Prior Exposure To Oxytocin Mimics the Effects Of Social Contact and Facilitates Sexual Behaviour In Females
| Autor: | Bruce S. Cushing, C. S. Carter |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2001 |
| Předmět: |
Estrous cycle
Social facilitation endocrine system medicine.medical_specialty biology Social contact Endocrine and Autonomic Systems Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism medicine.medical_treatment biology.organism_classification Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience Subcutaneous injection Endocrinology Arvicolinae Oxytocin Sexual receptivity Internal medicine medicine Psychology Saline hormones hormone substitutes and hormone antagonists medicine.drug |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Neuroendocrinology. 11:765-769 |
| ISSN: | 1365-2826 0953-8194 |
| DOI: | 10.1046/j.1365-2826.1999.00382.x |
| Popis: | The purpose of this study was to determine whether pretreatment with oxytocin could mimic the effects of social contact and enhance sexual receptivity in female prairie voles. Female prairie voles require prolonged exposure to males to become sexually active and oxytocin has been shown to play a major role in the establishment of social bonds between males and females. Therefore, we hypothesized that prior exposure to exogenous oxytocin, in the absence of males, would enhance sexual activity in females. Two experiments were conducted to test this hypothesis. Experiment 1 examined the capacity of oxytocin to enhance sexual behaviour in females undergoing natural oestrus. Sexually naive female prairie voles received a daily subcutaneous injection of 20 microg oxytocin or isotonic saline for 5 days before being placed with a sexually experienced male for 48 h. Females treated with oxytocin were significantly more likely to mate during this period than saline-treated females. In experiment 2 the ability of oxytocin to increase subsequent sensitivity of sexually naive females to oestradiol was tested. Females that received oxytocin pretreatment, as in experiment 1, followed by oestradiol displayed a significant increase in sexual receptivity when compared to females treated with saline and oestradiol or oestradiol only. The results supported the hypothesis that prior exposure to oxytocin can mimic the effects of social contact, and can facilitate sexual receptivity by increasing the sensitivity of females to very low doses of oestradiol. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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