title: Paucity of c-fos expression in the medial preoptic area of prenatally stressed male rats following exposure to sexually receptive females.
abstract: Normal male rats display high levels of sexual activity when paired with sexually receptive females, a behavior regulated, in large part, by the medial preoptic area (MPOA). It has been documented that onset of c-fos proteins in the MPOA accompanies sexual behavior. Because prenatal stress (PS) demasculinizes sexual behavior in male rats, the present study examined whether such effects might be accompanied by a decrease in the neuronal activation in MPOA associated with sexual behavior. Adult prenatally stressed (P-S) and unstressed control males were paired with sexually receptive females, and sexual behavior allowed to commence. After a single mount, the pair was separated by a partition for the remainder of an hour, at the end of which the male was killed and the brain processed for c-fos immunocytochemistry; quantification was performed by means of computerized image analysis. P-S males expressed significantly less c-fos activity in the region of the MPOA, compared to nonstressed control males. Thus, the sexual deficits associated with P-S males may be due to a relative dearth of activity in the MPOA at the neuronal level. Coupled to earlier work showing decreased luteinizing hormone secretion in P-S males under similar conditions, the present data suggest a constellation of factors that contribute to PS-induced deficits in sexual behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Richmond, VA 23173, USA.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Humm
authors.forename: K G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Lambert
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kinsley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D016762:Genes, fos / Q000502:physiology*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011301:Preoptic Area / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012733:Sex Differentiation; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000378:metabolism*