Fos expression within regions of the preoptic area, hypothalamus and brainstem during pregnancy and parturition

Vaginocervical stimulation, that occurs during mating or with the birth of pups, is believed to induce specific sexual and maternal behaviours in the rat as well as stimulating a number of neuroendocrine responses including the secretion of oxytocin, prolactin and luteinizing hormone. Since the medial preoptic area has been implicated in the induction of maternal behaviour, the expression of the immediate-early gene product Fos was compared between non-pregnant, late pregnant and parturient rats. Although no difference was detected in the number of Fos-positive neuronal profiles in the preoptic area of non-pregnant and late-pregnant rats, a large increase was observed in the medial preoptic nucleus and the anteroventral periventricular region, as well as in the hypothalamic supraoptic nucleus, of parturient rats. Double labelling for Fos and tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the brainstem of parturient rats showed the activation of catecholaminergic neurons in both the nucleus of the tractus solitarius and in the ventrolateral medulla that may form part of the afferent pathway from the uterus and cervix to the preoptic area and hypothalamus.