Pattern of [14C]2-deoxyglucose concentration associated with potentiation of reproductive behavior by prostaglandin E2.

One indication of receptive behavior of the female leopard frog, Rana pipiens, is absence of a release call during tactile stimulation of the trunk. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) inhibits this call. This experiment demonstrates a different pattern of [14C]2-deoxyglucose concentration in brains of 5 receptive females silenced by 1 microgram/g PGE, compared with that in 3 unreceptive, vocalizing controls injected with deionized water. 14C concentrations were measured in areas important for vocalization in frogs, in limbic system structures and in parts of the brain that receive somatosensory input. There was high activity relative to the rest of the brain in the receptive, silent PGE2-treated females in the caudal part of the anterior preoptic nucleus, in the dorsal habenula, and in the dorsal tegmental area of the medulla lateral to the pretrigeminal nucleus.