8-OH-DPAT and male rat sexual behavior: partial blockade by noradrenergic lesion and sexual exhaustion

Study of copulatory behaviour in old male rabbits

<p>Male rabbit sexual behaviour consists of a single mount followed immediately by ejaculation. In young bucks this pattern changes gradually as they reach sexual satiety in a day and sexual exhaustion after several daily tests. Little is known about the characteristics of sexual behaviour in old rabbits (aged 48-54 mo) within a day and across daily tests leading to sexual exhaustion. By using sexually receptive(young) females, changed within a session to maximise copulation, we found that: a) the inter-ejaculatory interval increased between the first and last days of testing; b) test duration was 3.1 h on day 1 and 0.5 h on day 15; c) the “miss rate” (i.e., mounts not accompanied by ejaculation) significantly increased from the first to the last day of testing, regardless of when this occurred in each individual buck; d) the total number of ejaculations displayed in a session significantly decreased between the first and the last day of testing in all males; e) scent-marking (“chinning”) frequency significantly decreased after copulation to satiety, relative to that quantified at baseline, and was restored the following day. Compared with young bucks our results indicate quantitative, rather than qualitative, differences in sexual behaviour associated with age in rabbits. Specifically, on day 1 old bucks spent a shorter time engaged in copulation and displayed a lower number of ejaculations before reaching satiety than young males. In contrast, the interval between ejaculatory events and the “miss rate” increased across test days in both old and young rabbits. These results merit investigating the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying the display of such an active sexual behaviour by old rabbit bucks.</p>

The Female Sexual Response: Current Models, Neurobiological Underpinnings and Agents Currently Approved or Under Investigation for the Treatment of Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder

How a woman responds to sexual cues is highly dependent on a number of distinct, yet related, factors. Researchers have attempted to explain the female sexual response for decades, but no single model reigns supreme. Proper female sexual function relies on the interplay of somatic, psychosocial and neurobiological factors; misregulation of any of these components could result in sexual dysfunction. The most common sexual dysfunction disorder is hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). HSDD is a disorder affecting women across the world; a recent in-person diagnostic interview study conducted in the USA found that an estimated 7.4% of US women suffer from HSDD. Despite the disorder's prevalence, it is often overlooked as a formal diagnosis. In a survey of primary care physicians and obstetrics/gynaecology specialists, the number one reason for not assigning an HSDD diagnosis was the lack of a safe and effective therapy approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This changed with the recent FDA approval of flibanserin (Addyi™) for the treatment of premenopausal women with acquired, generalized HSDD; there are still, however, no treatments approved outside the USA. HSDD is characterized by a marked decrease in sexual desire, an absence of motivation (also known as avolition) to engage in sexual activity, and the condition's hallmark symptom, marked patient distress. Research suggests that HSDD may arise from an imbalance of the excitatory and inhibitory neurobiological pathways that regulate the mammalian sexual response; top-down inhibition from the prefrontal cortex may be hyperactive, and/or bottom-up excitation to the limbic system may be hypoactive. Key neuromodulators for the excitatory pathways include norepinephrine, oxytocin, dopamine and melanocortins. Serotonin, opioids and endocannabinoids serve as key neuromodulators for the inhibitory pathways. Evolving treatment strategies have relied heavily on these crucial research findings, as many of the agents currently being investigated as treatment options for HSDD target and influence key players within these excitatory and inhibitory pathways, including various hormone therapies and centrally acting drugs, such as buspirone, bupropion and bremelanotide.

Future sexual medicine physiological treatment targets

INTRODUCTION

Sexual function in men and women incorporates physiologic processes and regulation of the central and peripheral nervous systems, the vascular system, and the endocrine system. There is need for state-of-the-art information as there is an evolving research understanding of the underlying molecular biological factors and mechanisms governing sexual physiologic functions.

AIM

To develop an evidence-based, state-of-the-art consensus report on the current knowledge of the major cellular and molecular targets of biologic systems responsible for sexual physiologic function.

METHODS

State-of-the-art knowledge representing the opinions of seven experts from four countries was developed in a consensus process over a 2-year period.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Expert opinion was based on the grading of evidence-based medical literature, widespread internal committee discussion, public presentation, and debate.

RESULTS

Scientific investigation in this field is needed to increase knowledge and foster development of the future line of treatments for all forms of biological-based sexual dysfunction. This article addresses the current knowledge of the major cellular and molecular targets of biological systems responsible for sexual physiologic function. Future treatment targets include growth factor therapy, gene therapy, stem and cell-based therapies, and regenerative medicine.

CONCLUSIONS

Scientific discovery is critically important for developing new and increasingly effective treatments in sexual medicine. Broad physiologic directions should be vigorously explored and considered for future management of sexual disorders.

Desensitization of 5-HT(1A) autoreceptors induced by neonatal DSP-4 treatment

To examine the effect of noradrenergic lesion on the reactivity of central 5-HT(1A) receptors, DSP-4 (50 mg/kg) was administered neonatally 30 min after zimelidine (10 mg/kg) administration. 5-HT(1A) autoreceptors are involved in the regulation of serotonin (5-HT) synthesis. In HPLC assay R-(+)-8-OH-DPAT (0.03 mg/kg) significantly decreased 5-HT synthesis rate in striatum, hypothalamus and frontal cortex of control, whilst nonsignificantly in DSP-4-lesioned adult rats (10-12 weeks old). To determine which type of receptor, pre- or postsynaptically located, is involved in the attenuated response to 5-HT(1A) receptors' agonist, behavioral tests were conducted. R-(+)-8-OH-DPAT (0.015 mg/kg) caused hyperphagia of control rats, but did not change feeding of DSP-4 treated rats. R-(+)-8-OH-DPAT (0.1 mg/kg) induced hypothermia and "5-HT(1A) syndrome" in both control and DSP-4-lesioned animals. The nature of this phenomenon is attributable to the presynaptic adaptive mechanism and suggests the desensitization of 5-HT(1A) autoreceptors of rats with neonatal lesion of the central noradrenergic system.

Monoamine levels in the nucleus accumbens correlate with male sexual behavior in middle-aged rats

The correlation between monoamine levels in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and male sexual behavior was studied in middle-aged rats. Male rats (18-19months) were assigned to three groups: (1) Group MIE consisted of rats showing mounts, intromissions, and ejaculations; (2) Group MI was composed of rats showing mounts and intromissions, but no ejaculation; and (3) Group NC were non-copulators showing no sexual behavior. Young adult rats (4-5months), displaying complete copulatory behavior, were used as the control group. Levels of dopamine (DA), serotonin, and norepinephrine and their metabolites in the NAcc were measured by high-pressure liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. No difference was seen in DA levels between MIE rats and young controls, whereas DA levels in NC rats were significantly lower than those in both MIE and MI rats. Serotonin levels in NC rats were significantly higher than those in MIE and MI rats. Conversely, norepinephrine levels in NC rats were lower than those in MIE rats. These results suggest that monoamine levels in the NAcc correlate with sexual performance in male rats and that changes in NAcc monoamine levels might affect male sexual behavior in middle-aged rats.

D2-Like Receptors Mediate the Expulsion Phase of Ejaculation Elicited by 8-Hydroxy-2-(di-N-propylamino)tetralin in Rats

The mechanism of action by which 8-hydroxy-2-(di-N-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) facilitates ejaculation in conscious rats is not clearly established. The serotonin (5-HT) 1A agonist 8-OH-DPAT may actually act on cerebral dopaminergic receptors to exert its proejaculatory effect. The present work was undertaken to clarify this issue by testing various compounds i.c.v. delivered in an experimental model of the expulsion phase of ejaculation in anesthetized Wistar rats. Intracerebroventricular delivery of 8-OH-DPAT dose-dependently (ED(50) = 17 microg) induced rhythmic contractions of bulbospongiosus (BS) muscles, which are of paramount importance for the expulsion of semen, occurring in the form of cluster of bursts evidenced by the recording of BS muscle electrical activity. The 5-HT1A antagonist WAY100635 (N-[2-[4-(2-methoxyphenyl)-1-piperazinyl]ethyl]-N-2-pyridinylcyclohexanecarboxamide) (20 microg) i.c.v. coadministered with 8-OH-DPAT (20 microg) was unable to inhibit the effect of 8-OH-DPAT on BS muscle contractile activity. Conversely, raclopride (40 microg) and spiperone (10 microg), both dopamine D2-like receptor antagonists, i.c.v. coinjected with 8-OH-DPAT (20 microg), abolished BS muscle contractions. The involvement of D2-like receptors was further supported by the fact that the D2-like agonist quinelorane (20 microg i.c.v.) also induced BS muscle rhythmic contractions. Our data demonstrate that D2-like receptors mediate the induction by 8-OH-DPAT of rhythmic BS muscle contractions and suggest that i.c.v. delivery of D2-like receptor agonists to anesthetized rats represents a relevant experimental model to study the expulsion phase of ejaculation.

Pharmacological and physiological aspects of sexual exhaustion in male rats

The present article reviews the current findings on the interesting phenomenon of sexual satiety. Knut Larsson in 1956 reported on the development of sexual exhaustion in the male rat after repeated copulation. We have studied the process and found the following results. (1) One day after 4 hours of ad libitum copulation, two-thirds of the population showed complete inhibition of sexual behavior, while the other third displayed a single ejaculatory series from which they did not recover. (2) Several pharmacological treatments, including 8-OH-DPAT, yohimbine, naloxone and naltrexone, reverse this sexual satiety, indicating that the noradrenergic, serotonergic and opiate systems are involved in this process. Indeed, direct neurochemical determinations showed changes in various neurotransmitters during sexual exhaustion. (3) Given enough stimulation, by changing the stimulus female, sexual satiety was prevented, suggesting that there are motivational components of the sexual inhibition that characterizes sexual exhaustion. (4) The GABA antagonist bicuculline, or the electrical stimulation of the medial preoptic area, did not reverse sexual exhaustion. These data suggest, on the one hand, that sexual exhaustion and the postejaculatory interval (which is shortened by bicuculline administration) are not mediated by similar mechanisms and, on the other, that the medial preoptic area does not regulate sexual satiety. (5) The androgen receptor density in brain areas closely related to the expression of masculine sexual behavior, such as the medial preoptic nucleus, was drastically reduced in sexually exhausted animals. Such reduction was specific to certain brain areas and was not related to changes in the levels of androgens. These results suggest that changes in brain androgen receptors account for the inhibition of sexual behavior present during sexual exhaustion. (6) The recovery process of sexual satiety after 4 hours of ad libitum copulation reveals that, after 4 days, only 63% of the males are able to show sexual behavior while after 7 days all animals display copulatory activity.

Yohimbine reverses the exhaustion of the coital reflex in spinal male rats

The possible participation of the central noradrenergic system in the expression of the ejaculatory reflex of the rat was explored by evaluating the effects of the alpha(2)-adrenoceptor antagonist, yohimbine, on the exhausted coital reflex model. Male sexually experienced Wistar rats, subjected to the coital reflex exhaustion paradigm received a single i.v. injection of yohimbine (10 microg/animal), immediately after reaching exhaustion. Enhancement of noradrenergic transmission by yohimbine provoked the immediate expression of a single ejaculatory genital motor pattern (GMP) similar to a first reflexively evoked one, but in the absence of urethral mechanical stimulation. Pre-treatment with clonidine (10 microg/animal) completely prevented the yohimbine-induced GMP, implying that its effect was exerted upon alpha(2)-adrenoceptors. Clonidine treatment per se induced the expression of a single GMP, similar to a last reflexively evoked one, that was completely blocked by pre-treatment with prazosin (1 microg/animal) indicating that it was due to the alpha(1) properties of clonidine. Administration of prazosin previous to yohimbine did not interfere with the expression of the GMP but attenuated it, suggesting the involvement of alpha(1)-adrenoceptors in the yohimbine-induced motor response. Data reveal a facilitatory influence of the noradrenergic system on ejaculatory function mediated by both alpha(1)- and alpha(2)-adrenoceptors and support the notion of yohimbine acting at a spinal level.

Sexual behavior and fertility of male rats submitted to prolonged immobilization-induced stress

In order to investigate whether prolonged stress interferes with the onset of sexual behavior at puberty and with fertility at adulthood, prepubertal male Wistar rats (40 days of age) were immobilized 6 h a day for 15 days (up to early puberty) or for 60 days (until sexual maturity). Pubertal stressed rats showed a two-fold increase in the latency for the first mount (probably due to repeated aversive experience in which a change of environment was always followed by immobilization) and a 2.5-fold increase in the frequency of thrusting (indicative of enhanced sexual performance). The apparently stimulatory effect of prolonged stress on the onset of sexual behavior is discussed in terms of increased testosterone level and interference with the complex interchanges between the neurotransmitters/neuropeptides involved in the central control of male sexual activity. Adult stressed animals were mated with normal females, which became pregnant but exhibited a more than two-fold increase in both pre-implantation and post-implantation loss, probably due to a smaller rate of fertilization and/or fertilization with damaged spermatozoa.

Blockade of the establishment of the sexual inhibition resulting from sexual exhaustion by the Coolidge effect

Previous data from our laboratory and others suggest that the motivational component of male rat sexual behaviour plays an important role in the sexual satiation phenomenon. The aim of the present study was to establish the effect of a physiological increase in sexual motivation, by means of changing the stimulus female (Coolidge effect), on the sexual exhaustion phenomenon and to assess the impact of lesioning the central noradrenergic (NA) system on the Coolidge effect. Results suggest that: (a) interfering with the putative sexual motivation decline resulting from multiple ejaculation, by changing the stimulus female, interferes with the establishment of an inhibitory process responsible for the sexual inhibition that follows sexual satiation; and (b) the neurotoxic lesion of the NA system does not block the stimulatory effect of such manipulation. It is concluded that different mechanisms modulate sexual behaviour expression in sexually exhausted male rats depending on the type of stimulus challenge to which they are subjected, i.e. pharmacological or physiological.

Partial antagonism of 8-OH-DPAT'S effects on male rat sexual behavior with a D2, but not a 5-HT1A, antagonist

The serotonin agonist 8-hydroxy-di-propylaminotetralin (8-OH-DPAT), injected systemically or directly into the medial preoptic area (MPOA), reduces the ejaculatory threshold in male rats. While 8-OH-DPAT has been characterized as an agonist at the 5-HT1A receptor, it also acts at other receptor sites including the dopamine D2 receptor. The current experiments investigated whether 8-OH-DPAT injected into the MPOA facilitates male sexual behavior through stimulation of the 5-HT1A receptor or the dopamine D2 receptor. Experiment 1 co-administered 8-OH-DPAT (6 microgram) with either the 5-HT1A antagonist 4-iodo-N-[2-[4-(methoxyphenyl)-1-piperazinyl]ethyl]-N-2-pyridinyl-ben zamide hydrochloride (MPPI) (10 microgram) or the D2 antagonist raclopride (10 microgram). Raclopride blocked 8-OH-DPAT's facilitative effects on ejaculation frequency and latency, while the 5-HT1A antagonist was ineffective. In Experiment 2, 8-OH-DPAT (500 microM), retrodialyzed into the MPOA through a microdialysis probe, enhanced male copulatory behavior similarly to the microinjection, increasing ejaculation frequency and decreasing ejaculation latency, postejaculatory interval and mount frequency. Retrodialyzing 8-OH-DPAT through a microdialysis probe in the MPOA had been previously shown to increase extracellular levels of dopamine and serotonin. The data from the present studies suggest that the effects of 8-OH-DPAT in the MPOA on male rat copulatory behavior may be mediated, at least in part, either directly through 8-OH-DPAT's activity at D2 receptors or indirectly through 8-OH-DPAT's ability to increase extracellular dopamine.