Abstract
Alcohol has a strong causal relationship with sexual arousal and disinhibited sexual behavior in humans; however, the physiological support for this notion is largely lacking and thus a suitable animal model to address this issue is instrumental. We investigated the effect of ethanol on sexual behavior in Drosophila. Wild-type males typically court females but not males; however, upon daily administration of ethanol, they exhibited active intermale courtship, which represents a novel type of behavioral disinhibition. The ethanol-treated males also developed behavioral sensitization, a form of plasticity associated with addiction, since their intermale courtship activity was progressively increased with additional ethanol experience. We identified three components crucial for the ethanol-induced courtship disinhibition: the transcription factor regulating male sex behavior Fruitless, the ABC guanine/tryptophan transporter White and the neuromodulator dopamine. fruitless mutant males normally display conspicuous intermale courtship; however, their courtship activity was not enhanced under ethanol. Likewise, white males showed negligible ethanol-induced intermale courtship, which was not only reinstated but also augmented by transgenic White expression. Moreover, inhibition of dopamine neurotransmission during ethanol exposure dramatically decreased ethanol-induced intermale courtship. Chronic ethanol exposure also affected a male's sexual behavior toward females: it enhanced sexual arousal but reduced sexual performance. These findings provide novel insights into the physiological effects of ethanol on sexual behavior and behavioral plasticity.
Highlights
Ethanol acts on multiple neural systems to produce diverse behavioral responses [1,2,3]
Disinhibited sexual behavior is highly associated with alcohol consumption; the physiological support for this notion is largely lacking and a suitable animal model to address this issue is instrumental
A low dose of ethanol reinstates copulatory behavior of the male rats that have been repeatedly trained to suppress their sexual response to unreceptive females [33]
Summary
Ethanol acts on multiple neural systems to produce diverse behavioral responses [1,2,3]. A prominent euphoric response associated with ethanol in humans is sexual arousal. The enhanced arousal, in combination with the negative effect of ethanol on cognition, is believed to cause disinhibited sexual behavior, which possibly underlies risky sexual behavior such as unprotected sex and assaults associated with drinking [4,5,6]. The ethanol-associated sexual behavior appears to be due to expectancy (outcome based on learned anticipation) as well as pharmacological effects [5]; physiological evidence is lacking. Animal studies investigating ethanol’s effects on sexual behavior have mainly focused on sexual performance, in which ethanol negatively affects copulatory behavior [7,8]. The physiological underpinning of ethanol’s effect on sexual arousal and disinhibition needs to be resolved
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
