Rose J D
Physiol Behav. 1986;37(4):633-47. doi: 10.1016/0031-9384(86)90298-2.
Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of the midbrain, especially the tectum, in the sensorimotor control of the sexually-receptive posture, lordosis, in female golden hamsters. In the present study, midbrain single unit activity was recorded during hormonal induction of lordosis, to identify neuronal activity mediating the sensorimotor control of the response and to observe functional changes in these neurons associated with the hormones' behavioral effect. Progesterone administration to estrogen-primed hamsters initiated pronounced changes in neuronal activity levels, somatosensory responsiveness and movement-related firing. These changes began in some neurons within 10 min of subcutaneous hormone injection and affected progressively more neurons until lordosis was elicitable 2-4 hr later. The pattern of these changes, including increased neuronal responsiveness to lumbosacral stimuli, appearance of lordosis-related firing (especially in the tectum) and reduced incidence of firing associated with lordosis-incompatible behaviors, constituted a transformation, or reconfiguration of midbrain sensorimotor function. It is proposed that this reconfiguration enables the elicitation and maintenance of lordosis by lumbosacral stimuli. Neural effects of comparable magnitude didn't result from control progesterone injections which failed to induce lordosis.
先前的研究已经证明中脑，尤其是顶盖，在雌性金黄地鼠性接受姿势（脊柱前凸）的感觉运动控制中具有重要作用。在本研究中，在激素诱导脊柱前凸的过程中记录中脑单个神经元的活动，以识别介导该反应感觉运动控制的神经元活动，并观察这些神经元与激素行为效应相关的功能变化。向用雌激素预处理的仓鼠注射孕酮后，神经元活动水平、体感反应性和与运动相关的放电发生了显著变化。这些变化在皮下注射激素后10分钟内就开始出现在一些神经元中，并逐渐影响更多的神经元，直到2-4小时后可诱发脊柱前凸。这些变化的模式，包括神经元对腰骶部刺激反应性的增加、与脊柱前凸相关的放电的出现（特别是在顶盖）以及与脊柱前凸不相容行为相关的放电发生率的降低，构成了中脑感觉运动功能的转变或重新配置。有人提出，这种重新配置使得腰骶部刺激能够诱发和维持脊柱前凸。对照孕酮注射未能诱导脊柱前凸，因此未产生类似程度的神经效应。
