Correlation of diurnal changes in hormones with sexual behavior and age in male rhesus macaques

Abstract

—We designed this study to determine whether the sexual behavior of male monkeys changes on a diurnal schedule that coincides with changes in the levels of hormones such as luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone, estradiol, and cortisol, and whether these differences vary with age. Old (n=8) and young (n=8) males were bled and given sexual behavior tests eight times at 0900 and eight times at 2100. The old and young males did not differ in mean serum levels of testosterone, estradiol, cortisol, or LH. Testosterone and LH levels were lower at 0900 than at 2100 (p<0.01), and estradiol and cortisol levels were higher at 0900 than at 2100 (p<0.01). The young males had higher percentages of tests with erections, mounts, intromissions, and ejaculations than the old males (p<0.01). The rates contacting, mounting, and intromitting were higher at 0900 than at 2100 (p<0.05). We failed to confirm previously obtained correlations between hormone levels and sexual performance. This failure led us to conclude that any significant correlation between sexual behavior and hormone levels must be regarded as tentative unless repeated in successive independent studies.