Involvement of the telencephalic hemispheres and the preoptic area in sexual behavior of the male goldfish, Carassius auratus: a brain-lesion study.
To locate the brain areas involved in sexual behavior, the effects on male sexual behavior of localized electrolytic lesions in various parts of the telencephalic hemispheres and the preoptic area and of gross ablations of parts of the telencephalic hemispheres were examined in goldfish. All three patterns of male sexual behavior examined (following, butting , and spawning) were severely impaired after bilateral lesions confined to the area ventralis telencephali pars supracommissuralis and/or posterior parts of the area ventralis telencephali pars ventralis (Vs- pVv ), the nucleus preopticus periventricularis (NPP), the lateral forebrain bundle ( LFB ), or the medial forebrain bundle (MFB). On the other hand, sexual behavior was almost unaffected after bilateral ablations of the anterior part or lateral and dorsal parts of the telencephalic hemispheres (AT or LT-DT). Bilateral lesions confined to the area ventralis telencephali pars dorsalis (Vd), the area ventralis telencephali pars postcommissuralis (Vp), the area dorsalis telencephali pars centralis (Dc), the nucleus preopticus (NPO), or the lateral preoptic area (LPA) also had almost no effect on sexual behavior. These results indicate that a particular site in the ventral part of the telencephalic hemispheres (Vs- pVv ) and the anterior part of the preoptic area (NPP) play important roles in the sexual behavior of male goldfish. It was suggested that facilitatory influences from these areas are transmitted through the LFB and/or the MFB.
D000818:Animals; D001931:Brain Mapping; D006054:Goldfish; D008297:Male; D008474:Medial Forebrain Bundle / Q000502:physiology; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D011301:Preoptic Area / Q000502:physiology*; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D013687:Telencephalon / Q000502:physiology*