Tropisetron increases the inhibitory effect of mild restraint on lordosis behavior of hormonally primed, ovariectomized rats

Sex Differences and Estrous Cycle Effects of Peripheral Serotonin-Evoked Rodent Pain Behaviors

Many persistent pain conditions occur predominantly in women making pain a major women's health issue. One theory for the prevalence in females is hormone modulation of pain mechanisms. The peripheral release of the neurotransmitter serotonin (5HT) has been implicated in various sexually dimorphic pain conditions; yet no studies have examined the effect of ovarian hormones on peripheral 5HT-evoked pain behaviors. We hypothesized that peripheral 5HT evokes greater pain behaviors in female rodents during estrus and/or proestrus, stages of the estrous cycle where ovarian hormones are greatly fluctuating. Female Sprague-Dawley rats (250-350 g) from each stage of the estrous cycle, ovariectomized females, and intact males received an intraplantar hindpaw injection of 5HT (2 μg/100 μL) or saline (n = 6 per group) and thermal hyperalgesia, mechanical allodynia, or edema was measured at 0, 10, 20 and 30 min post-injection. A separate group of rats received an ipsilateral injection of the selective 5HT_2A antagonist, M100907, 15 min prior to 5HT injection. We report that females in proestrus and estrus exhibited significantly greater and/or longer lasting pain behaviors compared to males, females in diestrus, and ovariectomized females. There were no significant sex differences or estrous cycle effects on 5HT-evoked edema or 5HT content in inflamed hindpaws. Local pretreatment with the 5HT_2A receptor antagonist blocked 5HT-evoked thermal hyperalgesia and edema. These data provide evidence of a modulatory role of hormones on peripheral 5HT-evoked pain occurring via the 5HT_2A receptor.

Sexual Motivation in the Female and Its Opposition by Stress

A well worked-out motivational system in laboratory animals produces estrogen-dependent female sex behavior. Here, we review (a) the logical definition of sexual motivation and (b) the basic neuronal and molecular mechanisms that allow the behavior to occur. Importantly, reproductive mechanisms in the female can be inhibited by stress. This is interesting because, in terms of the specificity of neuroendocrine dynamics in space and time, the two families of phenomena, sex and stress, are the opposite of each other. We cover papers that document stress effects on the underlying processes of reproductive endocrinology in the female. Not all of the mechanisms for such inhibition have been clearly laid out. Finally, as a current topic of investigation, this system offers several avenues for new investigation which we briefly characterize.

Pharmacology of serotonin and female sexual behavior

In this review, first a historical perspective of serotonin's (5-HT) involvement in female sexual behavior is presented. Then an overview of studies implicating 5-HT is presented. The effect of drugs that increase or decrease CNS levels of 5-HT is reviewed. Evidence is presented that drugs which increase 5-HT have negative effects on female sexual behavior while a decrease in 5-HT is associated with facilitation of sexual behavior. Studies with compounds that act on 5-HT₁, 5-HT₂ or 5-HT₃ receptors are discussed. Most evidence indicates that 5-HT₁A receptor agonists inhibit sexual behavior while 5-HT₂ or 5-HT₃ receptors may exert a positive influence. There is substantial evidence to support a role for 5-HT in the modulation of female consummatory sexual behavior, but studies on the role of 5-HT in other elements of female sexual behavior (e.g. desire, motivation, sexual appetite) are few. Future studies should be directed at determining if these additional components of female sexual behavior are also modulated by 5-HT.