ABSTRACT
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throughout his brilliant career, integrated neuroendocrine evidence to elucidate the physiological basis of female sexual behavior. He used this approach as a model to explore the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which various hormones, for example, those produced in the ovary (estradiol [E2] and progesterone [P]), neuropeptides, prostaglandins, and other chemical messengers, exert their effects on different brain areas involved in the regulation of specic and physiologically relevant behavior. Thus, in the 1980s Dr. Beyer proposed a model in which some agents, due to their lipophobicity, do not penetrate into the cell, but exert their effects on receptors located in the cell membrane. Here they would interact with molecules that, in turn, activate intracellular receptors, a phenomenon known as cross-talk, that occurs in a variety of cells including neurons and glial cells, ultimately leading to female sexual behavior. As detailed later in this chapter, it is important to mention that Dr. Beyer pioneered pharmacological strategies to investigate the cellular mechanisms underlying the expression of female sexual behavior and was the rst to propose a crosstalk model in which progestin receptors (PRs) act as a common effector for lordosis facilitation by steroidal and nonsteroidal agents in rodents (Beyer et al. 1981; Beyer and González-Mariscal, 1986). In this chapter we focus on our ndings in collaboration with Dr. Beyer over more than a decade. These results have contributed to the understanding of the cellular mechanisms involved in the regulation of female sexual behavior in rats and represent a signicant aspect of Dr. Beyer’s scientic legacy.
