Regulation of social contact by the female rat during the postejaculatory interval |
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| Authors: | Lynette A Geyer Ronald J Barfield |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Biology, Livingston College, Rutgers-The State University, 08903, New Brunswick, New Jersey
2. Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia
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| Abstract: | Mating behavior of male and estrous female rats was observed in a large cage through three ejaculatory series. Movement, 22-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations, sexual behavior, and distance between animals were studied during the postejaculatory interval (PEI) to help establish how copulatory contact is maintained and reinitiated for successive ejaculations. Females moved more than males throughout the three series. The duration of vocalization by the male during the PEI increased in the presence of an experienced female. During the male’s vocalization, the rats exhibited a period of immobility that usually began with the experienced female’s terminating contact by moving away from the male and ended when the female reinitiated contact by moving toward the male. Virgin females did not show this pattern of movement. Experienced females maintained a greater distance from the male during the PEI than did virgin females. We conclude that the behavior of the experienced estrous female assures both considerable spatial separation during the male’s refractory period and the reinitiation of contact. |
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