Differences in sympathetic nervous system activity and NMDA receptor levels within the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus in rats with differential ejaculatory behavior

Differences in intravaginal ejaculation latency reflect normal biological variation, but the causes are poorly understood. Here, we investigated whether variation in ejaculation latency in an experimental rat model is related to altered sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity and expression of N-m...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Asian journal of andrology 2018-07, Vol.20 (4), p.355-359
Main Authors: Xia, Jia-Dong, Chen, Jie, Yang, Bai-Bing, Sun, Hai-Jian, Zhu, Guo-Qing, Dai, Yu-Tian, Yang, Jie, Wang, Zeng-Jun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aspartate
Brain
ejaculation
N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor
paraventricular nucleus
sympathetic nervous system
Females
Hypertension
Laboratory animals
N-methyl-D-aspartate
Nervous system
Neurobiology
Original
Rodents
Sexual behavior
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Differences in intravaginal ejaculation latency reflect normal biological variation, but the causes are poorly understood. Here, we investigated whether variation in ejaculation latency in an experimental rat model is related to altered sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity and expression of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN). Male rats were classified as "sluggish," "normal," and "rapid" ejaculators on the basis of ejaculation frequency during copulatory behavioral testing. The lumbar splanchnic nerve activity baselines in these groups were not significantly different at 1460 ± 480 mV, 1660 ± 600 mV, and 1680 ± 490 mV, respectively (P = 0.71). However, SNS sensitivity was remarkably different between the groups (P < 0.01), being 28.9% ± 8.1% in "sluggish," 48.4% ± 7.5% in "normal," and 88.7% ± 7.4% in "rapid" groups. Compared with "normal" ejaculators, the percentage of neurons expressing NMDA receptors in the PVN of "rapid" ejaculators was significantly higher, whereas it was significantly lower in "sluggish" ejaculators (P = 0.01). In addition, there was a positive correlation between the expression of NMDA receptors in the PVN and SNS sensitivity (r = 0.876, P = 0.02). This study shows that intravaginal ejaculatory latency is associated with SNS activity and is mediated by NMDA receptors in the PVN.
ISSN:1008-682X
1745-7262
DOI:10.4103/aja.aja_4_18