Neurochemical basis of conditioned partner preference in the female rat: I. Disruption by naloxone.

Abstract

The effects of the opioid antagonist naloxone were examined on the development of conditioned partner preference induced by paced copulation in female rats. In Experiment 1, ovariectomized, hormone-primed rats were conditioned to associate scented and unscented male rats with paced and nonpaced copulation, respectively. Female rats in Experiment 2 associated albino or pigmented male rats with paced or nonpaced copulation. Naloxone or saline was administered before each conditioning trial. During a final drug-free preference test, female rats could choose to copulate with either a pacing related or unrelated male. Saline-trained female rats in the paired group copulated preferentially with the pacing-related male rat, whereas naloxone-trained female rats did not show a preference. The authors concluded that opioids mediated the conditioned partner preference induced by paced copulation.

The role of orgasm in the development and shaping of partner preferences

“…In general, females expressed their partner preference with more proceptive precopulatory behaviors, such as solicitations and hops and darts, and also chose the pacing-related male to receive their first ejaculation. Injections of naloxone prior to each paced copulation trial prevented the development of partner preferences, such that females failed to prefer the male that bore the conditioned odor or strain cue paired with sexual reward (Coria-Avila, Solomon, et al, 2008). Furthermore, systemic injections of the dopamine receptor antagonist flupenthixol prior to paced copulation prevented only the development of conditioned partner preference for the male bearing the odor but not the conditioned preference for strain (Coria-Avila, Gavrila, et al, 2008).…”

Do rats have orgasms?

“…Indeed, opioid activation may also mediate the ability of orgasms in humans, and ejaculation in rats, to reduce anxiety and dysphoria (Fernández-Guasti, Roldán-Roldán, & Saldívar, 1989; McCarthy, 1977; Pfaus & Wilkins, 1995; Rodríguez-Manzo, López-Rubalcava, & Fernández-Guasti, 1999). Systemic treatment with the opioid antagonist naloxone, but not dopamine antagonists, during training abolishes the development of CPP and conditioned partner/ejaculatory preferences in both female and male rats (Ågmo & Berenfeld, 1990; Coria-Avila et al, 2008; Ismail, Girard-Bériault, Nakanishi, & Pfaus, 2009; Mehara & Baum, 1990; Paredes & Martinez, 2001). In fact, female rats given their first few sexual experiences under the influence of systemic naloxone lose their desire for sex, as indicated by the loss of solicitations and lordosis, and the induction of defensive responses when injected subsequently with saline (Pfaus et al, 2012).…”

Considering the Role of Conditioning in Sexual Orientation

“…Learning processes allow for behavioral flexibility in response to unpredictability in the environment and such processes have been shown, mainly in animals but in some instances in humans, to affect many aspects of sexual behavior (Akins, 2004;Domjan & Akins, 2011;Pfaus, Kippin, & Centeno, 2001;Woodson, 2002), including partner preference (e.g., Coria-Avila et al, 2008a;Coria-Avila, Ouimet, Pacheco, Manzo, & Pfaus, 2005;Coria-Avila et al, 2008b;Coria-Avila, Triana Del Rio, MonteroDominguez, Hernandez, & Manzo, 2009;Ismail, Gelez, Lachapelle, & Pfaus, 2009;Nash & Domjan, 1991;Pfaus, et al, 2001;Woodson, Balleine, & Gorski, 2002;Young & Wang, 2004). Yet, while a few older theories of the development of sexual orientation, such as Bem's (1996) exotic becomes erotic theory (EBE) and Storms ' (1981)''timing of puberty''model as well as some recent observations regarding erotic plasticity (Baumeister, 2000;Diamond, 2000Diamond, ,2006Diamond, ,2009Diamond &Fagundes, 2008), implicate experience as influential in the development of sexual orientation, little clear or convincing evidence supports such a role (Rahman, 2005).…”