Article (Scientific journals)
Behavioral effects of brain-derived estrogens in birds.
Balthazart, Jacques; Taziaux, Mélanie; Holloway, Kevin et al.
2009In Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1163, p. 31-48
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
 

Files


Full Text
594_2009 nyas_03637.pdf
Publisher postprint (683.89 kB)
Request a copy

All documents in ORBi are protected by a user license.

Send to



Details



Keywords :
Animals; Aromatase/genetics/metabolism; Behavior, Animal/physiology; Birds/physiology; Brain/metabolism; Estrogens/metabolism; Genome/genetics; Humans; Sexual Behavior, Animal/physiology
Abstract :
[en] In birds as in other vertebrates, estrogens produced in the brain by aromatization of testosterone have widespread effects on behavior. Research conducted with male Japanese quail demonstrates that effects of brain estrogens on all aspects of sexual behavior, including appetitive and consummatory components as well as learned aspects, can be divided into two main classes based on their time course. First, estrogens via binding to estrogen receptors regulate the transcription of a variety of genes involved primarily in neurotransmission. These neurochemical effects ultimately result in the activation of male copulatory behavior after a latency of a few days. Correlatively, testosterone and its aromatized metabolites increase the transcription of the aromatase mRNA, resulting in an increased concentration and activity of the enzyme that actually precedes behavioral activation. Second, recent studies with quail demonstrate that brain aromatase activity can also be modulated within minutes by phosphorylation processes regulated by changes in intracellular calcium concentration, such as those associated with glutamatergic neurotransmission. The rapid upregulations or downregulations of brain estrogen concentration (presumably resulting from these changes in aromatase activity) affect, by nongenomic mechanisms with relatively short latencies (frequency increases or decreases respectively within 10-15 min), the expression of male sexual behavior in quail and also in rodents. Brain estrogens thus affect behavior on different time scales by genomic and nongenomic mechanisms similar to those of a hormone or a neurotransmitter.
Disciplines :
Zoology
Endocrinology, metabolism & nutrition
Neurosciences & behavior
Author, co-author :
Balthazart, Jacques  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences biomédicales et précliniques > Biologie de la différenciation sexuelle du cerveau
Taziaux, Mélanie ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences biomédicales et précliniques > Biologie de la différenciation sexuelle du cerveau
Holloway, Kevin
Ball, Gregory F
Cornil, Charlotte  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences biomédicales et précliniques > Biologie de la différenciation sexuelle du cerveau
Language :
English
Title :
Behavioral effects of brain-derived estrogens in birds.
Publication date :
2009
Journal title :
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
ISSN :
0077-8923
eISSN :
1749-6632
Publisher :
Wiley, Oxford, United Kingdom
Volume :
1163
Pages :
31-48
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Available on ORBi :
since 19 November 2009

Statistics


Number of views
92 (3 by ULiège)
Number of downloads
1 (1 by ULiège)

Scopus citations®
 
37
Scopus citations®
without self-citations
28
OpenCitations
 
32

Bibliography


Similar publications



Contact ORBi