Differential modulation of [3H]flunitrazepam binding in female rat brain by sex steroid hormones

Quantitative autoradiographic analysis revealed changes in [3H]flunitrazepam (a benzodiazepine agonist) binding in the anterior hypothalamus nucleus, the medial preoptic area and the cortico-medial amygdala nucleus following in vivo estradiol. The administration of 4 mg of progesterone, but not 1 mg, increased the binding of [3H]flunitrazepam in the basolateral amygdaloid nucleus and in the oriens-pyramidalis CA1 layer of the hippocampus. Exposure of brain sections in vitro to the potent, naturally occurring progesterone metabolite, 3 alpha-hydroxy-5 alpha-dihydroprogesterone, induced GABA-dependent changes in flunitrazepam binding, similar to the changes induced by progesterone, thus suggesting that different steroid mechanisms are implicated in the control of flunitrazepam binding.