Role of gamma-aminobutyric acid in the activation of the pituitary-testicular complex of mice induced by the presence of a female

Conclusions Thus, the accumulation of GABA in the organism after the administration of an inhibitor of -ketoglutatrate-GABA transaminase blocks the rise in the testosterone level in the peripheral blood plasma of male mice induced by the presence of a receptive female. The inhibiting effect of the blocker of GABA metabolism depends on the genotype of the animal. When a, receptive female is encountered under normal conditions, the inhibiting effect of GABA is not manifested, since neither blockage of the GABA receptors by bicuculline nor a decrease in its content in the organism after the administration of the glutamate decarboxylase inhibitor TSC has any effect on the rise in the testosterone level in the blood during sexual excitation.It has been suggested that the GABAergic mechanism inhibits sexual excitation of the male when he encounters a receptive female only under conditions of stress.Translated from Problemy Éndokrinologii, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 48–51, July–August, 1987.