Melis Maria Rosaria, Sanna Fabrizio, Argiolas Antonio
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Neurosciences and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Cagliari, 09042 Monserrato, Italy.
Brain Sci. 2022 Jun 24;12(7):826. doi: 10.3390/brainsci12070826.
Early and recent studies show that dopamine through its neuronal systems and receptor subtypes plays different roles in the control of male sexual behavior. These studies show that (i) the mesolimbic/mesocortical dopaminergic system plays a key role in the preparatory phase of sexual behavior, e.g., in sexual arousal, motivation and reward, whereas the nigrostriatal system controls the sensory-motor coordination necessary for copulation, (ii) the incertohypothalamic system is involved in the consummatory aspects of sexual behavior (penile erection and copulation), but evidence for its role in sexual motivation is also available, (iii) the pro-sexual effects of dopamine occur in concert with neural systems interconnecting the hypothalamus and preoptic area with the spinal cord, ventral tegmental area and other limbic brain areas and (iv) D and D receptors play a major role in the pro-sexual effects of dopamine. Despite some controversy, increases or decreases, respectively, of brain dopamine activity induced by drugs or that occur physiologically, usually improves or worsens, respectively, sexual activity. These findings suggest that an altered central dopaminergic tone plays a role in mental pathologies characterized by aberrant sexual behavior, and that pro-erectile D receptor agonists may be considered a new strategy for the treatment of erectile dysfunction in men.
早期及近期研究表明，多巴胺通过其神经元系统和受体亚型，在男性性行为控制中发挥着不同作用。这些研究表明：（i）中脑边缘/中脑皮质多巴胺能系统在性行为的准备阶段起关键作用，如在性唤起、动机和奖赏方面，而黑质纹状体系统控制交配所需的感觉运动协调；（ii）下丘脑未定带系统参与性行为的完成方面（阴茎勃起和交配），但也有证据表明其在性动机方面发挥作用；（iii）多巴胺的促性作用与连接下丘脑和视前区与脊髓、腹侧被盖区及其他边缘脑区的神经系统协同发生；（iv）D₁和D₂受体在多巴胺的促性作用中起主要作用。尽管存在一些争议，但药物诱导的或生理上发生的脑多巴胺活性增加或降低，通常分别改善或恶化性活动。这些发现表明，中枢多巴胺能张力改变在以异常性行为为特征的精神病理学中起作用，并且促勃起D₂受体激动剂可能被视为治疗男性勃起功能障碍的一种新策略。
