Lower urinary tract or voiding disorders are prevalent across all ages and affect over 40% of adults over 40 years old leading to decreased quality of life and high healthcare costs. The pontine micturition center (PMC; ie, Barrington’s nucleus) contains a large population of neurons that localize the stress-related neuropeptide, corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and project to neurons in the spinal cord to regulate micturition. How the PMC and CRH-expressing neurons in the PMC control volitional micturition is of critical importance for human voiding disorders. To investigate the specific role of CRH in the PMC, neurons in the PMC expressing CRH were optogenetically activated during in vivo cystometry in unanesthetized mice of either sex. Optogenetic activation of CRH-PMC neurons led to increased intermicturition interval and voided volume, similar to the altered voiding phenotype produced by social stress. Female mice showed a significantly more pronounced phenotype change compared with male mice. Th...