A presumptive sex pheromone in the hamster: some behavioral effects.

Abstract

Female hamster vaginal discharge (FHVD) contains a presumptive pheromone(s) that affects male hamsters in at least 2 ways. Alone it attracts investigatory interest, and if applied to an appropriate stimulus object, it facilitates copulatory behavior. The latter property was investigated by applying a fixed quantity of the discharge to a series of "surrogate females." The results indicated that the patterning and vigor of the elicited behavior more closely resemble the normal stereotyped mating sequence as the features of the stimulus object more closely approach those of a receptive female hamster. The ability of FHVD to facilitate mating with an otherwise sexually uninteresting stimulus object was unchanged 2 wk. after ovariectomy of the donor female.