Effects of yohimbine and apomorphine on the male sexual behaviour pattern of the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus).
It has been reported that the copulatory pattern of male hamsters differs from that displayed by most rodents. Besides mount, intromission and ejaculatory patterns, male hamsters display a peculiar copulatory pattern known as long intromission (LI). This peculiar behavioural pattern emerges after the male has been allowed to ejaculate repeatedly. Although LIs have been linked to sexual exhaustion, their functional meaning and their pharmacological regulation have not yet been elucidated. In this study, the sexual behaviour pattern of male golden hamsters was analysed after the administration of yohimbine and apomorphine, drugs that selectively acts on the noradrenergic and dopaminergic system, respectively. Both drugs have proved effective in inducing facilitation of masculine sexual behaviour in several species, including rodents. Results showed that, as in rats, the administration of yohimbine and apomorphine in male hamsters seems to have a stimulatory effect on masculine sexual behaviour, although their effects differ in characteristics and in intensity. In particular, after yohimbine administration, the onset of LIs appears sooner than in control subjects and it seems that they are linked to the number of ejaculations. In addition, sexual activity seems increased after the onset of LIs, including an increase in ejaculations and in the number of LIs. On the other hand, apomorphine administration induced just a slight stimulatory effect limited to ejaculatory latency and postejaculatory interval. Concerning LIs, apomorphine induced a complete disappearance of LIs in 60% of the subjects. The full significance of these findings remains to be elucidated.
Arteaga
M
M
Departamento de Biología de la Reproducción, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Iztapalapa, Apartado Postal 55 535, 09340, Mexico City C.P., Mexico.
Motte-Lara
J
J
Velázquez-Moctezuma
J
J
D000317:Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001058:Apomorphine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006224:Cricetinae; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008647:Mesocricetus; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D015016:Yohimbine / Q000494:pharmacology*
D000317:Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists; D018491:Dopamine Agonists; D015016:Yohimbine; D001058:Apomorphine