Group Mating in the Domestic Rat as a Context for Sexual Selection: Consequences for the Analysis of Sexual Behavior and Neuroendocrine Responses

McClintock, Martha K.

doi:10.1016/s0065-3454(08)60298-3

Cited by 110 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 147 publications

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“…This results in low levels of female-initiated contacts and high rates of reflexive and defensive behaviors in the female rat. Using seminatural conditions, it was observed that the female rat actively controls the pace of copulatory behavior by exhibiting hopping and darting behaviors as well as by actively withdrawing from the male (McClintock, 1984). The evolutionary importance of pacing behavior for reproductive success is evident.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Abstract: Dopamine; Microdialysis; Nucleus Accumbens; Striamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Each female rat has an individual "vaginal code" that is optimal to induce the progestational reflex in that individual rat (Adler et al, 1970;McClintock, 1984;Adler and Toner, 1986). In the laboratory situation, pacing behavior occurs if there is a barrier behind which the female rat can escape from the male rat (McClintock, 1984;Erskine, 1989). Furthermore, as mentioned above, the increase in DA concentrations in dialysate from striatum and NAcc of female rats that are pacing copulation is significantly greater than that of female rats that cannot pace or behaviorally receptive animals tested without a male rat (Mermelstein and Becker, 1995).…”

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confidence: 99%

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The Role of Dopamine in the Nucleus Accumbens and Striatum during Sexual Behavior in the Female Rat

Becker

Rudick²,

Jenkins³

2001

J. Neurosci.

180

118

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Dopamine in dialysate from the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) increases during sexual and feeding behavior and after administration of drugs of abuse, even those that do not directly activate dopaminergic systems (e.g., morphine or nicotine). These findings and others have led to hypotheses that propose that dopamine is rewarding, predicts that reinforcement will occur, or attributes incentive salience. Examining increases in dopamine in NAcc or striatum during sexual behavior in female rats provides a unique situation to study these relations. This is because, for the female rat, sexual behavior is associated with an increase in NAcc dopamine and conditioned place preference only under certain testing conditions. This experiment was conducted to determine what factors are important for the increase in dopamine in dialysate from NAcc and striatum during sexual behavior in female rats. The factors considered were the number of contacts by the male, the timing of contacts by the male, or the ability of the female to control contacts by the male. The results indicate that increased NAcc dopamine is dependent on the timing of copulatory stimuli, independent of whether the female rat is actively engaged in regulating this timing. For the striatum, the timing of copulatory behavior influences the magnitude of the increase in dopamine in dialysate, but other factors are also involved. We conclude that increased extracellular dopamine in the NAcc and striatum conveys qualitative or interpretive information about the rewarding value of stimuli. Sexual behavior in the female rat is proposed as a model to determine the role of dopamine in motivated behavior. Key words: dopamine; microdialysis; nucleus accumbens; striatum; motivation; sexual behavior; incentive salienceThe release of dopamine (DA) in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and, to a lesser extent, the striatum has been postulated to mediate the reinforcing properties of food, drugs of abuse, and the sexual experience (Wise and Rompre, 1989;Phillips et al., 1991;Robinson and Berridge, 1993). Alternatively, it has been suggested that an increase in extracellular DA in NAcc or striatum is associated with stimuli that predict reinforcement or that this activity attributes incentive salience to the stimuli (Phillips et al., 1993;Schultz et al., 1993;Berridge and Robinson, 1998). By looking at the time when DA increases in the striatum and the NAcc, we can gain additional insight into the roles of these neural structures in motivated behaviors.Sexual behavior in the female rat is unique among naturally occurring motivated behaviors in that copulation under standard laboratory conditions is not rewarding for the female rat (Oldenburger et al., 1992; Paredes and Alonso, 1997). In female rats and hamsters, there is enhanced DA in dialysate from striatum and NAcc during copulation (Meisel et al., 1993;Mermelstein and Becker, 1995;Pfaus et al., 1995). For female rats, however, this increase in NAcc DA has been found only under conditions in which the female can control or pace the tim...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Abstract: Dopamine; Microdialysis; Nucleus Accumbens; Striamentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Role of Dopamine in the Nucleus Accumbens and Striatum during Sexual Behavior in the Female Rat

Becker

Rudick²,

Jenkins³

2001

J. Neurosci.

180

118

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“…Amongst laboratory rats the number, timing and order of ejaculations by multiple males mating with an oestrous female influence the outcome of sperm competition and thereby affect the probability of paternity (Dewsbury and Hartung 1980;McClintock 1984). There is evidence that this competition between males mating multiply with a female can be influenced by their movement patterns (Schwagmeyer and Parker 1987) and dominance (Sherman 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of space use and male vigour amongst wood mice, Apodemus sylvaticus, in the cereal ecosystem

Tew

Macdonald

1994

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Abstract. The spatial organisation of male and female wood mice, Apodemus sylvaticus, was investigated in a large-scale radio-tracking study on arable farmland near Oxford, United Kingdom, during the breeding season. Both sexes had significantly larger home ranges in the breeding season than at other times, and the breeding season home ranges of male (X = 1.44 ha) were significantly larger than those of females (X = 0.49 ha). Home range overlap was significantly greater between males, and between males and females, than it was between females. Overlap between males tended to be greatest in heavily utilised areas. Except during sexual consortship, there was minimal evidence of dynamic interaction among individuals. Home range sizes of breeding males varied widely, as did their body weights. There was no relationship between male body weight and home range size or any other movement parameter. However, males with the largest home ranges had the highest scores on all other movement parameters, indicating that they expended more energy in movement. These more 'vigorous' males had access to the home ranges of more females than did males with small home ranges.

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“…The nesting environment was constructed to provide some of the physical complexity typical of a rat burrow (Calhoun 1962;McClintock 1984). Plywood (2.54 cm) was joined to enclose an area 120 x 120 x 60 cm and covered with 0.64 cm hardware cloth.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Facultative sex-ratio adjustment in Norway rats: litters born asynchronously are female biased

Blumberg

Mennella

Moltz³

et al. 1992

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Group Mating in the Domestic Rat as a Context for Sexual Selection: Consequences for the Analysis of Sexual Behavior and Neuroendocrine Responses

Cited by 110 publications

References 147 publications

The Role of Dopamine in the Nucleus Accumbens and Striatum during Sexual Behavior in the Female Rat

The Role of Dopamine in the Nucleus Accumbens and Striatum during Sexual Behavior in the Female Rat

Dynamics of space use and male vigour amongst wood mice, Apodemus sylvaticus, in the cereal ecosystem

Facultative sex-ratio adjustment in Norway rats: litters born asynchronously are female biased

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