Hormone-Dependent Medial Preoptic/Lumbar Spinal Cord/Autonomic Coordination Supporting Male Sexual Behaviors
Highlights
· T and/or E stimulate mating in male rodents whereas DHT facilitates erection.
· T and/or E act in preoptic neurons to amplify sensory inputs for arousal and mating.
· Preoptic neurons activate a parasympathetic circuit causing penile erection.
· Preoptic neurons activate a sympathetic circuit causing ejaculation.
· Stress hormones block mating by interfering with T's forebrain actions.
Testosterone (T) can act directly through neural androgen receptors (AR) to facilitate male sexual behavior; however, T's metabolites also can play complicated and interesting roles in the control of mating.
One metabolite, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) binds to AR with significantly greater affinity than that of T.
Is that important behaviorally?
Another metabolite, estradiol (E), offers a potential alternative route of facilitating male mating behavior by acting through estradiol receptors (ER).
In this review we explore the roles and relative importance of T as well as E and DHT at various levels of the neuroaxis for the activation of male sex behavior in common laboratory animals and, when relevant research findings are available, in man.
Pfaff DW, Baum MJ. Hormone-dependent medial preoptic/lumbar spinal cord/autonomic coordination supporting male sexual behaviors. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology. Redirecting
Highlights
· T and/or E stimulate mating in male rodents whereas DHT facilitates erection.
· T and/or E act in preoptic neurons to amplify sensory inputs for arousal and mating.
· Preoptic neurons activate a parasympathetic circuit causing penile erection.
· Preoptic neurons activate a sympathetic circuit causing ejaculation.
· Stress hormones block mating by interfering with T's forebrain actions.
Testosterone (T) can act directly through neural androgen receptors (AR) to facilitate male sexual behavior; however, T's metabolites also can play complicated and interesting roles in the control of mating.
One metabolite, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) binds to AR with significantly greater affinity than that of T.
Is that important behaviorally?
Another metabolite, estradiol (E), offers a potential alternative route of facilitating male mating behavior by acting through estradiol receptors (ER).
In this review we explore the roles and relative importance of T as well as E and DHT at various levels of the neuroaxis for the activation of male sex behavior in common laboratory animals and, when relevant research findings are available, in man.
Pfaff DW, Baum MJ. Hormone-dependent medial preoptic/lumbar spinal cord/autonomic coordination supporting male sexual behaviors. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology. Redirecting
