NEURAL MECHANISM MEDIATIING MALE BEHAVIOR

调节男性行为的神经机制

• 批准号: 6032665
• 负责人: Lique M Coolen
• 金额: $ 19.16万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2000
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2000-03-01 至 2005-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6032665
• 关键词: afferent nerve; behavioral /social science research tag; central neural pathway /tract; denervation; ethology; experimental brain lesion; fos protein; immunocytochemistry; laboratory rat; male; male reproductive system disorder; motivation; neuronal transport; pleasure; prosencephalon; sex behavior; suid alphaherpesvirus 1

The long-term goal of the current research is to understand the neural pathways and mechanisms underlying motivated behaviors, and specifically those that mediate the expression of male sexual behavior. Male sexual behavior is a complex behavior dependent on both intrinsic and external factors. While much research has focused on the role of olfactory or hormonal signals, much less is known about the influence of genitosensory or hormonal signals, much less is known about the influence of genitosensory cues in the control of male sexual behavior. The aim of the present proposal is to delineate the neural pathway by which genitosensory input related to population reaches motivation centers in the forebrain, and investigate the functional role of this pathway in male sexual behavior. Previous work from our laboratory has demonstrated the existence of a neural subcircuit in the forebrain that is specifically related to ejaculation in male rats. Our preliminary work has provided strong evidence for a candidate pathway that may relay ejaculation-specific genitosensory input to this subcircuit. This pathway includes a subset of neurons in the lumbar spinal cord that project to a specific thalamic nucleus, which in turn, projects to forebrain regions critical for sexual behavior. The current proposal will confirm the existence of this pathway and address three additional questions: (1) Which peripheral nerves and interneurons convey genitosensory information from the male reproductive organs to the lumbar spinal cord? (2) Does this pathway convey genitosensory stimuli associated specifically with ejaculation? (3) Is relay of this genitosensory information critical for the expression of male sexual behavior? These studies will shed light on an issue of long standing interest and fascination, namely the neurobiological basis of sexual pleasure. The proposed experiments, focusing on pathway conveying afferent genitosensory information, will fill a crucial gap in our understanding of the motivational circuitry mediating sexual behavior. Since neural mechanisms controlling ejaculation in humans are similar to that in the rat, results of these experiments will have relevance to our understanding of human sexual dysfunction and may contribute to the development of new therapeutic approaches.

当前研究的长期目标是了解动机行为的神经途径和机制，尤其是那些介导男性性行为表达的神经途径和机制。男性性行为是一种取决于内在因素和外部因素的复杂行为。尽管大量研究集中在嗅觉或激素信号的作用上，但对生殖器或荷尔蒙信号的影响知之甚少，对Genitosensensory提示在控制男性性行为中的影响的知之甚少。本提案的目的是描述与人口相关的生殖器输入到前脑中动机中心的神经途径，并研究该途径在男性性行为中的功能作用。我们实验室的先前工作表明，前脑中存在与雄性大鼠射精特别相关的神经子路。我们的初步工作为候选途径提供了有力的证据，该途径可能将射精特异性的生殖器输入转移到该亚电路。该途径包括腰椎脊髓中的一部分神经元，该神经元投射到特定的丘脑核，而该核心又投射到前脑区域对性行为至关重要。当前的提案将确认该途径的存在并解决三个其他问题：（1）哪些周围神经和中间神经元将生殖器信息从男性生殖器官传达到腰脊髓？ （2）该途径是否传达了与射精专门相关的生殖器刺激？ （3）这种生殖器感的继电器对男性性行为的表达至关重要吗？这些研究将揭示出长期兴趣和迷恋的问题，即性愉悦的神经生物学基础。拟议的实验专注于传达传入的生殖器信息的途径，将填补我们对介导性行为的动机电路的关键差距。由于控制人类射精的神经机制与大鼠相似，因此这些实验的结果将与我们对人类性功能障碍的理解有关，并可能有助于发展新的治疗方法。