Multiunit Recording of the Cerebellar Cortex, Inferior Olive, and Fastigial Nucleus During Copulation in Naive and Sexually Experienced Male Rats Rolando Garcia-Martinez & Marta Miquel & Luis I. Garcia & Genaro A. Coria-Avila & Cesar A. Perez & Gonzalo E. Aranda-Abreu & Rebeca Toledo & Maria Elena Hernandez & Jorge Manzo Published online: 18 December 2009 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009 Abstract The sexual behavior of male rats constitutes a natural model to study learning of motor skills at the level of the central nervous system. We previously showed that sexual behavior increases Fos expression in granule cells at lobules 6 to 9 of the vermis cerebellum. Herein, we obtained multiunit recordings of lobules 6a and 7 during the training period of naive subjects, and during consecutive ejaculations of expert males. Recordings from both lobules and the inferior olive showed that the maximum amplitude of mount, intromission, and ejaculation signals were similar, but sexual behavior during training tests produced a decrease in the amplitude for mount and intromission signals. The fastigial nucleus showed an inverse mirror-like response. Thus, the cerebellum is involved in the neural basis of sexual behavior and the learning of appropriate behavioral displays during copulation, with a wiring that involves the cerebellar cortex, inferior olive, and fastigial nucleus. Keywords Cerebellum . Motor learning . Sexual behavior . Vermis . Deep cerebellar nuclei Introduction The execution of masculine sexual behavior includes a series of stereotyped movements necessary for proper copulation and reproduction. Body postures and thrusting are so indispensable that complex displays evolved for each species of mammals. In the male rat, behavioral patterns during copulation are identified as mount, intromission, and ejaculation. A male displays several mounts and intromissions until reaching ejaculation. After a refractory period, the male can display another group of patterns and a second ejaculation, and so on until reaching a state of exhaustion following several consecutive ejaculations. However, displaying such behavior is not an easy task for male rats. In the wild, male rats must work to gain sexual experience in order to better learn the necessary motor behaviors. In the laboratory, males gain experience in a controlled setting involving the presentation of a sexually receptive female. Thus, these features of male rat sexual behavior constitute a natural model to study mechanisms related to the acquisition of motor skills at the level of the central nervous system. The cerebellum is a central structure that has long been known as a key component for the acquisition and control of movement, and more recently was recognized as an important center for sensory integration, with both processes occurring during copulation. In men, sexual stimulation with visual or olfactory cues produces activity in the cerebellar cortex [1, 2], and similar responses in non-human primates R. Garcia-Martinez Doctorado en Neuroetologia, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico M. Miquel Area de Psicobiologia, Universidad Jaume I, Castellon, Spain L. I. Garcia : G. A. Coria-Avila : C. A. Perez : G. E. Aranda-Abreu : R. Toledo : M. E. Hernandez : J. Manzo (*) Programa de Neurobiologia, Dirección General de Investigaciones, Universidad Veracruzana, Av. Dr. Luis Castelazo s/n, Fracc. Industrial-Animas, Xalapa, Veracruz 91190, Mexico e-mail: jmanzo@uv.mx Cerebellum (2010) 9:96–102 DOI 10.1007/s12311-009-0148-y