Intracranial infusions of amphetamine into the medial preoptic area but not the nucleus accumbens affect paced mating behavior in female rats

The present study evaluated the effects of intracranial administration of amphetamine (AMPH) on paced mating behavior and open field activity in sexually receptive female rats. In Experiment 1, AMPH (0.5 µl of 10 µg/µl) or vehicle was infused bilaterally into the medial preoptic area (mPOA). In Experiments 2 and 3, AMPH (0.5 µl of 40 µg/µl) or vehicle was infused bilaterally into the shell region of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) or core region of the NAc, respectively. In Experiment 1, infusions of AMPH into the mPOA increased the latency to return to the male following sexual stimulation without affecting locomotor activity in the open field test. However, when AMPH was infused 3.0 mm dorsal to the mPOA, no effects were observed. In Experiments 2 and 3, infusions of AMPH into the NAc shell or core significantly increased locomotor activity during the open field test but failed to affect most measures of paced mating behavior. Together these results suggest that amphetamine-stimulate dopamine release in the mPOA but not in the NAc alters paced mating behavior, confirming previous conclusions that the mPOA plays a critical role in female sexual behavior, whereas the NAc plays a relatively limited role.