Consequences of perinatal hormone manipulation on the adult sexual behavior of female rats.

Abstract

Consequences of perinatal hormone manipulation on the adult sexual b ehavior of female rats were investigated. The animals were injected wit h oil prenatal or prolonged postnatal testosterone propionate (TP) or cyproterone acetate (Cyp A). Prenatal TP decreased quality and rate of lordotic response. Postnatal TP also impaired female behavior but increased the complete male compulatory rate. Prenatal Cyp A reduced the copulatory rate (p less than .01) while prenatal TP increased it (p less than .05). Both prenatal and postnatal TP produced equally large ( p less than .05) increases in number of complete copulations. Rats receiving prenatal Cyp A showed marked reductions in the percentage of animals displaying complete copulations while those who received only po stnatal Cyp A were unaffected. These results suggest that gonadal stero id levels present during prenatal and postnatal developmental stages determine the direction and degree of differentiation of adult rat sexual behavior and that male behavior in normal females is based on pre natal androgenic modifications of the nervous system.