Medial Nucleus of the Amygdala Mediates Chemosensory Control of Male Hamster Sexual Behavior

• DOI: 10.1126/science.7423209
• Publication Date: 2006-10-05T17:45:58Z
• Authors: Michael N. Lehman; Sarah S. Winans; J. Bradley Powers
• Keywords: Male; Amygdala; Chemoreceptor Cells; Functional Laterality; Smell; Sexual Behavior, Animal; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Cricetinae; Copulation; Animals; Testosterone

Bilateral lesions restricted to the medial nucleus of the amygdala eliminate mating behavior in the male hamster and severely diminish the male's sniffing and licking investigation of the female hamster's anogenital region. The results suggest that olfactory and vomeronasal sensory information critical to male mating behavior is processed in the medial nucleus, which is an androgen-binding brain area. Thus the medial nucleus may act as a relay through which chemosensory information influences activity in the medial preoptic-anterior hypothalamic junction and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, areas important in the mediation of male sexual behavior.