Activity of peptidergic neurons in the amygdala during sexual behavior in the male rat.
The medial amygdaloid nucleus (AME) occupies a central position in the circuitry that organizes sexual behavior in the male rat. It receives a projection from olfactory structures that are activated by pheromonal cues indicating receptivity in the female and projects in turn to limbic and hypothalamic structures that are thought to organize aspects of coitus. Electrical stimulation of the AME elicits a behavioral state that is indistinguishable by several measures from the post-ejaculatory interval. We used chronic single-unit recording techniques to determine the behavioral conditions in which the AME is normally active. We found that the cells indeed fired selectively during the presence of a receptive female, but that the discharge considerably anticipated copulation in time. We propose that sexual behavior in the male rat is a reaction chain of fixed action patterns, each one acting as a releaser for the next. The AME mediates an early event in the reaction chain, namely recognition of the receptive female, but electrical activation of the AME causes the reaction chain to proceed to its culminating behavior, the post-ejaculatory interval.