Dopamine and serotonin: influences on male sexual behavior
Abstract
Steroid hormones regulate sexual behavior primarily by slow, genomically mediated effects. These effects are realized, in part, by enhancing the processing of relevant sensory stimuli, altering the synthesis, release, and/or receptors for neurotransmitters in integrative areas, and increasing the responsiveness of appropriate motor outputs. Dopamine has facilitative effects on sexual motivation, copulatory proficiency, and genital reflexes. Dopamine in the nigrostriatal tract influences motor activity; in the mesolimbic tract it activates numerous motivated behaviors, including copulation; in the medial preoptic area (MPOA) it controls genital reflexes, copulatory patterns, and specifically sexual motivation. Testosterone increases nitric oxide synthase in the MPOA; nitric oxide increases basal and female-stimulated dopamine release, which in turn facilitates copulation and genital reflexes. Serotonin (5-HT) is primarily inhibitory, although stimulation of 5-HT(2C) receptors increases erections and inhibits ejaculation, whereas stimulation of 5-HT(1A) receptors has the opposite effects: facilitation of ejaculation and, in some circumstances, inhibition of erection. 5-HT is released in the anterior lateral hypothalamus at the time of ejaculation. Microinjections of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors there delay the onset of copulation and delay ejaculation after copulation begins. One means for this inhibition is a decrease in dopamine release in the mesolimbic tract.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Animal studies suggest that mesolimbic dopamine has an activating effect on sexual arousal and that serotonin has the opposite effect.
“Although the exact mechanisms are unclear, animal studies suggest that mesolimbic dopamine has an activating effect on sexual arousal and that serotonin has the opposite effect (Hull 2004).”
From Pharmacological interventions for those who have sexually offended or are at risk of offending (2015) · cites this paper as Hull 2004
Cites
Long-Term Potentiation--A Decade of Progress?
Malenka, R. C., & Nicoll, A. R. A. (1999) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.285.5435.1870 · Cited by 2,729 · see citing works
Sulzer, D., Chen, T., Lau, Y., Kristensen, H., Rayport, S., & Ewing, A. (1995) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.15-05-04102.1995 · Cited by 688 · see citing works
Nongenomic steroid action: controversies, questions, and answers
LÖSEL, R. M., FALKENSTEIN, E., FEURING, M., SCHULTZ, A., TILLMANN, H.-C., ROSSOL-HASEROTH, K., & WEHLING, M. (2003) · Physiological Reviews · doi:10.1152/physrev.00003.2003 · Cited by 561 · see citing works
Role of dopamine in anticipatory and consummatory aspects of sexual behavior in the male rat
Pfaus, J. G., & Phillips, A. G. (1991) · Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.1037/0735-7044.105.5.727 · Cited by 320 · see citing works
Dopaminergic correlates of motivated behavior: importance of drive
Wilson, C., Nomikos, G., Collu, M., & Fibiger, H. (1995) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.15-07-05169.1995 · Cited by 294 · see citing works
Salamone, J. D. (1992) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/bf02245133 · Cited by 291 · see citing works
Lorrain, D. S., Matuszewich, L., Friedman, R. D., & Hull, E. M. (1997) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.17-23-09361.1997 · Cited by 126 · see citing works
Self-citationRoselli, C. E., Klosterman, S., & Resko, J. A. (2001) · Journal of Comparative Neurology · doi:10.1002/cne.1343 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Shamloul, R., & Ghanem, H. (2013) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(12)60520-0 · Cited by 1,091 · see citing works
Andrews, P. W., Bharwani, A., Lee, K. R., Fox, M., & Thomson, J. A. (2015) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.01.018 · Cited by 281 · see citing works
Intranasal administration of oxytocin: behavioral and clinical effects, a review
Veening, J. G., & Olivier, B. (2013) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.04.012 · Cited by 169 · see citing works
Young, K. A., Liu, Y., & Wang, Z. (2008) · Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C: Toxicology & Pharmacology · doi:10.1016/j.cbpc.2008.02.004 · Cited by 163 · see citing works
Pharmacological interventions for those who have sexually offended or are at risk of offending
Khan, O., Ferriter, M., Huband, N., Powney, M. J., Dennis, J. A., & Duggan, C. (2015) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd007989.pub2 · Cited by 144 · see citing works
Serotonin–dopamine interaction in the induction and maintenance of l-DOPA-induced dyskinesias
CARTA, M., CARLSSON, T., MUNOZ, A., KIRIK, D., & BJORKLUND, A. (2008) · Progress in brain research · doi:10.1016/s0079-6123(08)00922-9 · Cited by 131 · see citing works
Neurobiological correlates of social functioning in autism
Neuhaus, E., Beauchaine, T. P., & Bernier, R. (2010) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2010.05.007 · Cited by 122 · see citing works
Turner, D., Briken, P., Grubbs, J., Malandain, L., Mestre-Bach, G., Potenza, M. N., & Thibaut, F. (2022) · Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience · doi:10.1080/19585969.2022.2134739 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Serial neurochemical measurement of cerebrospinal fluid during the human sexual response cycle
Krüger, T. H. C., Schiffer, B., Eikermann, M., Haake, P., Gizewski, E., & Schedlowski, M. (2006) · European Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1111/j.1460-9568.2006.05215.x · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Abrieux, A., Debernard, S., Maria, A., Gaertner, C., Anton, S., Gadenne, C., & Duportets, L. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0072785 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Abrieux, A., Duportets, L., Debernard, S., Gadenne, C., & Anton, S. (2014) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00312 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Changes in sexual behavior patterns due to stimulants use: three case reports
Skryabin, V. Y., Khoryaev, D., & Torrado, M. (2020) · Journal of Addictive Diseases · doi:10.1080/10550887.2020.1771236 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hull, E. M., Muschamp, J. W., & Sato, S.
- Affiliations
- University at Buffalo, State University of New York (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hull, Elaine M.
- ORCID
- Hull, Elaine M.
- Venue
- Physiology & Behavior
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2004-11
- Volume
- 83
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 291-307
- ISSN
- 0031-9384 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2149678354
- Cited by
- 465
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 26 · 2012: 26
- FWCI
- 1.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Physiology & Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Sexual function and dysfunction studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Hypothalamic control of reproductive hormones
- Keywords
- dopamine, serotonin, male sexual behavior, sexual motivation, copulation, medial preoptic area, nigrostriatal pathway, testosterone, nitric oxide synthase, nitric oxide, 5-HT2C receptor, 5-HT1A receptor, ejaculation, erection, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, steroid hormones
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Dopamine, Humans, Hypothalamus, Male, Nitric Oxide, Preoptic Area, Serotonin, Sexual Behavior, Sexual Behavior, Animal, Sex Characteristics, Sex Factors, Testosterone, Rats
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
