Plasticity in photoperiodic regulation of adrenal, but not testicular, function in Syrian hamsters

Transfer from long days (LD) to short days (SD) increases aggressive behavior, but it suppresses the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) and hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axes in male Syrian hamsters. The present study sought to determine whether social instability (group housing from days 1–70, single housing from days 71 to 84, and 10-min social encounters during the light or dark phase on days 82 and 83) could reverse SD-induced quiescence in the aggression-promoting HPA and HPG axes. Controls were housed in stable groups during LD or SD exposure. Euthanasia occurred on day 84 during the light or dark phase (unstable condition) and during the dark phase (stable condition). SD exposure in the unstable condition increased aggression during social pairings, and it elevated circulating corticosterone, cortisol, and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentrations, assessed by RIA, particularly during the dark phase. Although anterior pituitary pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) immunoreactivity was unaltered by these experimental conditions, SD and the dark phase during social instability elevated POMC mRNA levels, assessed by solution hybridization assay. In socially stable controls, SD exposure increased aggression, assessed by bite marks, reduced cortisol and ACTH, but not corticosterone, secretion, and it reduced anterior pituitary POMC mRNA, but not immunoreactivity, levels. SD exposure in both conditions reduced testicular function, indicated by more than 77% reduction of testis mass. These results suggest that social instability, rather than aggression per se, reversed SD-induced suppression of HPA, but not HPG, function.

► Social instability reversed the photoperiodic suppression of pituitary–adrenal function.
► Social instability re-awakened the quiescent pituitary–adrenal axis during short-day exposure.
► Social instability did not alter quiescent testis function during short-day exposure.