STEROID NEUROPEPTIDE INTERACTIONS THAT CONTROL REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIORSIN AN AMPHIBIAN

Investigations into the neuroendocrine regulation of reproductive beha viors in an amphibian (Taricha granulosa) reveal the same basic repert oire of chemical messengers as regulators of male behaviors in other v ertebrates. These studies have identified seasonal neural interactions between gonadal steroids and neuropeptides that facilitate male court ship behavior. In addition, this species has served to elucidate how s tress-induced suppression of courtship is mediated by corticosterone a ction through a neuronal membrane receptor and subsequent, rapid neuro physiological effects. These findings indicate that a principal mechan ism by which steroids and neuropeptides control male reproductive beha vior is the modulation of neural processing of specific sensory stimul i.