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Essential Role of Testosterone in the Sexual Stimulation induced by p-Chlorophenylalanine in Male Animals

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Abstract

P-CHLOROPHENYLALANINE (POP A), a compound that inhibits the synthesis of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) without affecting that of noradrenaline1, produces compulsive sexual activity in male animals. This effect was observed by Ferguson et al. in cats2, by Tagliamorite et al. in rats and rabbits3 and by Shillito in rats4. The compulsive sexual activity is not caused by a depletion of indole hormones in the pineal gland, for we found that PCPA elicited sexual stimulation in pinealectomized animals. Further, sexual stimulation induced by PCPA is inhibited by restoring brain 5-HT levels with 5-hydroxy-tryptophan3, a precursor of 5-HT. This effect thus seems to be associated with the depletion of brain 5-HT. Moreover, because sexual stimulation induced by PCPA is potentiated when catecholamine levels in brain are increased with pargyline, an inhibitor of monoamine oxidase, we postulated that both brain 5-HT and catecholamines control sexual behaviour in male animals, 5-HT inhibiting sexual behaviour and catecholamines stimulating it. Our results show that the effect of PCPA on sexual behaviour in male rats is not only prevented by castration but is strikingly potentiated by testosterone.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Chemical Pharmacology, National Heart and Lung Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20014

    GIAN L. GESSA, ALESSANDRO TAGLIAMONTE, PAOLA TAGLIAMONTE & BERNARD B. BRODIE

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  1. GIAN L. GESSA
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  2. ALESSANDRO TAGLIAMONTE
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  3. PAOLA TAGLIAMONTE
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  4. BERNARD B. BRODIE
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GESSA, G., TAGLIAMONTE, A., TAGLIAMONTE, P. et al. Essential Role of Testosterone in the Sexual Stimulation induced by p-Chlorophenylalanine in Male Animals. Nature 227, 616–617 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/227616a0

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