The function and meaning of female rat paracopulatory (proceptive) behaviors

Bergheim, Dag; Chu, Xi; Ågmo, Anders

doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2015.05.011

Cited by 28 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The present study shows that males only select females for mounts or intromissions that have performed paracopulatory behaviours. This is in line with another study in which intact female rats were studied in the seminatural environment . It could therefore be argued that females with reduced numbers of ERα in the VMN are equally physically capable of performing lordoses as control females, although they are less motivated to participate in sexual interactions.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Role of Oestrogen α Receptors in Sociosexual Behaviour in Female Rats Housed in a Seminatural Environment

Snoeren

Antonio-Cabrera

Spiteri

et al. 2015

J Neuroendocrinology

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The present study investigated the role of oestrogen receptor (ER)α in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMN), the preoptic area (POA), the medial amygdala (MePD) and the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST) in sociosexual behaviour in female rats. This was conducted in two sets of experiments, with the VMN and POA investigated in the first set, and the MePD and BNST in the second set. The VMN and POA received intense projections from the MePD and BNST. We used a short hairpin RNA encoded within an adeno-associated viral vector directed against the gene for ERα to reduce the number of ERα in the VMN or POA (first set of experiments) or in the BNST or MePD (second set of experiments) in female rats. The rats were housed in groups of four ovariectomised females and three males in a seminatural environment for 8 days. Compared with traditional test set-ups, the seminatural environment provides an arena in which the rats can express their full behavioural repertoire, which allowed us to investigate multiple aspects of social and sexual behaviour in groups of rats. Behavioural observation was performed after oestrogen and progesterone injections. A reduction of ERα expression in the VMN or POA diminished the display of paracopulatory behaviours and lordosis responses compared to controls, whereas the lordosis quotient remained unaffected. This suggests that ERα in the VMN and POA play an important role in intrinsic sexual motivation. The reduction in ERα did not affect the social behaviour of the females, although the males sniffed and pursued the females with reduced ERα less than the controls. This suggests that the ERα in the VMN and POA is involved in the regulation of sexual attractiveness of females. The ERα in the MePD and BNST, on the other hand, plays no role in sociosexual behaviour.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Role of Oestrogen α Receptors in Sociosexual Behaviour in Female Rats Housed in a Seminatural Environment

Snoeren

Antonio-Cabrera

Spiteri

et al. 2015

J Neuroendocrinology

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“…These proceptive behaviors precede the first lordosis during the period of sexual receptivity, and the numbers of proceptive events increase in the minute preceding lordosis (83). Indeed, nearly all male sexual behaviors are preceded by proceptive behaviors (84). Other sexually motivated behaviors include solicitations, a head-wise orientation to the male followed by running away, approach behaviors, such as the those displayed during paced mating, or presentation behaviors, a prelordotic crouch (77).…”

Section: Animal Models Of Sexual Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Ovarian Hormones and the Medial Amygdala in Sexual Motivation

Holder

Mong

2017

Curr Sex Health Rep

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Purpose Although research into the neurobiology of sexual desire in women is active, relatively little is understood about the origins of sexual motivation in women. The purpose of our review is to discuss factors that influence a central sexual motivate state and generalized arousal as potential drivers of sexual motivation in women and female rats. Recent Findings Sexual motivation is the product of interactions of the central motive state and salient sexually-relevant cues. Ovarian hormones and generalized arousal influence the central motive state, and endogenous levels of estradiol and progesterone correlate with sexual motivation and behavior in women. The amygdala is a key integratory site for generalized arousal and sexual sensory stimulation, which could then increase sexual motivation through its downstream projections. Summary Our model of enhanced female sexual motivation suggests that the combined effects of dopamine and progesterone receptor activation in the medial amygdala increases the incentive properties of a sexual stimulus. Further study into the interactions of ovarian hormones and mediators of generalized arousal on the processing of sexually-relevant cues informs our understanding of the neurobiology of female sexual motivation and could lead to the development of therapeutics to treat the dysfunctions of sexual desire in women.

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“…Male pursuit of the female precedes most sexual interactions and males initiate sexual interaction as often as females. Moreover, the duration of an episode of male pursuit of the female is an important determinant of the likelihood that a copulatory act will follow (Bergheim et al, 2015). Apart from this, male sexual behaviors, intromission and ejaculation, seem to be independent of affiliative behaviors, like sniffing and anogenital sniffing, as well as from nonaffiliative behaviors like fight and nose off.…”

Section: Sociosexual Interactions In Ratsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, we found no relationship between paracopulatory behavior and the number of intromissions and ejaculations received by the females. We conducted a detailed analysis by studying a total of 5370 episodes of paracopulatory behavior and the male behavior preceding or following it (Bergheim, Chu, & Ågmo, 2015). Most episodes of paracopulatory behaviors were unrelated to male copulatory acts, since only 34 % of episodes of paracopulatory behaviors preceded a male copulatory act.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Studies of Sociosexual Interactions in Rats in an Externally Valid Procedure: Are They Relevant for Understanding Human Sexual Behavior?

Chu¹,

Ågmo²

2016

Int. j. psychol. res.

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When a prolonged observation of groups of rats in a seminatural environment is used as testing procedure, different behavioral patterns are shown compared with what observed in a pair housed in a small cage. Males and females copulate simultaneously, they show a promiscuously and random copulatory pattern. Females remain completely receptive from the first lordosis displayed in the period of behavioral estrus until the last. There is no reduction in paracopulatory behaviors and no increase in rejections towards the end of estrus. Female paracopulatory behavior and receptivity change in a most abrupt way at both initiation and termination of behavioral estrus. It appears that, in the seminatural environment, males copulate in bouts, and males do not pursue the females unless they are fully receptive. Non-sexual, social behavior including affiliative and nonaffiliative interaction among rats is rather unrelated to sexual activities in both sex. Cuando una observación prolongada de grupos de ratas en ambientes seminaturales es usada como procedimiento de evaluación, diferentes patrones conductuales se muestran en comparación con lo que se observa con una pareja en una jaula pequeña. Machos y hembras copulan simultáneamente, muestran promiscuidad y un patrón aleatorio de copulación. Las hembras permanecen completamente receptivas desde su primera lordosis desplegada en el periodo de comportamiento de celo hasta el último. No hay una reducción de comportamientos para-copulatorios y no hay incremento en el rechazo hacia el final del celo. Las conductas para-copulatorias en hembras y la receptividad cambian de la manera más abrupta tanto al iniciarse como al terminarse la conducta de celo. Al parecer, en un ambiente seminatural, los machos copulan en peleas y no persiguen a las hembras a menos que ellas estén totalmente receptivas. Conductas sociales no sexuales, incluidas las interacciones afiliativas y no afiliativas entre ratas, no están relacionadas con actividades sexuales en ambos sexos.

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The function and meaning of female rat paracopulatory (proceptive) behaviors

Cited by 28 publications

References 37 publications

Role of Oestrogen α Receptors in Sociosexual Behaviour in Female Rats Housed in a Seminatural Environment

Role of Oestrogen α Receptors in Sociosexual Behaviour in Female Rats Housed in a Seminatural Environment

The Role of Ovarian Hormones and the Medial Amygdala in Sexual Motivation

Studies of Sociosexual Interactions in Rats in an Externally Valid Procedure: Are They Relevant for Understanding Human Sexual Behavior?

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