A galanin-positive population of lumbar spinal cord neurons modulates sexual arousal and copulatory behavior

Abstract

During sex, male arousal increases to the ejaculatory threshold, allowing genital sensory input to trigger ejaculation. While copulation and sexual arousal are thought to be centrally regulated by the brain, ejaculation is considered a reflex controlled by a spinal circuit. In this framework, the spinal cord is assumed to be strongly inhibited by descending input from the brain until the ejaculatory threshold, playing no role in the regulation of copulatory behavior. However, this remains untested. Here, we mapped the spinal circuit controlling the bulbospongiosus muscle, which is involved in sperm expulsion in mice. Our findings reveal that bulbospongiosus muscle-motor neurons receive input from galanin-expressing interneurons. This galanin-positive population receives genital input and, while its stimulation leads to bulbospongiosus muscle activity, the evoked muscle-potentials are dependent on spinalization, the males internal state and decrease with repeated stimulation. Moreover, ablation of galanin neurons affected the latency to ejaculate and altered the copulatory pattern. These results suggest an unexpected role of spinal circuits in the control of copulation and arousal, in addition to its established role in ejaculation.