Neonatal treatment of hamsters with barbiturate alters adult sexual behavior

Abstract

Male and female hamsters were given 50 μg pentobarbital, 100 μg pentobarbital, or 100 μg d-amphetamine on postnatal Days 2–4. When tested for masculine sexual behavior in adulthood, males treated with 100 μg pentobarbital showed behavioral deficits when tested with testes intact as well as after castration and treatment with testosterone propionate. Deficits shown by 50 μg pentobarbital males were overcome by testosterone replacement. When tested for feminine sexual behavior, males treated with 50 μg pentobarbital showed enhanced lordotic responses whereas males treated with 100 μg d-amphetamine showed no differences from controls when tested for female sexual behavior or when tested for male sexual behavior. Drug treatments had no effect on adult masculine or feminine sexual behavior in neonatally treated females. The results of this study show that pentobarbital can inhibit normal masculinization of the male when given during behavioral sexual differentiation.