Role of sex and sex steroids in mediating pituitary-adrenal responses to acute buspirone treatment in sheep

Abstract

Systematic characterisation of sex differences in the serotonergic modulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis may assist with our understanding of why stress-related disorders are disproportionately represented in women. In this study, we examined the acute effects of buspirone, a serotonergic 1A receptor subtype agonist, on the endocrine endpoints of adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) and cortisol secretion in gonadectomised male and female sheep. Each sheep was treated with an acute i.v. injection containing vehicle or buspirone (0.03, 0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg) in the presence and absence of sex steroid replacement (SSR). In males, SSR treatment consisted of testosterone (2 × 200 mg s.c..