Abstract
Ethanol affects sexual behavior drastically, as much as its execution as well as its motivation. Ethanol is a central nervous system depressant and the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is one of the cortical areas most sensitive to its effects. This prefrontal area participates in the modulation of the cognitive control, and furthermore, by mean of connections with the parietal cortex (PC) plays an important role in the processing of sexually relevant stimuli. Considering that it has been reported that the ethanol affects the proper functioning of these cortical areas, particularly decreasing the degree of electroencephalographic (EEG) coupling or correlation between them, the aim of this study was to characterize the effect of a low dose of ethanol on EEG correlation, as well determining if this effect is associated with impaired sexual behavior in male rats. Nine male rats unilaterally implanted were simultaneously recorded the EEG from the PFC and PC to calculate the degree of EEG synchronization (correlation, r) between both cortices during the first 40 minutes post administration of 0.75 g/kg of ethanol. At the end of the EEG recording, the males were submitted to copulatory behavior with a receptive female rat. The ethanol administration was associated with a decreased intrahemispheric correlation of the fast bands between PFC and PC, as well as with an increased mount and intromission latency. This data showed that ethanol in moderate doses decreased the coupling degree between cortices. It is likely that this functional disconnection between the PFC and PC after the ethanol administration could be associated with the difficulty in discriminating incentive value of the sexual stimuli so that decreased the sexual motivation but not the performance of the copulatory parameters in the male rat.
Highlights
In general terms was found that the administration of a low doses of ethanol was associated with a decrease in the synchronization degree between prefrontal cortex (PFC) and parietal cortex (PC) of the three EEG frequency bands analyzed, though statistical significance only was achieved in the fast frequency band (14 - 30 Hz) (t = 2.063; p = 0.036) (Figure 2)
The results of this study showed that a moderate ethanol dose decreased the degree of synchronization between prefrontal and parietal cortices and that this lower cortical coupling was associated with an increased mount and intromission latency, without affecting the efficiency of the male rat sexual interaction
The important role that the prefrontal cortex plays in the processing of sexually relevant stimuli has been reported [29,30,31]
Summary
Sexual behavior is a motivated behavior typical of all the species, in which individuals display a range of behavior patterns in order to attract a potential sexual match and have sexual interaction [1].This behavior is affected by the intake of different substances, most by ethanol, which can significantly alter the performance of the copulatory acts as well as the structure and function of the cerebral areas, causing functional changes in both cortical and subcortical areas depending on the dose, route of administration and age of subjects, among others [2].The effect of ethanol on the nervous system and its speed of action is due in part to its water solubility resulting in rapid absorption into the blood (between 30 40 minutes after) and widely distributed throughout the brain [3]. Sexual behavior is a motivated behavior typical of all the species, in which individuals display a range of behavior patterns in order to attract a potential sexual match and have sexual interaction [1]. This behavior is affected by the intake of different substances, most by ethanol, which can significantly alter the performance of the copulatory acts as well as the structure and function of the cerebral areas, causing functional changes in both cortical and subcortical areas depending on the dose, route of administration and age of subjects, among others [2].
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