Eelke Mirthe Simone Snoeren

Specialized and experience-dependent neural dynamics in the medial amygdala and bed nucleus of stria terminalis upon social and sexual olfactory and tactile cues

This study examines neural activity in the medial amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in male rats during social and sexual interactions, revealing distinct response patterns to olfactory and tactile cues based on experience.

Behavioral dynamics of different stages of sexual motivation in male and female rats

The paper distinguishes two components of sexual motivation in rats and shows that males and females differ in their incentive motivation and motivation to sustain copulation.

Perinatal fluoxetine exposure increases male rat sexual behavior

This study shows that perinatal fluoxetine exposure increases sexual behavior in adult male rats, suggesting long-term effects of serotonin on sexual function.

Behavioral and neural alterations of the ventral tegmental area by exposure to junk food in rats

This study shows that prolonged junk food exposure in rats reduces VTA neural activity and responsiveness to natural rewards like food and sex.

The temporal copulatory patterns of female rat sexual behavior

This study examines temporal copulatory patterns in female rats, finding that receptivity influences sexual bout frequency and time-outs, while mating conditions affect less-receptive females.

CaMKIIa+ neurons in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis modulate pace of natural reward seeking depending on internal state

This study investigates how CaMKIIa+ neurons in the BNST modulate natural reward seeking behaviors, showing their role in regulating sexual behavior and sucrose self-administration based on internal state.

Changes in reward-induced neural activity upon Cafeteria Diet consumption

This study examines how different regimes of cafeteria diet affect reward system activity in rats, finding reduced c-Fos expression in the NAc-shell but not in PFC or VTA.

Male rat sexual behavior: insights from inter-copulatory intervals

This study analyzes male rat sexual behavior to explore the relationship between time outs and post-ejaculatory intervals, finding a strong correlation and suggesting sensory stimulation influences these intervals.

Rat ultrasonic vocalizations and novelty-induced social and non-social investigation behavior in a seminatural environment

This study investigates whether ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) in rats serve an auditory communication purpose by examining their impact on social and non-social behaviors in a novel environment.

Protein appetite drives macronutrient-related differences in ventral tegmental area neural activity

This study shows that protein restriction increases VTA neural activity during protein consumption compared to carbohydrate in rats, highlighting the role of VTA circuits in protein appetite.

Silencing and stimulating the medial amygdala impairs ejaculation but not sexual incentive motivation in male rats

This study shows that chemogenetic manipulation of the medial amygdala in male rats affects ejaculation but not sexual incentive motivation during copulation.

Effects of gonadectomy and androgen on neuronal plasticity in motivation and reward related brain regions in the male rat

This study examines how gonadectomy and androgen replacement affect spine plasticity in brain regions related to motivation and reward in male rats.