Animal Models in Sexual Medicine: The Need and Importance of Studying Sexual Motivation

详细信息    查看全文

• 作者：Elisa Ventura-Aquino ; MSc¹ ; Raú ; l G. Paredes ; PhD² ; ^{rparedes@unam.mx}
• 关键词：Sexual Dysfunction ; Sexual Motivation ; Non-Copulating Males ; Asexuality ; Brain Receptors
• 刊名：Sexual Medicine Reviews
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：January 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：5
• 期：1
• 页码：5-19
• 全文大小：1071 K
• 卷排序：5

文摘

Many different animal models of sexual medicine have been developed, demonstrating the complexity of studying the many interactions that influence sexual responses. A great deal of effort has been invested in measuring sexual motivation using different behavioral models mainly because human behavior is more complex than any model can reproduce.AimTo compare different animal models of male and female behaviors that measure sexual motivation as a key element in sexual medicine and focus on models that use a combination of molecular techniques and behavioral measurements.MethodsWe review the literature to describe models that evaluate different aspects of sexual motivation.Main Outcome MeasuresNo single test is sufficient to evaluate sexual motivation. The best approach is to evaluate animals in different behavioral tests to measure the motivational state of the subject.ResultsDifferent motivated behaviors such as aggression, singing in the case of birds, and sexual behavior, which are crucial for reproduction, are associated with changes in mRNA levels of different receptors in brain areas that are important in the control of reproduction.ConclusionResearch in animal models is crucial to understand the complexity of sexual behavior and all the mechanisms that influence such an important aspect of human well-being to decrease the physiologic and psychological impact of sexual dysfunctions. In other cases, research in different models is necessary to understand and recognize, not cure, the variability of sexuality, such as asexuality, which is another form of sexual orientation.