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Decreased Sexual Motivation and Heightened Anxiety in Male Long-Evans Rats are Correlated with the Memory for a Traumatic Event

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Abstract

Individuals suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently report disturbances in sexual functioning in addition to alterations in their affective behaviors. Notably, maladaptive cognitions and dysfunctional behaviors are perpetuated by the emergence of the intrusive thoughts that characterize the disorder. In rats, reminders of a traumatic event designed to simulate intrusive thoughts are associated with impairments in affective, social, and sexual behaviors. The current study examined the relationship between the memory for a traumatic event and changes in sexual and affective behaviors in male Long-Evans rats (N = 36). The trauma featured a combination stressor consisting of simultaneous exposure to a footshock and the odor of soiled cat litter. Memory for the trauma was reactivated by re-exposures to the context of the trauma in the absence of stressors and confirmed by assessing the percentage of time spent freezing. Following the second and final reminder, traumatized males exhibited reduced sexual motivation and increased anxiety, signified by longer latencies to achieve their first mount on a post-stress test of sexual behavior, and longer latencies to begin feeding in a novel environment, respectively. Correlational analyses revealed that decreased sexual motivation and heightened anxiety were predicted by the memory for the trauma as indicated by the time spent freezing during the re-exposures. The findings from the current study have implications for understanding the relationship between stress and sexual functioning and indicate that the impairments in sexual behavior that often occur in individuals with PTSD may be impacted by their memory for the trauma.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a Phase II Research Enhancement award, the Weiss Presidential Scholarship, and the Flowerree Summer Research Award. The authors gratefully acknowledge the expert supervision and animal care provided by Kimberly Scamardo.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Wayne R. Hawley, Elin M. Grissom & Gary P. Dohanich

  2. Program in Neuroscience, Tulane University, 2007 Percival Stern Building, 6400 Freret St., New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA

    Mark N. Belkin, Thomas F. James & Gary P. Dohanich

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  1. Wayne R. Hawley
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  2. Elin M. Grissom
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  3. Mark N. Belkin
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Correspondence to Gary P. Dohanich.

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Hawley, W.R., Grissom, E.M., Belkin, M.N. et al. Decreased Sexual Motivation and Heightened Anxiety in Male Long-Evans Rats are Correlated with the Memory for a Traumatic Event. Arch Sex Behav 42, 659–668 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-0017-5

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