Sex hormone levels and expression of their receptors in lactating and lactating pregnant rats.

Parturient rats show a postpartum estrus, a period of sexual receptivity that occurs from 6 to 15 h after the birth of a litter, which allows the mother to gestate a second litter while simultaneously nursing the first one (lactating and pregnant). The present study investigated hormone levels and the expression pattern of estrogen receptor α, and β, progesterone receptor isoforms and SRC1 in the hypothalamus and the preoptic area of lactating as well as in lactating-pregnant rats. In the latter, estradiol levels were 3-fold higher than those observed in lactating rats on day 14, meanwhile progesterone levels did not change in any condition.

Sex hormones and expression pattern of cytoskeletal proteins in the rat brain throughout pregnancy.

Pregnancy involves diverse changes in brain function that implicate a re-organization in neuronal cytoskeleton. In this physiological state, the brain is in contact with several hormones that it has never been exposed, as well as with very high levels of hormones that the brain has been in touch throughout life. Among the latter hormones are progesterone and estradiol which regulate several brain functions, including learning, memory, neuroprotection, and the display of sexual and maternal behavior.

The Edinger-Westphal-lateral septum urocortin pathway and its relationship to alcohol consumption.

Identifying and characterizing brain regions regulating alcohol consumption is beneficial for understanding the mechanisms of alcoholism. To this aim, we first identified brain regions changing in expression of the inducible transcription factor c-Fos in the alcohol-preferring C57BL/6J (B6) and alcohol-avoiding DBA/2J (D2) mice after ethanol consumption. Drinking a 5% ethanol/10% sucrose solution in a 30 min limited access procedure led to induction of c-Fos immunoreactivity in urocortin (Ucn)-positive cells of the Edinger-Westphal nucleus (EW), suppression of c-Fos immunoreactivity in the dorsal portion of the lateral septum (LS) of both strains of mice, and strain-specific suppression in the intermediate portion of the LS and the CA3 hippocampal region.

High alcohol/sucrose consumption during dark circadian phase in C57BL/6J mice: involvement of hippocampus, lateral septum and urocortin-positive cells of the Edinger-Westphal nucleus.

Rationale: Identification of the neuroanatomical substrates regulating alcohol consumption is important for the understanding of alcoholism. Previous studies mapping changes in brain activity used rodent models of alcohol drinking with relatively low alcohol intakes.

Objectives: This study was aimed to identify brain regions changing activity after high voluntary intake of alcohol-containing solutions.