Post-ejaculatory Inhibition of Female Sexual Drive via Heterogeneous Neuronal Ensembles in the Medial Preoptic Area

• DOI: 10.7554/elife.91765.2
• Publication Date: 2025-02-14T12:25:13Z
• Authors: Kentaro K Ishii; Koichi Hashikawa; Jane Chea; Shihan Yin; Rebecca Erin Fox; Suyang Kan; Meha Shah; Charles Zhou; Jovana Navarrete; Alexandria D Murry; Eric R Szelenyi; Sam A Golden; Garret D Stuber
• Keywords: Preoptic area; Ejaculation

Male ejaculation acutely suppresses sexual motivation in male mice. In contrast, relatively little is known about how affects and behavior female How the brain responds to completion of mating also unclear. Here, by using self-paced assay, we first demonstrate that mice show decreased after experiencing ejaculation. By brain-wide analysis activity-dependent labeling, next pinpointed medial preoptic area as a region strongly activated during post-ejaculatory period. Furthermore, freely moving vivo calcium imaging compare neural activity inhibitory excitatory neurons area, revealed subset this respond significantly specifically but not female-to-male sniffing or mounting. While there were showed increased response ejaculation, magnitude well proportion responding event was larger neuron population. Next, unbiased classification their responses, found subpopulation increase late onset These all indicating induces prolonged area. Lastly, chemogenetic activation active period, appetitive consummatory periods, sufficient suppress motivation. Together, our data illuminate importance node which encodes negative signal sustains low state experience