Sexual behavior of male rats: Effects of reduced sensory feedback.

Abstract

Six sexually experienced male rats of the S1 strain copulated under 2 experimental and 2 control conditions. Experimental conditions consisted of placing lidocaine anesthetic on the male''s penis either just before exposure to a female or during his first postejaculatory interval. Control conditions consisted of comparable applications of Vaseline. Anesthetic conditions resulted in incapacity to achieve intromission for an average of more than 20 min.; during this time males continued to mount females with relatively high frequencies. The effect is interpreted in terms of the 2-component nature of the intromission response; partial sensory deprivation affects capacity for sexual performance while leaving sexual arousal intact.