Sexual Behavior and 2-Deoxyglucose Uptake in Male Red-Sided Gaiter Snakes &lt;i&gt;(Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis)&lt;/i&gt;

Allen, Ethan E.; Crews, David

doi:10.1159/000113899

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The absence of any relationship between brain nucleus size and behavior in the red-sided garter snake does not mean that brain-behavior relationships at the level of the individual cannot be detected. Individual variation in brain metabolism as measured by 2-deoxyglucose utilization correlates well with the level of sexual activity exhibited by male red-sided garter snakes (Allen and Crews, 1992); perhaps significantly, males with greater 2-deoxyglucose utilization in limbic nuclei tended to be courters. Gahr (1990) demonstrated that in the canary, seasonal fluctuations in Nissl staining are not correlated with the patterns of immunoreactivity using the estrogen receptor antibody H222.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

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Seasonal fluctuations in brain nuclei in the red-sided garter snake and their hormonal control

1993

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In many vertebrates, breeding seasons are protracted and mating behavior is temporally associated with gonadal growth and increased sex steroid hormone secretion. In the red-sided garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis), mating behavior is restricted to the 2-4 weeks immediately following emergence from winter dormancy. During this period mating behavior is sex-specific: chin-rubbing is exhibited only by males and receptivity to chin-rubbing is exhibited only by females. It is remarkable that mating occurs when the gonads are small and circulating concentrations of gonadal hormones are low. As in other vertebrate species, limbic nuclei are involved in the mediation of mating behaviors. To determine if limbic nuclei are sexually dimorphic and, further, whether they fluctuate in size with the seasons, the volume of brain areas was measured in both sexes at different times of the year (spring, fall, hibernation) and after hormone manipulation (gonadectomy and gonadectomy plus hormone treatment). The areas of interest were the preoptic area (POA), ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH), and the nucleus sphericus (NS or amygdala); control areas included the external nucleus of the optic tract (a cell-rich area) and medial forebrain bundle (a fiber-rich area). Comparisons according to season and manipulation revealed only two instances of sexual dimorphism: the POA of females was significantly smaller than that of males during hibernation and the NS of females was significantly smaller than that of males in those animals not subjected to hibernation. This general lack of sexual dimorphisms in the brain despite the sex-specificity of the behavior patterns and their marked seasonality may reflect the dissociated reproductive pattern characteristic of this species.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…Lesion of the NS, on the other hand, facilitates courtship behavior (Krohmer and Crews, 1987b), suggesting that the POA is under inhibitory control ofthe NS. Using 2-deoxyglucose to monitor patterns of neural activity in the brain, Allen and Crews (1992) found that the POA and the NS in courting males were more active than in noncourting males.…”

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confidence: 99%

Seasonal fluctuations in brain nuclei in the red-sided garter snake and their hormonal control

1993

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“…If the AME is functionally analogous to the MeP and the NS is analogous to the MeA, then NS lesions should lead to greater decrements in sexual behavior than AME lesions. This is supported by the facts that there exists, overall, more significant correlations in CO activity between the NS and other hypothalamic and preoptic nuclei than between the AME and hypothalamic and preoptic nuclei, that glucose consumption is elevated in the NS in male redsided garter snakes during courtship [Allen and Crews, 1992], and that AME lesions do not significantly affect the expression of courtship behaviors in male anole lizards [Greenberg et al, 1984].…”

Section: Functional Connections and Sexual Behaviormentioning

confidence: 82%

Functional Connectivity among Limbic Brain Areas: Differential Effects of Incubation Temperature and Gonadal Sex in the Leopard Gecko, <i>Eublepharis macularius</i>

et al. 2000

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The neural basis of individual differences in behavior has been studied primarily by analyzing the properties of specific neural areas. However, because of the organization of the nervous system, it is also plausible that differences in behavior are mediated by differences in the interactivity or functional connectivity among brain nuclei in particular neural circuits. In the leopard gecko, Eublepharis macularius, the temperature of the egg during incubation not only determines gonadal sex, but also shapes the sociosexual behaviors, reproductive physiology, and hormone sensitivity of adult animals. In this study the effects of both incubation temperature and gonadal sex on functional connectivity among limbic brain areas were examined. Functional connectivity was assessed by analyzing covariance patterns in metabolic capacity, as revealed by quantitative cytochrome oxidase histochemistry. It was hypothesized that incubation temperature and gonadal sex affect the propensity to display aggressive or sexual behaviors by altering the functional connectivity within relevant neural circuits. The correlations of metabolic capacity between the anterior hypothalamus and both the septum and preoptic area were significant only in relatively aggressive individuals, suggesting that these circuits may regulate the phenotypic variation in aggressiveness caused by incubation temperature. The correlations between the ventromedial hypothalamus and both the dorsal ventricular ridge and septum were significant only in females, suggesting that these circuits may modulate female-typical sexual behaviors. Correlations among preoptic, hypothalamic and amygdalar areas tended to be distributed across both sexes, suggesting that there may be shared pathways underlying the expression of male-typical and female-typical behaviors.

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“…AR mRNA was expressed at a high level within the medial preoptic area, the periventricular preoptic area, and the anterior hypothalamus, which is concordant with our previous finding that androgens activate copulatory behavior and tail vibrations (a male‐typical courtship behavior) in the leopard gecko (Rhen and Crews, 1999). Male garter snakes that display courtship behavior accumulate more 2‐deoxyglucose in the AH‐POA than noncourting males, which presumably reflects differences in neural activity associated with mating (Allen and Crews, 1992). The premammillary nucleus also was labeled intensely for AR mRNA in the leopard gecko.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution of androgen and estrogen receptor mRNA in the brain and reproductive tissues of the leopard gecko, Eublepharis macularius

Rhen

Crews

2001

J of Comparative Neurology

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Incubation temperature during embryonic development determines gonadal sex in the leopard gecko, Eublepharis macularius. In addition, both incubation temperature and gonadal sex influence behavioral responses to androgen and estrogen treatments in adulthood. Although these findings suggest that temperature and sex steroids act upon a common neural substrate to influence behavior, it is unclear where temperature and hormone effects are integrated. To begin to address this question, we identified areas of the leopard gecko brain that express androgen receptor (AR) and estrogen receptor (ER) mRNA. We gonadectomized adult female and male geckos from an incubation temperature that produces a female-biased sex ratio and another temperature that produces a male-biased sex ratio. Females and males from both temperatures were then treated with equivalent levels of various sex steroids. Region-specific patterns of AR mRNA expression and ER mRNA expression were observed upon hybridization of radiolabeled (35S) cRNA probes to thin sections of reproductive tissues (male hemipenes and female oviduct) and brain. Labeling for AR mRNA was very intense in the epithelium, but not within the body, of the male hemipenes. In contrast, expression of ER mRNA was prominent in most of the oviduct but not in the luminal epithelium. Within the brain, labeling for AR mRNA was conspicuous in the anterior olfactory nucleus, the lateral septum, the medial preoptic area, the periventricular preoptic area, the external nucleus of the amygdala, the anterior hypothalamus, the ventromedial hypothalamus, the premammillary nucleus, and the caudal portion of the periventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. Expression of ER mRNA was sparse in the septum and was prominent in the ventromedial hypothalamus, the caudal portion of the periventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, and a group of cells near the torus semicircularis. Many of these brain regions have been implicated in the regulation of hormone-dependent, sex-typical reproductive and agonistic behaviors in other vertebrates. Consequently, these nuclei are likely to control such behaviors in the leopard gecko and also are candidate neural substrates for mediating temperature effects on behavior.

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Sexual Behavior and 2-Deoxyglucose Uptake in Male Red-Sided Gaiter Snakes <i>(Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis)</i>

Cited by 12 publications

References 6 publications

Seasonal fluctuations in brain nuclei in the red-sided garter snake and their hormonal control

Seasonal fluctuations in brain nuclei in the red-sided garter snake and their hormonal control

Functional Connectivity among Limbic Brain Areas: Differential Effects of Incubation Temperature and Gonadal Sex in the Leopard Gecko, <i>Eublepharis macularius</i>

Distribution of androgen and estrogen receptor mRNA in the brain and reproductive tissues of the leopard gecko, Eublepharis macularius

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