent,
the striatum is to convey qualitative or interpretive information about
the rewarding value of stimuli. Because of the unique properties of
sexual behavior in the female rat, we maintain that this system is
uniquely designed to be able to determine whether the value attributed
is caused by the hedonic value of the stimuli or its incentive salience.
 |
FOOTNOTES |
Received Nov. 2, 2000; revised Jan. 4, 2001; accepted Feb. 8, 2001.
This work was supported by National Science Foundation Grant
BNS9816673. W. Jenkins was supported by a fellowship from the National
Science Foundation. We thank Kent Berridge and Terry Robinson for
helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.
Correspondence should be addressed to Jill B. Becker, Psychology
Department, Biopsychology Area, 525 East University, Ann Arbor, MI
48109-1109. E-mail: jbbecker{at}umich.edu.
Dr. Rudnick's present address: Neuroscience Graduate Program,
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60201.
 |
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