Role of genital sensory information in the control of the functioning of the spinal generator for ejaculation

An intrinsic spinal rhythm mediates fictive ejaculation (FE). In this study, the effect of genital sensory stimulation on the functioning of the spinal generator of ejaculation was investigated. To this aim, the effect of (a) stimulation of internal and external genital structures; (b) repeated elicitation of FE and (c) genital stimulation during in progress expression of FE on the rhythmic genital motor pattern of ejaculation (GMPE) was analysed in sexually experienced, spinal male rats. Results showed that the spinal intrinsic ejaculatory rhythm can be modulated by genital inputs, and that repeated stimulation modifies this rhythm, progressively inhibiting its expression. Finally, in progress GMPEs could be reset by overlapping genital stimulation, supporting the notion of the spinal cord mediating the inhibition of FE following repeated genital inflow. Results reveal the nature of the modulatory role that genital afferent information exerts on the expression of FE.