Skip to main content

Main menu

  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • Blog
    • Collections
    • Podcast
  • TOPICS
    • Cognition and Behavior
    • Development
    • Disorders of the Nervous System
    • History, Teaching and Public Awareness
    • Integrative Systems
    • Neuronal Excitability
    • Novel Tools and Methods
    • Sensory and Motor Systems
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • Editorial Board
    • For the Media
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Feedback
  • SUBMIT

User menu

Search

  • Advanced search
eNeuro
eNeuro

Advanced Search

 

  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • Blog
    • Collections
    • Podcast
  • TOPICS
    • Cognition and Behavior
    • Development
    • Disorders of the Nervous System
    • History, Teaching and Public Awareness
    • Integrative Systems
    • Neuronal Excitability
    • Novel Tools and Methods
    • Sensory and Motor Systems
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • Editorial Board
    • For the Media
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Feedback
  • SUBMIT
PreviousNext
Research ArticleNew Research, Cognition and Behavior

Optogenetic Activation of β-Endorphin Terminals in the Medial Preoptic Nucleus Regulates Female Sexual Receptivity

Caroline Johnson, Weizhe Hong and Paul Micevych
eNeuro 15 January 2020, 7 (1) ENEURO.0315-19.2019; https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0315-19.2019
Caroline Johnson
1Department of Neurobiology David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
2Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology of the Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Caroline Johnson
Weizhe Hong
1Department of Neurobiology David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
2Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology of the Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
3Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Weizhe Hong
Paul Micevych
1Department of Neurobiology David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
2Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology of the Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Paul Micevych
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF
Loading

Article Figures & Data

Figures

  • Tables
  • Figure 1.
    • Download figure
    • Open in new tab
    • Download powerpoint
    Figure 1.

    Hypothalamic lordosis circuit. Estradiol acts initially on NPY neurons in the ARH, which project to and activate POMC/β-End neurons. These neurons project to the MPN where the release of β-End activates and internalizes MORs. When these receptors are internalized, lordosis is attenuated. Neurons from the MPN project further to the VMH, where signals from other circuits are integrated before projecting to lower brain regions and ultimately to the spinal motor neurons responsible for the manifestation of lordosis behavior. 3V, 3rd ventricle; OC, optic chiasm; ME, median eminence. Figure adapted from Micevych and Christensen (2012), with permission.

  • Figure 2.
    • Download figure
    • Open in new tab
    • Download powerpoint
    Figure 2.

    POMC expression in tdTomato-labeled cell bodies. IHC was run to confirm that tdTomato was expressed in POMC neurons in the ARH. A, tdTomato in magenta. B, Rabbit anti-POMC in green. C, Merged image showing tdTomato and POMC-ir. 3V, 3rd ventricle. Scale bar = 50 µm.

  • Figure 3.
    • Download figure
    • Open in new tab
    • Download powerpoint
    Figure 3.

    ChR2 expression in ARH and MPN. A representative image showing (A) soma and fiber expression of ChR2-tdTomato in the ARH, and (B) fiber expression in the MPN in the same animal. The MPN is shown at the level containing the medial (m) and lateral (l) subdivisions. 3V, 3rd ventricle. Scale bars = 100 µm.

  • Figure 4.
    • Download figure
    • Open in new tab
    • Download powerpoint
    Figure 4.

    Photostimulation of ChR2 in the MPN significantly attenuates the LQ. A two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s multiple comparisons test indicated a significant interaction between virus type and behavior test on the LQ (F(2,28) = 3.96, p = 0.03). Photostimulation of ChR2-expressing fibers in the MPN significantly reduced the LQ as compared to all other conditions (denoted by *). There was no difference in initial sexual receptivity between any of the three groups. In Pomc-cre mice expressing ChR2 in β-End terminals, photostimulation significantly attenuated lordosis (photostimulation, white bar) as compared to the pre-test without photostimulation (pre-test, white bar; simple main effect p = 0.01). Photostimulation of ChR2 (white bar) also significantly reduced the LQ as compared to both mice with the control virus (gray bar, simple main effect p = 0.001) and mice with incorrectly placed fiber optic cannulae (black bar, simple main effect p = 0.03). Photostimulation of ChR2 (photostimulation, white bar) furthermore significantly reduced the LQ as compared to the pre-test LQ of both mice receiving the control virus (pre-test, gray bar, simple main effect p = 0.002) and those with incorrectly placed fiber optic cannulae (pre-test, black bar, simple main effect p = 0.03). Mice that received the control AAV exhibited no difference (p > 0.99) in LQ between the pre-test and during photostimulation, nor did mice expressing ChR2 but with incorrect placement of the fiber optic cannula (p > 0.99). There was no difference in LQ between mice that received the control virus and those with ChR2 but incorrect placement of fiber optic cannulae in any condition. Values are expressed as mean ± SEM.

  • Figure 5.
    • Download figure
    • Open in new tab
    • Download powerpoint
    Figure 5.

    Photostimulation of ChR2 in β-End terminals in the MPN internalizes the MOR. Photostimulation induced the internalization of MOR within cells in the MPN. A, A one-way ANOVA indicated that there was a significant difference in receptor internalization between groups (F(2,11) = 5.15, p = 0.03, r 2 = 0.48). Tukey’s multiple comparisons test indicated that mice with ChR2 in β-End terminals in the MPN showed a greater percentage of the area of the image covered by MOR-ir (mean, 8.7 ± 1.8%) as compared to both mice that received the control AAV (mean, 4.3 ± 0.4%; *p = 0.05) and those with ChR2 but incorrect fiber optic placement (mean, 3.7 ± 0.4%, **p = 0.04). Images show DAPI (blue) and MOR (green) in a representative cell from group 1 (B) and group 2 (C). Scale bar = 2 µm. All values expressed as mean ± SEM.

  • Figure 6.
    • Download figure
    • Open in new tab
    • Download powerpoint
    Figure 6.

    cFOS expression in the ARH is increased following photostimulation. IHC for cFOS was run to confirm activity in POMC neurons in the ARH. A, Following photostimulation, cFOS trended toward greater expression in neurons in mice with ChR2 than those that had the control virus (ChR2 mean, 41.3 ± 9.6%; control AAV mean, 15.7 ± 6.2%; p = 0.09), though this effect was not statistically significant, likely due to a lack of statistical power. tdTomato in magenta (B), cFOS in green (C), and merged image with both tdTomato and cFOS (D) in a representative mouse expressing ChR2 in the ARH. Double-labeled neurons appear yellow. Scale bar = 50 µm. 3V, 3rd ventricle. All values expressed as mean ± SEM.

Tables

  • Figures
    • View popup
    Table 1.

    Experimental group parameters

    GroupVirusHormone replacementn
    Group 1ChR2EB+P47
    Group 2ControlEB+P46
    Group 3ChR2Oil4
    Group 4ControlOil4
    Group 5ChR2EB+P44
    • Presented are the groups of mice used in this study, including AAV, hormone treatment, and number of mice per group. All hormones were dissolved in safflower oil and delivered subcutaneously 2 h before lights off. Mice that did not receive hormone replacement instead received an equal volume of safflower oil only.

    • View popup
    Table 2.

    Transgenic strains used in study

    n
    GroupJAX #005965JAX #010714
    Group 161
    Group 242
    Group 322
    Group 422
    Group 540
    • Two strains of Pomc-cre mice were used in this study; provided are the number of each strain of mouse used in each experimental group (described in Table 1).

    • View popup
    Table 3.

    Primary antibodies

    AntibodyDilutionSource
    Rabbit anti-MOR1:4000Neuromics, #RA10104
    Rabbit anti-cFOS1:5000Abcam, #ab190289
    Rabbit anti-POMC1:8000Phoenix Pharmaceuticals Inc., #H-029-30
    • Provided is the species in which the antibody was raised, dilution of antibody in microliters, and commercial source of primary antibodies used.

    • View popup
    Table 4.

    Secondary antibodies

    AntibodyDilutionSource
    Biotinylated goat anti-rabbit IgG1:300Vector Laboratories, #BA-1000
    Streptavidin Alex Fluor 4881:2000Molecular Probes, #S-11223
    Alexa Fluor 488 donkey anti-rabbit IgG1:2000Jackson ImmunoResearch, #711-545-152
    • Provided is the type of secondary antibody including species in which it was raised, dilution of antibody in microliters, and commercial source.

    • View popup
    Table 5.

    Mean LQ during pre-test

    MeanSEM
    Group 179.93.3
    Group 286.84.5
    Group 582.05.2
    • Presented is the mean and the SEM of the pre-test LQ score for each of the groups that received hormone replacement.

    • View popup
    Table 6.

    Mean LQ following photostimulation

    MeanSEM
    Group 152.69.0
    Group 288.04.8
    Group 581.43.0
    • Presented is the mean and the SEM of the LQ score during photostimulation for each of the groups that received hormone replacement.

Back to top

In this issue

eneuro: 7 (1)
eNeuro
Vol. 7, Issue 1
January/February 2020
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
  • Ed Board (PDF)
Email

Thank you for sharing this eNeuro article.

NOTE: We request your email address only to inform the recipient that it was you who recommended this article, and that it is not junk mail. We do not retain these email addresses.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Optogenetic Activation of β-Endorphin Terminals in the Medial Preoptic Nucleus Regulates Female Sexual Receptivity
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from eNeuro
(Your Name) thought you would be interested in this article in eNeuro.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Print
View Full Page PDF
Citation Tools
Optogenetic Activation of β-Endorphin Terminals in the Medial Preoptic Nucleus Regulates Female Sexual Receptivity
Caroline Johnson, Weizhe Hong, Paul Micevych
eNeuro 15 January 2020, 7 (1) ENEURO.0315-19.2019; DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0315-19.2019

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Respond to this article
Share
Optogenetic Activation of β-Endorphin Terminals in the Medial Preoptic Nucleus Regulates Female Sexual Receptivity
Caroline Johnson, Weizhe Hong, Paul Micevych
eNeuro 15 January 2020, 7 (1) ENEURO.0315-19.2019; DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0315-19.2019
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Significance Statement
    • Introduction
    • Materials and Methods
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Acknowledgments
    • Footnotes
    • References
    • Synthesis
    • Author Response
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF

Keywords

  • β-endorphin
  • estradiol
  • lordosis
  • μ-opioid receptor
  • POMC

Responses to this article

Respond to this article

Jump to comment:

No eLetters have been published for this article.

Related Articles

Cited By...

More in this TOC Section

New Research

  • A Very Fast Time Scale of Human Motor Adaptation: Within Movement Adjustments of Internal Representations during Reaching
  • Hsc70 Ameliorates the Vesicle Recycling Defects Caused by Excess α-Synuclein at Synapses
Show more New Research

Cognition and Behavior

  • Visual Stimulation Under 4 Hz, Not at 10 Hz, Generates the Highest-Amplitude Frequency-Tagged Responses of the Human Brain: Understanding the Effect of Stimulation Frequency
  • Transformed visual working memory representations in human occipitotemporal and posterior parietal cortices
  • Neural Speech-Tracking During Selective Attention: A Spatially Realistic Audiovisual Study
Show more Cognition and Behavior

Subjects

  • Cognition and Behavior
  • Home
  • Alerts
  • Follow SFN on BlueSky
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Facebook
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on Twitter
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on LinkedIn
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Youtube
  • Follow our RSS feeds

Content

  • Early Release
  • Current Issue
  • Latest Articles
  • Issue Archive
  • Blog
  • Browse by Topic

Information

  • For Authors
  • For the Media

About

  • About the Journal
  • Editorial Board
  • Privacy Notice
  • Contact
  • Feedback
(eNeuro logo)
(SfN logo)

Copyright © 2025 by the Society for Neuroscience.
eNeuro eISSN: 2373-2822

The ideas and opinions expressed in eNeuro do not necessarily reflect those of SfN or the eNeuro Editorial Board. Publication of an advertisement or other product mention in eNeuro should not be construed as an endorsement of the manufacturer’s claims. SfN does not assume any responsibility for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from or related to any use of any material contained in eNeuro.