Zaprinast, a phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitor, alters paced mating behavior in female rats

Clark, Ann S.; Meerts, Sarah H.; Guarraci, Fay A.

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2008.10.013

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Paced mating has been used to evaluate drugs with potential effects on sexual activity in preclinical studies. For example, the phosphodiesterase type-5 (PDE-5) inhibitor, zaprinast, which increases genital blood flow in women, was tested in rats ( Clark et al, 2009 ). They received one of three different doses (1.5, 3, and 6 mg/kg/i.p.)…”

Section: Behavioral Pharmacology Of Paced Matingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Being friendly: paced mating for the study of physiological, behavioral, and neuroplastic changes induced by sexual behavior in females

Ventura-Aquino,

Paredes

2023

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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Paced mating in rats is an experimental condition that allows the evaluation of sexual behavior in a way that closely resembles what occurs in seminatural and natural conditions enabling the female to control the rate of the sexual interaction. In conventional non-paced mating tests, females cannot escape from male approaches, which may lead to an unrewarding overstimulation. Paced mating is an alternative laboratory procedure that improves animal welfare and has a higher ethological relevance. The use of this procedure contributed to the identification of physiological and behavioral factors that favor reproduction. Paced mating includes motivational and behavioral components differentiating quantitative and qualitative characteristics that are critical for the induction of the rewarding properties of mating. These positive consequences ensure that the behavior will be repeated, favoring the species’ survival. Sexual reward is an immediate consequence of paced mating, mediated mainly by the endogenous opioid system. Paced mating also induces long-lasting neuroplastic changes, including gene expression, synthesis of proteins, and neurogenesis in sex-relevant brain areas. The interest in paced mating is growing since the complexity of its elements and consequences at different levels in a laboratory setting resembles what occurs in natural conditions. In this review, we analyze the classic studies and recent publications demonstrating the advantages of using paced mating to evaluate different aspects of sexual behavior in females.

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Section: Behavioral Pharmacology Of Paced Matingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Being friendly: paced mating for the study of physiological, behavioral, and neuroplastic changes induced by sexual behavior in females

Ventura-Aquino,

Paredes

2023

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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“…One such possibility is sensitization of sexual arousal via the neural circuit critical for blood flow in the female genitals (Cai, Alexander, & Marson, 2008; Marson & Murphy, 2006). Blood flow appears to be important for the typical display of paced mating behavior (Clark, Guarraci, Megroz, Porter, & Henderson, 2003; Clark, Meerts, & Guarraci, 2009; Gardener & Clark, 2001) so a stronger or faster vasocongestion of the genitals in experienced female rats may contribute to increased tolerance for vaginocervical stimulation (Komisaruk & Whipple, 2000) in sexually experienced rats.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual experience modulates partner preference and mPOA nitric oxide synthase in female rats.

Meerts

Park

Sekhawat

2016

Behavioral Neuroscience

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Sexually experienced female rats return to the male more quickly after intromissions, exhibit shorter interintromission intervals, and spend more time with the male rat during a test of paced mating behavior in comparison to naïve rats. The present study tested whether these changes reflect heightened sexual motivation independent of receipt of vaginocervical stimulation and/or neurochemical changes in the medial preoptic area (mPOA). Ovariectomized, female rats were given estradiol benzoate and progesterone, and then received either 6 paced mating encounters (experienced) or 6 control exposures to an empty paced mating arena (naïve). Experienced and naïve rats received a no-contact partner preference test under oil vehicle and then under hormone on a different day. Hormonal status and sexual experience led to significantly higher preference for the male. Brains were collected 1 hr after both experienced and naïve rats received paced mating to compare mPOA levels of Fos, a marker of neural activity, in response to copulation and nitric oxide synthase (NOS), the enzyme responsible for production of nitric oxide (NO). Expression of NOS was higher in experienced relative to naïve rats, whereas Fos was comparable between the groups. The data are consistent with the idea that both sexual motivation and changes to the mPOA contribute to the shift in paced mating behavior induced by sexual experience. (PsycINFO Database Record

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“…This pattern is characterized by female rats spending less time with a sexual partner, leaving the male more frequently, taking longer to return after receiving sexual stimulation, and displaying fewer solicitation behaviors. We have observed this disruptive pattern when female rats are exposed to drugs that block estrogen receptors or drugs that inhibit PDE-5 (Clark et al, 2003, 2009). Lesions of the medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus also decrease time spent with a sexual partner, increase the likelihood of leaving, and delay returning to the male after receiving sexual stimulation (Yang and Clemens, 2000; Guarraci et al, 2004; Guarraci and Clark, 2006) when subjects are tested for partner preference and during paced-mating behavior.…”

Section: Indications Of Motivationmentioning

confidence: 94%

“What a Girl Wants”: What Can We Learn From Animal Models of Female Sexual Motivation?

Guarraci

Frohardt

2019

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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Sexual motivation is notably different than other motivations such as hunger and thirst, because it lacks homeostatic drive. Sexual motivation poses no threat to physical well-being; individual survival is not at stake. Nevertheless, sexual motivation is a powerful drive and is critical for species survival. Understanding the complexity of sexual motivation has the potential to advance our understanding of other motivations, even pathological motivations, such as those associated with substance abuse. The study of motivation that is unique to females has often been neglected. A number of paradigms have been developed to investigate female sexual motivation beyond measuring only the lordosis reflex. Lordosis is a reflexive posture displayed by female mammals in response to male sexual stimulation to facilitate intromission. The lordosis reflex is essential, but studying the drive to mate is compromised in the absence of robust lordosis. Therefore, appetitive measures of sexual behavior (e.g., preferences, solicitation behaviors) are more specific and more sensitive indicators of sexual motivation than lordosis alone. Paradigms designed to study female sexual motivation often provide a female subject with the choice to interact with a sexually vigorous male or either a non-sexual partner (i.e., female, castrated male) or to remain alone. The study of appetitive measures of sexual motivation has elucidated the role of hormones in female sexual motivation, as well as the underlying neural pathways. The present review describes methods for studying female rats to advance our understanding of sexual motivation and sexual dysfunction.

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Zaprinast, a phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitor, alters paced mating behavior in female rats

Cited by 13 publications

References 33 publications

Being friendly: paced mating for the study of physiological, behavioral, and neuroplastic changes induced by sexual behavior in females

Being friendly: paced mating for the study of physiological, behavioral, and neuroplastic changes induced by sexual behavior in females

Sexual experience modulates partner preference and mPOA nitric oxide synthase in female rats.

“What a Girl Wants”: What Can We Learn From Animal Models of Female Sexual Motivation?

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