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Effects of estradiol on neural responses to social signals in female tĂșngara frogs.

Authors :
Chakraborty, Mukta
Burmeister, Sabrina S.
Source :
Journal of Experimental Biology. Nov2015, Vol. 218 Issue 22, p3671-3677. 7p.
Publication Year :
2015

Abstract

Estradiol plays an important role in mediating changes in female sexual behavior across reproductive cycles. In the túngara frog [Physalaemus (=Engystomops) pustulosus], the relationship between gonadal activity and female sexual behavior, as expressed by phonotaxis, is mediated primarily by estradiol. Estradiol receptors are expressed in auditory and motivational brain areas and the hormone could serve as an important modulator of neural responses to conspecific calls. To better understand how estradiol modifies neural responses to conspecific social signals, we manipulated estradiol levels and measured expression of the immediate early gene egr-1 in the auditory midbrain, thalamus and limbic forebrain in response to conspecific or heterospecific calls. We found that estradiol and conspecific calls increased egr-1 expression in the auditory midbrain and limbic forebrain, but in the thalamus, only conspecific calls were effective. In the preoptic area, estradiol enhanced the effect of the conspecific call on egr-1 expression, suggesting that the preoptic area could act as a hormonal gatekeeper to phonotaxis. Overall, the results suggest that estradiol has broad influences on the neural circuit involved in female reproduction, particularly those implicated in phonotaxis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00220949
Volume :
218
Issue :
22
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Journal of Experimental Biology
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
111166446
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.127738