Date of Award
11-11-2008
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Aras Petrulis - Chair
Second Advisor
Anne Murphy
Third Advisor
Elliott Albers
Abstract
In Syrian hamsters, social behavior is mediated exclusively by chemosensory cues and circulating gonadal steroid hormones. Where these two signals are processed in the brain is unknown, but the posterior bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (pBNST) has been suggested as a candidate site. Therefore, we tested male hamsters’ preference for opposite-sex odors following excitotoxic lesions of the pBNST. Lesions of the pBNST (pBNST-X) eliminated male hamsters’ preference for opposite-sex odors. Furthermore, pBNST-X males spent significantly less time investigating female odors than clean odors and significantly less time investigating female odors than control males did. Lesions of the pBNST did not change male hamsters’ investigation of male odors. The deficits observed in pBNST-X males were not due to a failure to discriminate between odors, as pBNST-X males were able to distinguish between odors. Together, these data suggest the pBNST is critical for opposite-sex odor preference in male hamsters.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/1061226
Recommended Citation
Been, Laura Elizabeth, "The Posterior Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis Mediates Opposite-Sex Odor Preference in Male Syrian Hamsters (Mesocricetus Auratus)." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2008.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/1061226