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Activation of neural pathways associated with sexual arousal in non‐human primates
Author(s) -
Ferris Craig F.,
Snowdon Charles T.,
King Jean A.,
Sullivan John M.,
Ziegler Toni E.,
Olson David P.,
SchultzDarken Nancy J.,
Tannenbaum Pamela L.,
Ludwig Reinhold,
Wu Ziji,
Einspanier Almuth,
Vaughan J. Thomas,
Duong Timothy Q.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.10456
Subject(s) - neuroscience , sexual arousal , ovariectomized rat , psychology , cerebellum , arousal , preoptic area , periaqueductal gray , central nervous system , biology , endocrinology , midbrain , estrogen
Purpose To evaluate brain activity associated with sexual arousal, fully conscious male marmoset monkeys were imaged during presentation of odors that naturally elicit high levels of sexual activity and sexual motivation. Material and Methods Male monkeys were lightly anesthetized, secured in a head and body restrainer with a built‐in birdcage resonator and positioned in a 9.4‐Tesla spectrometer. When fully conscious, monkeys were presented with the odors of a novel receptive female or an ovariectomized monkey. Both odors were presented during an imaging trial and the presentation of odors was counterbalanced. Significant changes in both positive and negative BOLD signal were mapped and averaged. Results Periovulatory odors significantly increased positive BOLD signal in several cortical areas: the striatum, hippocampus, septum, periaqueductal gray, and cerebellum, in comparison with odors from ovariectomized monkeys. Conversely, negative BOLD signal was significantly increased in the temporal cortex, cingulate cortex, putamen, hippocampus, substantia nigra, medial preoptic area, and cerebellum with presentation of odors from ovariectomized marmosets as compared to periovulatory odors. A common neural circuit comprising the temporal and cin‐gulate cortices, putamen, hippocampus, medial preoptic area, and cerebellum shared both the positive BOLD response to periovulatory odors and the negative BOLD response to odors of ovariectomized females. Conclusion These data suggest the odor‐driven enhancement and suppression of sexual arousal affect neuronal activity in many of the same general brain areas. These areas included not only those associated with sexual activity, but also areas involved in emotional processing and reward. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2004;19:168–175. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.