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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Intracavernosal Pressure Recording to Evaluate Erectile Function in Rodents

Intracavernosal Pressure Recording to Evaluate Erectile Function in Rodents

Published on: June 6, 2018

Reflex penile erection in anesthetized mice: an exploratory study.

J Allard¹, N J Edmunds

¹Pfizer Global Research and Development, Genitourinary TA, Sandwich, Kent, UK. julien.allard@pfizer.com <julien.allard@pfizer.com>

|July 5, 2008

Summary

Electrical stimulation of the dorsal penile nerve (DPN) in mice reliably evokes erectile responses. Unlike rats, mice did not exhibit ejaculatory-like contractions, suggesting species-specific differences in sexual reflex pathways.

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Cavernous Nerve Stimulation and Recording of Intracavernous Pressure in a Rat

Cavernous Nerve Stimulation and Recording of Intracavernous Pressure in a Rat

Published on: April 23, 2018

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Last Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Intracavernosal Pressure Recording to Evaluate Erectile Function in Rodents

Intracavernosal Pressure Recording to Evaluate Erectile Function in Rodents

Published on: June 6, 2018

Cavernous Nerve Stimulation and Recording of Intracavernous Pressure in a Rat

Cavernous Nerve Stimulation and Recording of Intracavernous Pressure in a Rat

Published on: April 23, 2018

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Urology
Physiology

Background:

Penile erection and ejaculatory reflexes are complex physiological processes.
Electrical stimulation (ES) of the dorsal penile nerve (DPN) in rats elicits these responses.
Investigating these reflexes in mice can reveal species-specific neural control mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate reflex penile erection in anesthetized mice using DPN electrical stimulation.
To compare mouse sexual reflex pathways with those observed in rats.
To assess the potential of this model for studying brain-spinal cord interactions in erection.

Main Methods:

Adult C57BL6 mice were anesthetized with isoflurane.
Bulbospongiosus (BS) muscle activity and intracavernosal pressure were measured.
ES of the DPN was performed, with and without spinal cord transection.

Main Results:

DPN ES reliably evoked erectile responses in mice, dependent on frequency and pulse duration.
Erectile responses were abolished by cutting the pudendal nerve's sensory branch.
Spinal cord transection potentiated erectile responses but did not induce rhythmic BS muscle contractions.
Melanotan-II did not enhance DPN-induced erectile responses.

Conclusions:

DPN ES in mice is a viable model for studying reflex penile erection.
The absence of rhythmic BS muscle contractions suggests fundamental differences from rats.
This model may be useful for studying brain-spinal cord control of erection, especially with knockout mouse lines.