Introduction Psychopathological origins of personally distressing, hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in women are unknown, but are generally attributed to an inhibitory neural regulator, serotonin (5-HT). Flibanserin, a 5-HT1A agonist and 5-HT2A antagonist, shows promise as a treatment for HSDD. Aim To test the hypothesis that female marmoset sexual behavior is enhanced by flibanserin and diminished by 8-OH-DPAT, in order to evaluate the efficacy of serotonergic modulation of female sexual behavior in a pairmate social setting comparable to humans. Methods Sexual and social behavior were examined in 8 female marmoset monkeys receiving daily flibanserin (15mg/kg), 8-OH-DPAT (0.1 mg/kg) or corresponding vehicle for 15–16 weeks in a counterbalanced, within-subject design, while housed in long-term, stable male-female pairs. Main outcome measures Marmoset pairmate interactions, including sexual and social behavior, were scored during weeks 5–6 of daily flibanserin, 8-OH-DPAT or vehicle treatment. 24-h pharmacokinetic profiles of the drugs and their metabolites, as well as drug-induced acute symptoms of the 5-HT behavioral syndrome were also assessed. Results 2-way analysis of variance reveals that flibanserin-treated females attract more male sexual interest (p = .020) and trigger increased grooming (p = .001) between partners. In contrast, 8-OH-DPAT-treated females show increased rejection of male sexual advances (p = .024), a tendency for decreased male sexual interest (p = .080), and increased aggression with their male pairmates (p = .049). Conclusions While 8-OH-DPAT-treated female marmosets display decreased sexual receptivity and increased aggressive interactions with their male pairmates, flibanserin-treated female marmosets demonstrate increased affiliative behavior with their male pairmates. Such pro-affiliation attributes may underly flibanserin’s effectiveness in treating HSDD in women.
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