Sex differences in c-Fos and EGR-1/Zif268 activity maps of rat sacral spinal cord following cystometry-induced micturition

Abstract

Storage and voiding of urine from the lower urinary tract (LUT) must be timed precisely to occur in appropriate behavioral contexts. A major part of the CNS circuit that coordinates this activity is found in the lumbosacral spinal cord. Immediate early gene (IEG) activity mapping has been widely used to investigate the lumbosacral LUT-related circuit, but most reports focus on the effects of noxious stimulation in anesthetized female rats. Here we use c-Fos and EGR-1 (Zif268) activity mapping of lumbosacral spinal cord to investigate cystometry-induced micturition in awake female and male rats. In females, after cystometry c-Fos neurons in spinal cord segments L5–S2 were concentrated in the ..