Journal article
Dendritic arbor of neurons in the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus in female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)
Hormones and behavior, Vol.63(1), pp.173-179
01/2013
DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.10.001
PMID: 23058474
Abstract
Female mating behavior in rats is associated with hormone-induced changes in the dendritic arbor of neurons in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH), particularly the ventrolateral portion. Regulation of mating behavior in female prairie voles differs substantially from that in rats; therefore, we examined the dendritic morphology of VMH neurons in this species. Sexually naïve adult female prairie voles were housed with a male to activate the females' reproductive endocrine system. Following 48h of cohabitation, females were tested for evidence of reproductive activation by assessing the level of male sexual interest, after which their brains were processed using Golgi impregnation, which allowed ventrolateral VMH neurons to be visualized and analyzed. Dendritic arborization in the female prairie vole VMH neurons was strikingly similar to that of female rats. The key difference was that in the prairie voles the long primary dendrites extended considerably further than those observed in rats. Although most female voles paired with males exhibited sexual activation, some females did not. These two groups displayed specific differences in their VMH dendrites. In particular, the long primary dendrites were longer in the reproductively active females compared with those in the non-activated females. Overall, dendrite lengths were positively correlated with plasma estradiol levels in females exposed to males, but not in unpaired females. Although causal relationships between the neuroendocrine events, dendrite length, and the outward, behavioral manifestation of reproductive activation cannot be determined from this study, these results suggest an association between ventrolateral VMH dendrite morphology and female mating behavior in prairie voles, akin to what has been observed in female rats.
► Ovarian hormones regulate dendrites in the rat hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus. ► These dendrites were studied in female prairie voles after cohabitation with males. ► Dendritic arbors were similar in the female prairie voles and female rats. ► Within female prairie voles, dendrite length varied according to sexual activation. ► These dendrites are further implicated in the control of female sexual behavior.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Dendritic arbor of neurons in the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus in female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)
- Creators
- Sarah L. Ferri - University of PennsylvaniaCarlos J. Rohrbach - University of PennsylvaniaSamantha E. Way - University of PennsylvaniaKathleen S. Curtis - Oklahoma State University Center for Health SciencesJ. Thomas Curtis - Oklahoma State University Center for Health SciencesLoretta M. Flanagan-Cato - University of Pennsylvania
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Hormones and behavior, Vol.63(1), pp.173-179
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.10.001
- PMID
- 23058474
- NLM abbreviation
- Horm Behav
- ISSN
- 0018-506X
- eISSN
- 1095-6867
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/2013
- Academic Unit
- Stead Family Department of Pediatrics; Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics
- Record Identifier
- 9984353940102771
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