Melatonin protects against the effects of chronic stress on sexual behaviour in male rats
- 1 November 2001
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in NeuroReport
- Vol. 12 (16), 3465-3469
- https://doi.org/10.1097/00001756-200111160-00018
Abstract
The effects of chronic mild stress (CMS) on both sexual behaviour and wet dog shakes (WDS), a serotonergic type 2A (5-HT2A) receptor-mediated behaviour, were explored in the male rat. In addition, the possible attenuation of these effects by chronic treatment with melatonin, a putative 5-HT2A antagonist, was examined. The CMS procedure resulted in a significant increase in WDS and an overall decrease in all aspects of sexual behaviour. Concurrent melatonin administra-tion attenuated the CMS-induced effects on sexual behaviour, but not the effects on either spontaneous WDS or WDS in response to the 5-HT2A agonist 1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane, suggesting a mechanism of action other than exclusive 5-HT2A antagonism. These results are the first to demonstrate that melatonin significantly protects against the detrimental effects of a chronic stressor on sexual behaviour.Keywords
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