| Abstrakt: |
Attempts were made to determine whether modification of agonistic behavior by experience differs in the sexes and if so, whether testosterone Ls involved in this response. Gonadectomized male and female CPB-S3 (Tryon Maze Dull) rats were treated with testosterone propionate (TP, 250 μg) or vehicle and .subjected to tests in which they became either winners or losers. S3 males and females were tested against Long Evans rats to become "losers or against Wistar rats to become winners. Subsequently, S3 winners were tested against losers. In addition, winners and losers were tested against naive S3 opponents of the same sex. After varied agonistic experiences, all animals were tested for social preference in a situation in which they could choose between their respective opponents without the possibility of social interaction. Thereafter, they were also exposed to a two-choice passive avoidance learning procedure to see ff the behavioral effects of aggressive interactions generalized to nonsocial learning. Males and females reacted differently to winning or losing, the presence of testosterone being a critical factor in the manifestation of this sex difference. Relatively permanent effects on aggressive and other behaviors were only established in DTP-treated nits. Losing experiences in the racial-preference test generally led to a slight preference for naive, less aggressive animals. Testosterone-treated male losers, the group expected to be most vulnerable to generalized inhibition and impairment of learning, did not differ from other categories in the two-choice passive avoidance procedure, although marked differences were observed between the sexes and between testosterone and oil-treated animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
