Topic: sexual motivation

To develop new therapeutic options for the treatment of bipolar disorder, animal models are a valuable tool to understand underlying changes in neurobiology. By manipulating the prefrontal dopamine D1 receptor our group was able to induce mania- as well as depressive-like behavior in rats. As social behavior is largely affected in bipolar disorder, we aim to phenotype our model in this respect. Therefore, a test battery including social hierarchy in three different tests (social dominance tube test, food competition test, urine scent mark test), sexual motivation and sexual behavior in adult r

Rat sexual behavior is a natural reward behavior that offers the unique opportunity to control the timing of exposure for the first time. A certain level of sexual motivation is required to turn desire into approach, leading to copulation and ejaculation. A coordinated transition between these phases is essential for a successful completion of the cycle. Moreover, gaining sexual experience enables a more efficient sexual cycle by markedly improving the patterning of behavioral responses. The neural regulation of this behavior and the transitions between phases requires different neurons to con