PMID- 9571013
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 19980522
LR  - 20161124
IS  - 0018-506X (Print)
IS  - 0018-506X (Linking)
VI  - 33
IP  - 1
DP  - 1998 Feb
TI  - Testosterone augments neuronal Fos responses to estrous odors throughout the 
      vomeronasal projection pathway of gonadectomized male and female rats.
PG  - 48-57
AB  - Pheromonal signals emanating from female rats' soiled bedding have previously 
      been shown to attract male conspecifics and to augment the number of 
      Fos-immunoreactive neurons present in portions of the vomeronasal projection 
      pathway, ranging from the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) to the medial preoptic 
      area (mPOA) of gonadectomized, testosterone-treated male as well as female 
      subjects. In the present study we extended these findings by showing that these 
      neuronal Fos responses to estrous odors occurred only in gonadectomized subjects 
      which received testosterone propionate (TP), as opposed to oil vehicle, at the 
      time of testing. Previously, when treated with TP, all subjects had displayed 
      mounting with an estrous female. In subsequent tests, gonadectomized male and 
      female subjects spent significantly more time investigating soiled estrous 
      bedding as opposed to clean or anestrous bedding, again, provided they were 
      receiving TP. We propose that testosterone facilitates odor-induced neuronal Fos 
      expression either via its conversion to estradiol, and the subsequent action of 
      this steroid at estrogen response elements on the c-fos gene, or via some 
      indirect mechanism involving centrifugal control of AOB neurotransmission. The 
      ability of female odors to stimulate equivalent numbers of Fos-IR cells in 
      gonadectomized, TP-treated male and female rats indicates that the functional 
      responsiveness of neurons throughout the vomeronasal projection pathway is made 
      more male-like by the fetal actions of testosterone in female as well as in male 
      rats. Previous studies established that males have more neurons than females in 
      several segments of the vomeronasal pathway; however, this morphological sexual 
      dimorphism does not account for the observed isomorphic neuronal Fos responses to 
      female odors.
FAU - Paredes, R G
AU  - Paredes RG
AD  - Centro de Neurobiologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City, 
      DF. rparedes@servidor.unam.mx
FAU - Lopez, M E
AU  - Lopez ME
FAU - Baum, M J
AU  - Baum MJ
LA  - eng
GR  - HD21094/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States
GR  - MH00392/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States
PT  - Comparative Study
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PT  - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
PT  - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
PL  - United States
TA  - Horm Behav
JT  - Hormones and behavior
JID - 0217764
RN  - 0 (Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos)
RN  - 3XMK78S47O (Testosterone)
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - Antibody Specificity
MH  - Estrus/*physiology
MH  - Female
MH  - Male
MH  - *Odorants
MH  - Olfactory Receptor Neurons/chemistry/physiology
MH  - Orchiectomy
MH  - Ovariectomy
MH  - Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos/analysis/immunology/*metabolism
MH  - Rats
MH  - Rats, Wistar
MH  - Sex Characteristics
MH  - Sexual Behavior, Animal/physiology
MH  - Testosterone/*pharmacology
MH  - Vomeronasal Organ/cytology/*physiology
EDAT- 1998/05/08 00:00
MHDA- 1998/05/08 00:01
CRDT- 1998/05/08 00:00
PHST- 1998/05/08 00:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 1998/05/08 00:01 [medline]
PHST- 1998/05/08 00:00 [entrez]
AID - S0018-506X(98)91435-0 [pii]
AID - 10.1006/hbeh.1998.1435 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Horm Behav. 1998 Feb;33(1):48-57. doi: 10.1006/hbeh.1998.1435.