Intrahypothalamic injections of the excitotoxin N-methyl-D,L-aspartic acid (NMA) that destroyed the parvocellular regions of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) prevented go nadal regression in male hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) kept in short days (LD 6:18). After 17 weeks in short days, these NMA-injected animals had large, functional gonads and dis played all components of male sexual behavior. These findings confirm that neurons of the PVN are part of the pathway that mediates photoperiodism in hamsters.
References
1.
Ariens-Kappers, J. (1960) The development of topographical relations and innervations of the epiphysis cerebri in albino ratZ. Zellforsch.52: 163-215.
2.
Badura, L.L., C.L. Sisk, and A.A. Nunez (1987a) Neural pathways involved in the photoperiodic control of reproductive physiology and behavior in female hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus)Neuroendocrinology46: 339-344.
3.
Badura, L.L., W.R. Yant, and A.A. Nunez (1987b) Photoperiodic modulation of steroid-induced lordosis in golden hamstersPhysiol. Behav.40: 551-554.
4.
Berk, M.L., and J.A. Finkelstein (1981) An autoradiographic determination of the efferent projections of the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamusBrain Res.226: 1-13.
5.
Bittman, E.L., and M.N. Lehman (1987) Paraventricular neurons control hamster photoperiodism by a predominantly uncrossed descending pathway Brain ResBull.19: 687-694.
6.
Brown, M.H., L.L. Badura, and A.A. Nunez (1987) Evidence that neurons of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus with projections to the spinal cord are sensitive to the toxic effects of N-methyl aspartic acidNeurosci. Lett.73: 103-108.
7.
Campbell, C.S., J.S. Finkelstein, and F.W. Turek (1978) The interaction of photoperiod and testosterone on the development of copulatory behavior in male hamstersPhysiol. Behav.21: 409-415.
8.
Dohanich, G.P., and L.G. Clemens (1981) Brain areas implicated in cholinergic regulation of sexual behaviorHorm. Behav.15: 157-167.
9.
Don Carlos, L.L., and J.A. Finkelstein (1987) Hypothalamo-spinal projections in the golden hamsterBrain Res. Bull.18: 709-714.
10.
Elliott, J.A. (1976) Circadian rhythms and photoperiodic time measurement in mammalsFed. Proc.35 : 2339-2346.
11.
Eskes, G.A., and B. Rusak (1985) Horizontal knife cuts in the suprachiasmatic area prevent hamster gonadal responses to photoperiodNeurosci. Lett.61: 261-266.
12.
Eskes, G.A., M. Wilkinson, W.H. Moger, and B. Rusak (1984) Periventricular and suprachiasmatic lesion effects on photoperiodic responses of the hamster hypophyseal-gonadal axisBiol. Reprod.30: 1073-1081.
13.
Goldman, B.D., and J.M. Darrow (1983) The pineal gland and mammalian photoperiodismNeuroendocrinology37 : 386-396.
14.
Hastings, M.H., and J. Herbert (1986) Neurotoxic lesions of the paraventriculo-spinal projection block the nocturnal rise in pineal melatonin synthesis in the Syrian hamsterNeurosci. Lett.69: 1-6.
15.
Hastings, M.H., A.C. Roberts, and J. Herbert (1985a) Neurotoxic lesions of the anterior hypothalamus disrupt the photoperiodic but not the circadian system of the Syrian hamsterNeuroendocrinology40 : 316-324.
16.
Hastings, M.H., P. Winn, and S.B. Dunnett (1985b) Neurotoxic amino acid lesions of the lateral hypothalamus: A parametric comparison of the effects of ibotenate, N-methyl-D,L-aspartate and quisqualate in the ratBrain Res.360: 248-256.
17.
Inouye, S.-I.T., and F.W. Turek (1986) Horizontal knife cuts either ventral or dorsal to the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus block testicular regression in golden hamsters maintained in short daysBrain Res.370: 102-107.
18.
Kirk, R.E. (1968) Experimental Design: Procedures for the Behavioral Sciences, Brooks/Cole, Belmont, CA.
19.
Klein, M.N., R. Smoot, J.L. Weller, S. Higa, S.P. Markey, G.J. Creed, and D.M. Jaco-Bowitz (1983) Lesions of the paraventricular nucleus area disrupt the suprachiasmatic-spinal cord circuit in the melatonin rhythm generating systemBrain Res. Bull.10: 647-652.
20.
Lehman, M.N., E.L. Bittman, and S. Winans-Newman (1984) Role of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus in neuroendocrine responses to daylength in the golden hamsterBrain Res.308 : 25-32.
21.
Luiten, P.G.M., G.J. Ter Horst, H. Karst, and A.B. Steffens (1985) The course of paraventricular hypothalamic efferents to autonomic structures in medulla and spinal cordBrain Res.329: 374-378.
22.
Malsbury, C.W. (1977) A schematic stereotaxic atlas of the golden hamster brainCat. Sel. Doc. Psychol.7: 67.
23.
Møller, M., and H.-W. Korf (1987) Neural connections between the brain and the pineal gland of the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus): Tracer studies by use of horseradish peroxidase in vivo and in vitroCell Tissue Res.247: 145-153.
24.
Moore, R.Y., and D.C. Klein (1974) Visual pathways and the central neural control of a circadian rhythm in pineal serotonin N-acetyltransferase activityBrain Res.71: 17-33.
25.
Moore, R.Y., and N.J. Lenn (1972) A retinohypothalamic projection in the ratJ. Comp. Neurol.146: 1-14.
26.
Morin, L.P., and I. Zucker (1978) Photoperiodic regulation of copulatory behavior in the male hamsterJ. Endocrinol.77: 249-258.
27.
Nunez, A.A., M.H. Brown, and T.G. Youngstrom (1985) Hypothalamic circuits involved in the regulation of seasonal and circadian rhythms in male golden hamstersBrain Res. Bull.15 : 149-153.
28.
Pickard, G.E., and F.W. Turek (1983) The hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus mediates the control of reproduction but not the effects of light on the circadian rhythm of activityNeurosci. Lett.43: 67-72.
29.
Rando, T.A., C.W. Bowers, and R.E. Zig-Mond (1981) Localization of neurons in the rat spinal cord which project to the superior cervical ganglionJ. Comp. Neurol.196: 73-83.
30.
Reiter, R.J., and R.J. Hester (1966) Interrelationships between the pineal gland, the superior cervical ganglion, and the photoperiod in the regulation of the endocrine systems of hamstersEndocrinology79: 1168-1170.
31.
Rusak, B., and L.P. Morin (1976) Testicular responses to photoperiod are blocked by lesions of the suprachiasmatic nuclei in hamstersBiol. Reprod.15: 366-374.
32.
Silverman, A.J., D.L. Hoffman, and E.A. Zimmerman (1981) The descending afferent connections of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN)Brain Res. Bull.6: 47-61.
33.
Stephan, F.K., K.J. Berkley, and R.L. Moss (1981) Efferent connections of the rat suprachiasmatic nucleusNeuroscience6 : 2625-2641.
34.
Swanson, L.W., and H.G.J.M. Kuypers (1980) The paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus: Cytoarchitectonic subdivisions and the organization of projections to the pituitary, dorsal vagal complex and spinal cord as demonstrated by retrograde fluorescence double labelling methodsJ. Comp. Neurol.194: 555-570.
35.
Tamarkin, L., C.J. Baird, and O.F.X. Al-Meida (1985) Melatonin: A coordinating signal for mammalian reproduction?Science227: 714-720.
36.
Watts, A.G., and L.W. Swanson (1987) Efferent projections of the suprachiasmatic nucleus: II. Studies using retrograde transport of fluorescent dyes and simultaneous peptide immunohistochemistry in the ratJ. Comp. Neurol.258: 230-252.
37.
Watts, A.G., L.W. Swanson, and G. Sanchez-Watts (1987) Efferent projections of the suprachiasmatic nucleus: I. Studies using anterograde transport of Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin in the ratJ. Comp. Neurol.258: 204-229.
38.
Youngstrom, T.G., M.L. Weiss, and A.A. Nunez (1987) A retinal projection to the paraventricular nuclei of the hypothalamus in the Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus)Brain Res. Bull.19: 747-750.
