Increased GABAergic transmission in medial hypothalamus facilitates lordosis but has the opposite effect in preoptic area

The role of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in mediation of lordosis in the rat has been unclear. We report here that GABA plays a dual role in the mediation of lordosis and has differential effects in the medial hypothalamus (MH) and preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus continuum (POA-AH). Bilateral infu...

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Veröffentlicht in:Brain research 1990-01, Vol.507 (1), p.40-44
Hauptverfasser: McCarthy, Margaret M., Malik, Karl F., Feder, Harvey H.
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:The role of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in mediation of lordosis in the rat has been unclear. We report here that GABA plays a dual role in the mediation of lordosis and has differential effects in the medial hypothalamus (MH) and preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus continuum (POA-AH). Bilateral infusion of the GABA A antagonist bicuculline into the MH of cannulated females primed with estradiol benzoate and progesterone (EB+P) resulted in a marked and transient inhibition of ongoing lordosis. A similar pattern of inhibition was seen in females treated with EB only. In contrast, infusion of the same dose of bicuculline into the POA-AH of sexually receptive females had no effect on lordosis whereas infusion of the GABA A agonist muscimol into this site resulted in a short-term inhibition of lordosis. Furthermore, when females were treated with subthreshold doses of EB + P to induce a low level of lordosis responding, infusion of muscimol into the MH resulted in a significant enhancement of lordosis; infusion of bicuculline into the POA-AH also enhanced lordosis responding as compared to saline-infused controls. These data indicate that increased GABAergic neurotransmission in the MH facilitates lordosis whereas increased GABAergic activity in the POA-AH inhibits this behavior.
ISSN:0006-8993
1872-6240
DOI:10.1016/0006-8993(90)90519-H