The testosterone metabolite and neurosteroid 3alpha-androstanediol may mediate the effects of testosterone on conditioned place preference.

The abuse of androgens may be related to their ability to produce positive, hedonic interoceptive effects. Conditioned Place Preference (CPP) has been used in many experiments to examine hedonic effects of drugs. This review is focused on studies from our laboratory that utilized CPP to examine potential positive hedonic effects of testosterone (T), and its androgenic metabolite dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and its metabolite 3alpha-androstanediol (3alpha-diol). We hypothesized that administration of a high concentration of 3alpha-diol would produce a CPP, pharmacological concentrations of plasma androgens, and alter androgen receptors (AR) and the function of GABA(A)/benzodiazepine receptor complexes (GBR). In our studies, we observed that systemic 3alpha-diol (1.0 mg/kg) prior to exposure to the non-preferred side of a CPP chamber significantly increased preference for the non-preferred side of the chamber compared to baseline preference and homecage controls. Furthermore, administration of T, DHT, or 3alpha-diol increased levels of these androgens, decreased ARs (decreased seminal vesicle weight and intrahypothalamic AR) and GBR function (decreased GABA-stimulated chloride influx in cortical synaptoneurosomes, and muscimol binding in the hippocampus compared to control groups). With systemic administration of 3alpha-diol that enhanced CPP, concentrations of 3alpha-diol were increased in the nucleus accumbens (NA). Central implants of T, DHT, or 3alpha-diol to the NA also produced a CPP compared to baseline preference and vehicle controls. These data indicate that systemic 3alpha-diol is more effective at enhancing CPP and increasing circulating 3alpha-diol levels than is T or DHT and that central administration of 3alpha-diol to the NA can condition a place preference. These findings indicate that 3alpha-diol produces positive hedonic effects and suggest that T's variable effects on CPP may be due in part to T's metabolism to 3alpha-diol.

Postpartum aggression in mice: the role of ovarian hormones.

The development of aggression during the immediate postpartum period was investigated in Rockland-Swiss albino female mice. Aggression was low immediately following delivery and increased with advancing lactation. The majority of females delivered during the dark cycle, however, whether females delivered or were tested during the light or dark cycle did not influence aggression. Females ovariectomized on Gestation Day 18 displayed aggression sooner than sham-operated controls. Estrogen treatment restored typical postpartum docility in prepartum ovariectomized females. Ovariectomy also increased the number of nursing bouts, but not total nursing time, when compared to sham-operated females. These findings suggest that peripartum estrogen stimulation, directly or through influencing nursing activity, prevents aggression in females immediately postpartum.