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Physiol Behav

Title:		Male hamster investigatory and copulatory responses to vaginal discharge: relationship to the endocrine status of females
Author(s):		Macrides F; Singer AG; Clancy AN; Goldman BD; Agosta WC;
Address:
Journal Title:		Physiol Behav
Year:		1984
Volume:		33
Issue:		4
Page Number:		633 - 637
DOI:		10.1016/0031-9384(84)90383-4
ISSN/ISBN:		0031-9384 (Print) 0031-9384 (Linking)
Abstract:		"The ability of vaginal discharge from ovariectomized (OVEX) or hypophysectomized (HYPOX) female hamsters to elicit intense genital investigation and to facilitate overt copulatory behavior in males was compared with that of estrous vaginal discharge. The discharges were collected by vaginal lavage with water. In order to avoid exposure of experimental males to female stimuli other than vaginal discharge, the behavioral tests employed anesthetized males (female surrogates) whose hindquarters were scented with the collected vaginal material or with control solvent (water). Both the OVEX and HYPOX discharges elicited intense genital investigation and significantly increased the incidence of intromission attempts toward the scented surrogates. However, both types of discharge had significantly less behavioral activity than estrous vaginal discharge. In a subsequent experiment, a water dilution series of estrous vaginal discharge was tested for the ability to promote genital investigation and copulatory behavior toward scented surrogates. The amount of discharge typically extruded by one estrous female in response to tactile genital stimulation can be diluted one hundred-fold without appreciable reductions in its behavioral activity. These results demonstrate that the behavioral activity of hamster vaginal discharge is related to the endocrine status of females, and suggest that previous failures to demonstrate clear dependence on ovarian function might have been due to ceiling effects in laboratory tests"
Keywords:		"Animals Castration Copulation/physiology Cricetinae Exploratory Behavior/physiology Female Gonadal Steroid Hormones/*physiology Gonadotropins, Pituitary/*physiology Hypophysectomy Male Mesocricetus Pheromones/*physiology Sex Attractants/*physiology Sexual;"
Notes:		"MedlineMacrides, F Singer, A G Clancy, A N Goldman, B D Agosta, W C eng MH 08645/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ NS 12344/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S. 1984/10/01 Physiol Behav. 1984 Oct; 33(4):633-7. doi: 10.1016/0031-9384(84)90383-4"