MPOA · Neural mechanism underlying the central regulation of male sexual arousal and ejaculation
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2022-09-01 → 2024-08-31
- EU contribution
- €159,815
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
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Results in brief
Neural mechanism underlying the central regulation of male sexual arousal and ejaculation
The project addresses the mechanisms by which specific neuronal populations in the medial preoptic area (MPOA) of the brain regulate sexual behaviour, focusing on how these neurons influence consummatory aspects of behaviour, such as intromission and ejaculation. Understanding these circuits is crucial because sexual behaviour is a complex and fundamental component of mammalian biology, and disturbances in sexual behaviour circuits can be associated with conditions, such as premature and delayed ejaculation. Investigating the neural basis of sexual behaviour has broad implications for society, particularly in understanding conditions linked to sexual dysfunction, compulsive behaviours, and reproductive health. By mapping the specific neuronal pathways involved, this research can inform therapeutic approaches for addressing sexual dysfunction andpotentially other neuropsychiatric disorders where reward processing and consummatory behaviour are disrupted. Additionally, these insights contribute to our fundamental knowledge of brain function, highlighting how discrete neuronal populations coordinate complex behaviours. The project aimed to achieve the following: - Identify distinct neuronal populations within the MPOA that regulate consummatory (and, initially, appetitive) sexual behaviours. - Characterize the activity paMerns of these populations during sexual behaviour using in vivo imaging. - Examine the causal role of these neuronal populations in modulating behaviour through optogenetic manipulation. - Map the anatomical connectivity of these populations to understand how they integrate sensory feedback and influence motor and reward circuits. Conclusions of the action: The project successfully elucidated the role of the consummatory (CONS) neuronal population in the MPOA during sexual behaviour, showing that these neurons are specifically activated during intromissions and exert a regulatory influence on consummatory actions. AMempts to identify an appetitive-specific population were unsuccessful, but the research revealed potential interactions between appetitive and consummatory mechanisms, advancing the understanding of how the brain balances arousal and consummatory actions.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Sexual behavior patterns are unique among the behavioral repertoire of animals. Sex serves no survival advantage for the individual per se, but is vital for species preservation. To this end, evolution has hedonically biased animals to engage in behaviors that culminate in the conspecific transfer of genetic material. Male sexual behavior is characterized by distinct phases in this behavioral action sequence leading up to ejaculation. Lesions of the medial preoptic area (MPOA), an anterior extension of the hypothalamus, in rodents have been shown to eliminate both reward-seeking, or appetitive (female pursuit and anogenital investigation), and reward-consuming, or consummatory (mounting, intromissions, and ejaculation), male sexual behaviors. Furthermore, focal lesion studies and physiological evidence suggests the presence of separate populations within the MPOA mediating the control of these two phases, and behavioral evidence points to the idea that the performance of appetitive and consummatory behaviors are reciprocally related. However, the mechanistic role of the MPOA in controlling downstream circuitry facilitating male sexual arousal, copulation, and the interaction of these dimensions of behavior has not been explored. This proposal aims to understand how male sexual arousal and copulatory performance are encoded in the brain, utilizing activity-dependent genetic labeling approaches, in vivo calcium imaging, causal optogenetic manipulation of neuronal subpopulations, and genetic-based tracing methods. The project will be the first to mechanistically address how the brain provides descending control over male arousal and ejaculation, exposing potential central mechanisms that could be acted on for the treatment of sexual dysfunction.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- FUNDACAO D. ANNA DE SOMMER CHAMPALIMAUD E DR. CARLOS MONTEZ CHAMPALIMAUD · LISBOACoordinatorPortugal
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union