Copulation of virgin male rats evoked by painful peripheral stimulation.

Abstract

Applied electric shock to the tails of 30 naive male albino Sherman rats during a 1st encounter with a receptive female. The number of males copulating was almost 4 times that of nonshocked controls. Of 6 controls who did not copulate in 5 tests, 4 copulated after receiving shock. Higher intensities led to shorter copulatory latencies, while latencies were prolonged when a short contact period with a female preceded the 1st shock. Tailshock also increased the incidence of copulatory responses directed toward another male or a stuffed toy animal. In several of the male-male pairings, shock led to attack. Loud noise did not facilitate copulation, nor were other behaviors, such as feeding, drinking, gnawing, or nest building, evoked by tailshock. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)