Estrogens, androgens and generalized behavioral arousal in gonadectomized female and male C57BL/6 mice.
General arousal has been operationally defined as an enhanced motor activity and enhanced intensity of response to sensory stimuli. Even though the effects of gonadal hormones on mating behavior have been much studied, their potential effect on generalized arousal, as defined above, has never been evaluated. In the present study we employed a thoroughly validated assay of general arousal to determine the effects of estradiol (E) and testosterone (T) in gonadectomized female and male mice, respectively. The steroids were administered in three different ways: A fast-acting, water soluble preparation given intraperitoneally, an oil solution given subcutaneously, and an oil solution in a subcutaneous Silastic capsule. Motor activity and responses to sensory stimuli were recorded for 24h, 91h, and seven days following hormone administration, respectively. All measures of arousal varied according to the day/night cycle. The water soluble steroid preparation had no reliable effect. When the same doses of estradiol and testosterone were administered subcutaneously in an oil vehicle no effect of either treatment on arousal was observed. The subcutaneously implanted capsule containing estradiol or testosterone had a delayed effect on motor activity in females (four to seven days) but no effect in males. The long time required by the gonadal hormones for affecting arousal would be consistent with, but does not prove, a genomic action. The limited effects of E and T in our arousal assay suggest to us that the strongest actions of these hormones on arousal occur in the context of sequences of responses to sexually relevant stimuli.
Department of Psychology, University of Tromsø, 9037 Tromsø, Norway. Electronic address: xi.chu@uit.no.
Xi
X
Chu
Laboratory of Neurobiology and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, NY, USA.
Khatuna
K
Gagnidze
Laboratory of Neurobiology and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, NY, USA.
Donald
D
Pfaff
Department of Psychology, University of Tromsø, 9037 Tromsø, Norway.
Anders
A
Ågmo
D000818:Animals; D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D002369:Castration; D004958:Estradiol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012903:Smell / Q000187:drug effects; D013739:Testosterone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014110:Touch / Q000187:drug effects
D013739:Testosterone; D004958:Estradiol
Activity; Arousal; Estrogen; Mice; Stimuli reaction; Testosterone