ArticleCurrent biology : CB2023
Serotonin neurons in mating female mice are activated by male ejaculation.
Article in Current biology : CB, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Concerted actions of distinct serotonin neurons orchestrate female pup care behavior.Research square · 2025Article
- Concerted actions of distinct serotonin neurons orchestrate female pup care behavior.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Article
- Solitude and serotonin: juvenile isolation alters the covariation between social behavior and cFos expression by serotonergic neurons.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Article
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4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
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Abstract
Sexual stimulation triggers changes in female physiology and behavior, including sexual satiety and preparing the uterus for pregnancy. Serotonin (5-HT) is an important regulator of reproductive physiology and sexual receptivity, but the relationship between sexual stimulation and 5-HT neural activity in females is poorly understood. Here, we investigated dorsal raphe 5-HT neural activity in female mice during sexual behavior. We found that 5-HT neural activity in mating females peaked specifically upon male ejaculation and remained elevated above baseline until disengagement. Artificial intravaginal mechanical stimulation was sufficient to elicit increased 5-HT neural activity but the delivery of ejaculatory fluids was not. Distal penis expansion ("penile cupping") at ejaculation and forceful expulsion of ejaculatory fluid each provided sufficient mechanical stimulation to elicit 5-HT neuron activation. Our study identifies a female ejaculation-specific signal in a major neuromodulatory system and shows that intravaginal mechanosensory stimulation is necessary and sufficient to drive this signal.
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