title: Conditioned same-sex partner preference in male rats is facilitated by oxytocin and dopamine: effect on sexually dimorphic brain nuclei.
abstract: Conditioned same-sex partner preference can develop in male rats that undergo cohabitation under the effects of quinpirole (QNP, D2 agonist). Herein, we assessed the development of conditioned same-sex social/sexual preference in males that received either nothing, saline, QNP, oxytocin (OT), or QNP+OT during cohabitation with another male (+) or single-caged (-). This resulted in the following groups: (1) Intact-, (2) Saline+, (3) QNP-, (4) OT-, (5) QNP+, (6) OT+ and (7) QNP/OT+. Cohabitation occurred during 24h in a clean cage with a male partner that bore almond scent on the back as conditioned stimulus. This was repeated every 4 days for a total of three trials. Social and sexual preference were assessed four days after the last conditioning trial in a drug-free test in which experimental males chose between the scented familiar male and a novel sexually receptive female. Results showed that males from groups Intact-, Saline+, QNP- and OT- displayed a clear preference for the female (opposite-sex), whereas groups QNP+, OT+ and QNP/OT+ displayed socio/sexual preference for the male partner (same-sex). In Experiment 2, the brains were processed for Nissl dye and the area size of two sexually dimorphic nuclei (SDN-POA and SON) was compared between groups. Males from groups OT-, OT+ and QNP/OT+ expressed a smaller SDN-POA and groups QNP+ and QNP/OT+ expressed a larger SON. Accordingly, conditioned same-sex social/sexual partner preference can develop during cohabitation under enhanced D2 or OT activity but such preference does not depend on the area size of those sexually dimorphic nuclei.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Avenida Luis Castelazo s/n Col. Industrial Ánimas, C. P. 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. Electronic address: rodrigo_elcid16@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Triana-Del Rio
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Avenida Luis Castelazo s/n Col. Industrial Ánimas, C. P. 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. Electronic address: anaconda13713@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Miriam B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Tecamachaltzi-Silvarán
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Avenida Luis Castelazo s/n Col. Industrial Ánimas, C. P. 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. Electronic address: leo_victor1989@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Victor X
authors.initials: VX
authors.lastname: Díaz-Estrada
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Avenida Luis Castelazo s/n Col. Industrial Ánimas, C. P. 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. Electronic address: dherrera@uv.mx.
authors.forename: Deissy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Herrera-Covarrubias
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Investigación Genómica y Fisiológica, Facultad de Nutrición, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. Electronic address: alecorona@uv.mx.
authors.forename: Aleph A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Corona-Morales
authors.affiliation: CSBN/Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada. Electronic address: jim.pfaus@concordia.ca.
authors.forename: James G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Pfaus
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Avenida Luis Castelazo s/n Col. Industrial Ánimas, C. P. 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. Electronic address: gcoria@uv.mx.
authors.forename: Genaro A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Coria-Avila
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006799:Housing, Animal; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D019257:Quinpirole / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000819:agonists / Q000378:metabolism; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018491:Dopamine Agonists; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2; D019257:Quinpirole; D010121:Oxytocin; D004298:Dopamine
keywords: Conditioning; Homosexual; Partner preference; Quinpirole; Sex