Sexual orientation and sexual motivation of the adult male rat.

ABSTRACT

Intact sexually experienced male rats were allowed to choose between staying in the vicinity of an estrous female or a sexually active male under different conditions of sexual arousal. In one group, the animals were allowed to perform two intromissions before the start of the partner preference test. In a second group, the subjects were allowed to reach a moderate level of sexual satiation by repeated ejaculations 24 h before testing. A third group was not given any pretreatment. Independently of the conditions of the pretreatment, all groups showed a clear female-oriented behavior. However, animals performing two intromissions before the test spent significantly more time with the female and showed a higher number of visits to her compared to the untreated controls. Males being sexually exhausted after repeated ejaculations showed a significantly lower level of female-oriented behavior than did the controls. It was concluded that the male's readiness to orient towards the female was affected by his motivational state.