AN EXPERIENTIAL FACTOR INFLUENCING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TESTOSTERONE PROPIONATE IN ELICITING SEXUAL BEHAVIOR IN MALE GUINEA PIGS1

Abstract

CONSIDERABLE evidence supports the view that the patterns of sexual behavior displayed in response to hormonal stimulation are related to the character of the soma or substrate on which the hormones act rather than to the amount of hormone, provided a certain threshold quantity is present (Young, Dempsey, Myers and Hagquist, 1938; Boling, Young and Dempsey, 1938; Young and Fish, 1945; Grunt and Young, 1952, 1953; Riss and Young, 1954). More recently it has been shown for the male guinea pig that patterns of sexual behavior are formed as the result of an interaction of experiential and genetic factors. Contact with other animals plays an important role in the acquisition of the mature copulatory pattern, but the amount of contact that is required varies depending on the genetic strain to which the individual belongs (Valenstein, Riss and Young, 1955).