Effects of male pre-ejaculatory vocalizations on female receptive behavior in the rat (Rattus norvegicus). 1990

N R White, and R J Barfield
Department of Biological Sciences, Rutgers--The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick 08903.

Both male and female rats (Rattus norvegicus) emit ultrasounds during copulation. Bursts of ultrasounds from males that occur as ejaculation approaches are lower in frequency, longer in duration, and louder than those that appear earlier in the ejaculatory series. We attempted to determine if these pre-ejaculatory calls affect female sexual behavior. The behavior of females paired with devocalized males was compared with that of females paired with intact males, and in a second experiment tape-recorded vocalizations were played to females paired with devocalized males. Females were less receptive when paired with devocalized males; they were less likely to remain stationary when males attempted to mount. Playback of both types of calls restored female immobility toward control levels, although pre-ejaculatory calls were more effective than mating ones. Pre-ejaculatory calls restored running and training levels somewhat toward control level but to a lesser extent than female immobility.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D003307 Copulation Sexual union of a male and a female in non-human species. Copulations
D004542 Ejaculation The emission of SEMEN to the exterior, resulting from the contraction of muscles surrounding the male internal urogenital ducts. Ejaculations
D005260 Female Females
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001143 Arousal Cortical vigilance or readiness of tone, presumed to be in response to sensory stimulation via the reticular activating system. Vigilance, Cortical,Arousals,Cortical Vigilance
D012726 Sexual Behavior, Animal Sexual activities of animals. Mating Behavior, Animal,Sex Behavior, Animal,Animal Mating Behavior,Animal Mating Behaviors,Animal Sex Behavior,Animal Sex Behaviors,Animal Sexual Behavior,Animal Sexual Behaviors,Mating Behaviors, Animal,Sex Behaviors, Animal,Sexual Behaviors, Animal
D014465 Ultrasonics A subfield of acoustics dealing in the radio frequency range higher than acoustic SOUND waves (approximately above 20 kilohertz). Ultrasonic radiation is used therapeutically (DIATHERMY and ULTRASONIC THERAPY) to generate HEAT and to selectively destroy tissues. It is also used in diagnostics, for example, ULTRASONOGRAPHY; ECHOENCEPHALOGRAPHY; and ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY, to visually display echoes received from irradiated tissues. Ultrasonic
D014828 Vocalization, Animal Sounds used in animal communication. Singing, Animal,Sound Communication, Animal,Vocal Communication, Animal,Animal Singing,Animal Singings,Animal Sound Communication,Animal Sound Communications,Animal Vocal Communication,Animal Vocal Communications,Animal Vocalization,Animal Vocalizations,Communication, Animal Sound,Communication, Animal Vocal,Communications, Animal Sound,Communications, Animal Vocal,Singings, Animal,Sound Communications, Animal,Vocal Communications, Animal,Vocalizations, Animal
D051381 Rats The common name for the genus Rattus. Rattus,Rats, Laboratory,Rats, Norway,Rattus norvegicus,Laboratory Rat,Laboratory Rats,Norway Rat,Norway Rats,Rat,Rat, Laboratory,Rat, Norway,norvegicus, Rattus

Related Publications

N R White, and R J Barfield
March 1979, Physiology & behavior,
N R White, and R J Barfield
November 2014, Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983),
N R White, and R J Barfield
February 2014, Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983),
N R White, and R J Barfield
September 1994, Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983),
N R White, and R J Barfield
September 2009, Developmental psychobiology,
N R White, and R J Barfield
March 1992, Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983),
N R White, and R J Barfield
June 1976, Physiology & behavior,
N R White, and R J Barfield
February 2016, Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983),
N R White, and R J Barfield
May 2022, Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science : JAALAS,
Copied contents to your clipboard!