Dominguez Juan M, Balfour Margaret E, Lee Han S, Brown Jennifer L, Davis Brooke A, Coolen Lique M
Department of Cell Biology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Behav Neurosci. 2007 Oct;121(5):1023-31. doi: 10.1037/0735-7044.121.5.1023.
Studies have emphasized the role of the medial preoptic area (MPOA) as an important site for the regulation of male sexual behavior. Indeed, ablations of the MPOA impair sexual behavior, whereas stimulation of the MPOA enhances behavior. Furthermore, neural activity in the MPOA increases with mating. The current study tested the hypothesis that activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors occurs in MPOA neurons and is essential for the expression of male sexual behavior in rats. Results indicate that nearly all MPOA neurons that expressed Fos following mating also contained the NR1 subunit of NMDA receptors. Furthermore, mating increased phosphorylation, thus activation, of NR1 in the MPOA. Additionally, blocking NMDA receptors significantly decreased mating-induced Fos expression and mating-induced phosphorylation of NMDA receptors and impaired male sexual behavior. These results provide evidence that mating activates NMDA receptors in the MPOA and that this activation is important for the expression of male sexual behavior.
研究强调了内侧视前区（MPOA）作为调节雄性性行为重要部位的作用。的确，损毁MPOA会损害性行为，而刺激MPOA则会增强性行为。此外，MPOA中的神经活动会随着交配而增加。当前的研究检验了这样一个假设，即N-甲基-D-天冬氨酸（NMDA）受体在MPOA神经元中被激活，并且对于大鼠雄性性行为的表达至关重要。结果表明，几乎所有在交配后表达Fos的MPOA神经元也都含有NMDA受体的NR1亚基。此外，交配增加了MPOA中NR1的磷酸化，从而使其激活。另外，阻断NMDA受体显著降低了交配诱导的Fos表达以及交配诱导的NMDA受体磷酸化，并损害了雄性性行为。这些结果提供了证据，证明交配激活了MPOA中的NMDA受体，并且这种激活对于雄性性行为的表达很重要。
