Comparison of the Effects of Castration and Steroid Replacement on Incertohypothalamic Dopaminergic Neurons in Male and Female Rats

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Abstract
The activities of incertohypothalamic (IH) and tuberoinfundibular (TI) dopamine (DA) neurons were compared in selected brain regions of male and female rats by measuring the rate of DA turnover (α-methyltyrosine-induced decline in brain DA concentrations). The rates of DA turnover in regions containing TIDA (median eminence) and rostral IHDA (rostral periventricular and medial preoptic nuclei) neurons were greater in diestrous females than in intact males. In contrast, the rate of DA turnover in the caudal IHDA neurons (medial zona incerta), was greater in intact males than diestrous females. These results indicate that the activities of IHDA neurons, like those of TIDA neurons, differ between the sexes but that the sexual differentiation of IHDA neurons is not homogeneous. Two weeks following orchidectomy, the rates of DA turnover were increased in the median eminence and decreased in the medial preoptic nucleus. Testosterone replacement in orchidectomized males produced opposite effects, causing a decrease in DA turnover in the median eminence and an increase in the medial preoptic nucleus. In female rats, the rates of DA turnover were decreased in the median eminence and medial zona incerta and increased in the medial preoptic nucleus 2 weeks following ovariectomy. Only in the median eminence did 2 days of estrogen replacement in ovariectomized rats produce effects opposite those seen after ovariectomy alone. These data show that the activities of IHDA neurons, as estimated from measurements of DA turnover, can be altered by the removal and replacement of the gonadal steroids.