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Estradiol and progesterone in the control of sexual receptivity in female rats
Author(s) -
SÖDERSTEN P.,
ENEROTH P.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.743
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1467-9450
pISSN - 0036-5564
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9450.1982.tb00461.x
Subject(s) - ovariectomized rat , receptivity , endocrinology , medicine , hypothalamus , hormone , estrogen , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , psychology , estrous cycle , sexual behavior , biology , developmental psychology
Estradiol (E 2 ) and progesterone (P) are both required for induction of sexual behavior in female rats under physiological conditions. Administration of E 2 in brief pulses can induce the behavior in ovariectomized rats. P does not normally exert inhibitory or anti‐estrogenic effects on the behavior. The decline of sexual receptivity in ovariectomized E 2 +P‐treated rats is dependent upon the amount of E 2 and P given but independent on the continued presence of either hormone. Ovariectomized animals treated with a constant amount of E 2 show a behavioral rhythm which is disrupted by hypothalamic lesions and it is suggested that peptidergic neurons in the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus rhythmically inhibit the behavior of ovariectomized E 2 ‐treated rats.