Title
Actions of Selective Estrogenic Drugs Implanted Into the Medial Amygdala on Male Rat Mating Behavior
Date of Award
Spring 4-4-2012
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Biology
First Advisor
Dr. Andrew Clancy
Second Advisor
Dr. Therese Poole
Third Advisor
Dr. Laura Carruth
Abstract
Estrogen stimulation of the medial amygdala (MEA) of the brain promotes male rat mating behavior. However, selective stimulation of either of the estrogen receptor subtypes found in the MEA (ERα or ERβ) does not support mating behavior. We tested the hypothesis that dual stimulation of ERα and ERβ is required to activate estrogen-dependant neural circuits in the MEA responsible for mating by local treatment of MEA with a combination of selective estrogenic agonists: propyl pyrazole triol (PPT, an ERα agonist ) and diarylpropionitrile (DPN, an ERβ agonist) administered to castrated, DHT maintained male rats. Estradiol (E2) or cholesterol (Chol) MEA implants served as positive and negative controls respectively. The animals receiving a mixture of PPT and DPN into the MEA displayed higher levels of mating behavior than the Chol treated animals but lower levels of mating behavior than the E2 treated animals.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/2765042
Recommended Citation
Dunigan, Anna I., "Actions of Selective Estrogenic Drugs Implanted Into the Medial Amygdala on Male Rat Mating Behavior." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2012.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/2765042