Stimulus control of copulatory behavior in sexually naive male Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica): Effects of test context and stimulus movement.

Sexually experienced male quail (Coturnix japonica) are more likely to engage in copulatory behavior than sexually naive ones. These experiments suggest that sexual experience in a particular place may facilitate later copulatory responding because of increased familiarity with the contextual cues of the environment. Male quail in Exp 1 did not copulate reliably with taxidermic models of females in a novel context, even though some of the subjects were allowed to copulate with female quail in their home cages. In contrast, sexually naive males in Exps 2 and 3 copulated vigorously with taxidermic models of females in a familiar context. In Exp 4, sexually naive males tested in an unfamiliar context were more likely to copulate with a moving than with a static model. The stimulus control of copulatory behavior in sexually naive male quail was similar to that in sexually experienced ones but only in familiar contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contextual conditioning and the control of copulatory behavior by species-specific sign stimuli in male Japanese quail.

Three experiments were conducted to identify species-specific sign stimuli sufficient to elicit copulatory behavior in male Japanese quail and to determine how learning is involved in the control of behavior by these sign stimuli. In Exp 1, sexually experienced Ss were tested for copulatory behavior with a live female quail and with a model consisting of a female quail's head and neck mounted in front of a foam pad. Comparable levels of copulatory behavior were observed in the two tests, indicating that static visual cues provided by a female quail's head and neck are sufficient to elicit copulatory behavior in this species. Exp 2 showed that male birds that previously received numerous opportunities to copulate with a live female quail in the test situation were significantly more likely to copulate with the head?+?neck model than were sexually inexperienced Ss. Exp 3 showed that prior sexual experience with live quail facilitated responding to the head?+?neck model only if the sexual experience was provided in the same place where Ss were later tested with the model. This finding suggests that sexual experience facilitates control of copulatory behavior by species-specific sign stimuli through contextual conditioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dopamine release in the medial preoptic area is related to hormonal action and sexual motivation.

To help elucidate how general the role of dopamine (DA) release in the medial preoptic area (mPOA) is for the activation of male sexual behavior in vertebrates, we recently developed an in vivo microdialysis procedure in the mPOA of Japanese quail. Using these techniques in the present experiment, the temporal pattern of DA release in relation to the precopulatory exposure to a female and to the expression of both appetitive and consummatory aspects of male sexual behavior was investigated. Extracellular samples from the mPOA of adult sexually experienced male quail were collected every 6 min before, while viewing, while in physical contact with, and after exposure to a female. In the absence of a precopulatory rise in DA, males failed to copulate when the barrier separating them from the female was removed. In contrast, males that showed a substantial increase in mPOA DA during precopulatory interactions behind the barrier, copulated with females after its removal. However, there was no difference in DA during periods when the quail were copulating as compared to when the female was present but the males were not copulating. In addition, we show that precopulatory DA predicts future DA levels and copulatory behavior frequency. Furthermore, the size of the cloacal gland, an accurate indicator of testosterone action, is positively correlated with precopulatory DA. Taken together, these results provide further support for the hypothesis that DA action in the mPOA is specifically linked to sexual motivation as compared to copulatory behavior per se. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Methamphetamine impairs sexual motivation but not sexual performance in male Japanese quail.

The present study investigated the effects of chronic pre-exposure to methamphetamine on sexual motivation and performance in male Japanese quail. Quail were pre-exposed to methamphetamine (1.0 or 3.0 mg/kg ip) or saline (ip) once daily for 10 days and locomotor activity was measured. After a 10 day washout period, sexual motivation was measured in a straight-arm runway with visual access to a female at one end. Three to 5 hr after sexual motivation tests, males were allowed to copulate with a receptive female quail and copulatory behavior was assessed. Tests were conducted once per day for 10 days. Results showed that males pre-exposed to methamphetamine had decreased locomotor activity compared to saline controls. Males pre-exposed to METH later ran slower toward a female in the runway and spent less time near her. In contrast, methamphetamine pre-exposed males showed similar copulatory behavior as saline pre-exposed males. The findings suggest that chronic pre-exposure to methamphetamine may impair sexual motivation but not sexual performance. The findings are discussed from a comparative perspective and with regard to their clinical relevance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is sexual motivational state linked to dopamine release in the medial preoptic area?

The medial preoptic area (mPOA) is a key site for the dopaminergic enhancement of male sexual behavior. Dopamine release increases in the rat mPOA with mating, supporting the critical stimulatory role played by preoptic dopamine on male sexual behavior. However, it has been questioned whether dopamine is specifically related to the occurrence of male sexual behavior and not simply involved in general arousal. To address this question, we asked whether dopamine release in the mPOA is linked to the production of male sexual behavior in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), a species that exhibits a much shorter temporal pattern of copulation than rats and does not have an intromittent organ, resulting in a very different topography of their sexual response. Extracellular samples from the mPOA of adult sexually experienced male quail were collected every 6 min before, during, and after exposure to a female using in vivo microdialysis and analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Extracellular dopamine significantly increased in the presence of a female and returned to baseline after removal of the female. However, quail that failed to copulate did not display this increased release. These findings indicate that it is not solely the presence of a female that drives dopamine release in males, but how a male responds to her. Furthermore, in quail that copulated, dopamine release did not change in samples collected during periods of no copulation. Together, these findings support the hypothesis that dopamine action in the mPOA is specifically linked to sexual motivation and not only to copulatory behavior or physical arousal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A New Model for Sexual Conditioning: The Ring Dove (Streptopelia risoria).

Sexual conditioning investigations have primarily used rats and domestic quail as subjects. Although much has been learned from such experiments, the relative simplicity of rat and quail reproductive behavior prohibits investigation of certain experimental questions about sexual conditioning. In contrast, the reproductive behavior of male and female ring doves (Streptopelia risoria) is complex, involving courtship, bonding, and parental care. In the present experiment, male ring doves that were presented with a visual conditioned stimulus paired with access to their pair-bonded mate (the unconditioned stimulus) showed sexual conditioned responding in the presence of the conditioned stimulus. These results represent the first evidence of sexual conditioning in ring doves and illustrate the potential of ring doves as a useful model for future sexual conditioning investigations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of enclosure size on sexual behavior of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica).

The authors determined whether results of experiments on copulatory and affiliative behavior of pairs of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) conducted in a closely confining apparatus would predict behavior in a large enclosure in which female quail could avoid contact with male quail. As found previously in studies of closely confined quail, in a large enclosure containing numerous barriers, both unmated female quail and mated female quail laying unfertilized eggs were more likely to remain near a confined male quail than were mated female quail laying fertilized eggs. Furthermore, the number of copulations that a pair engaged in when closely confined predicted the number of copulations that they engaged in when they were in the large enclosure. Patterns of affiliation and of mating in a confining laboratory apparatus thus predicted behavior in a larger enclosure that provided female quail with opportunity to avoid contact with male quail. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual-discrimination learning in male Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).

We investigated how male Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) learn through extensive social and sexual experience to discriminate between male and female conspecifics. Opportunity for heterosexual copulation was important for this learning, but even extensive copulatory opportunity was not sufficient to produce a sexual discrimination; subjects also required exposure to other males. Exposure to females after copulatory opportunity did not produce a sexual discrimination but facilitated its acquisition. Time or exposure to only the visual features of male birds (provided by taxidermic models) after copulatory opportunity did not result in differential responding to male and female conspecifics. Finally, presenting stimulus birds one at a time proved to be a more sensitive test of sexual-discrimination learning than presenting two stimulus birds at the same time. The results indicate that sexual-discrimination learning is similar to conventional associative learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relative Contributions of the Male and the Female to Sexual Behavior and Reproductive Success in the Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica).

Two contrasting investigative techniques provided evidence consistent with the interpretation that female quail (Coturnix japonica) regulate male copulatory behavior by the duration of their immobility and through this behavioral mechanism they also control the rate of fertilization of their eggs. In Experiment 1, copulation tests with males and females from different genetic lines showed that the type of female that participated in a copulatory test significantly influenced the latency of the male's grab, mount, and cloacal contact responses and also determined the efficiency of the male's copulatory behavior. These measures of male performance were correlated with female immobility in Experiment 2, which used a more homogeneous population of quail. Furthermore, 2 of these measures (copulatory efficiency and the latency to make cloacal contact) were correlated with fertilization rate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extinction of conditioned sexual responses in male Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica): role of species-typical cues.

The authors examined how a conditioned stimulus (CS) that included species-typical cues affected the acquisition and extinction of conditioned sexual responses in male quail (Coturnix japonica). Some subjects were conditioned with a CS that supported sexual responses and included a taxidermic head of a female quail. Others were conditioned with a similar CS that lacked species-typical cues. Pairing the CSs with access to live females increased CS-directed behavior, with the head CS eliciting significantly more responding than the no-head CS. Responding to the head CS persisted during the 42-day, 126-trial extinction phase; responses to the no-head CS extinguished. Responding declined when the cues were removed or the subjects were sexually satiated. Possible functions and mechanisms of these effects are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differences in the sexual conditioned behavior of male and female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica).

The conditioned responses of male and female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were compared in a Pavlovian conditioning procedure in which presentation of a brief conditioned stimulus was immediately followed by the release of a copulation partner. Male quail vigorously approached the conditioned stimulus and were much more likely to enter the compartment housing their copulation partner than were female birds (Experiment 1). In females, sexual conditioning resulted in increased squatting (Experiment 2). This response was the reflection of sexual behavior rather than more general social behavior (Experiment 3). These findings provide the first definitive evidence of sexual learning in female quail and are consistent with the interpretation that sexual conditioning increases sexual arousal or receptivity in both sexes but the increase has different behavioral manifestations in male and female quail. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Topography of spatially directed conditioned responding: Effects of context and trial duration.

Domesticated quail (Coturnix japonica) received a discrete conditioned stimulus (CS) at one end of the experimental chamber paired with the opportunity to copulate with a female quail (the unconditioned stimulus) in a goal box located 112 cm away. Approach to the CS (sign tracking) and approach to the goal area (goal tracking) were measured. The duration of exposure to the experimental context (C) was varied in Experiment 1, and the duration of the conditioning trials (T) was varied in Experiment 2 for independent groups, creating C/T ratios of 1.0, 1.5, 4.5, 45, and 180. Contrary to previous reports of a direct relation between the C/T ratio and conditioned responding, in the present experiments, a shift in the topography and stimulus control of conditioned behavior occurred. Low C/T ratios (1.0–4.5) produced goal tracking controlled by contextual cues, whereas high C/T ratios (45 and 180) produced sign tracking controlled by the discrete CS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hormonal control of behavior in the Japanese quail.

Adult male and female Japanese quail were functionally castrated by exposure to a short photoperiod and then injected with either estradiole benzoate (EB) or testosterone propionate (TP). Females injected with EB (n = 24) exhibited normal sexual receptivity again but displayed no male courtship behavior. Males injected with EB (n = 10) showed both male and female copulatory patterns. Females injected with TP (n = 14) showed little sexual behavior of any sort, while males injected with TP (n = 10) displayed male sexual behavior. The male quail is thus more bisexual than the female. In contrast with mammalian species, the female is more bisexual. The difference is discussed in relation to the differences in the embryology and cytogenetics of birds and mammals. (29 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Androgen Mediation of Conditioned Rhythmic Cloacal Sphincter Movements in Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica).

Demonstrations of increased reproductive success due to sexual conditioning in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) have been reported, although the mechanisms that underlie these effects have remained elusive. One possible mechanism is conditioned rhythmic cloacal sphincter movements (RCSM). Two experiments were conducted with male quail to determine whether associations between a conditioned stimulus (CS) and a hen would result in the ability of the CS to elicit RCSM, and to explore the androgen mediation of conditioned RCSM. The results suggest that a focal CS paired with visual access to a female will elicit RCSM via a representation of the hen activated by the CS. Further, the available evidence indicates that conditioned RCSM is androgen mediated and that this learning may transfer across breeding seasons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential effects of yohimbine and naloxone on copulatory behaviors of male rats.

Prior research has demonstrated that both yohimbine, an alpha?-adrenergic antagonist, and naloxone, an opiate antagonist, facilitate components of copulatory behaviors in nonstressed male rats. In the present experiments, it is demonstrated that these drugs differentially affect copulatory behaviors when the behavioral testing situation contained an aversive element. Male rats received an injection of lithium chloride (0.3 M, 20 ml/kg, ip) immediately after each encounter with an estrous female. Consequently, male copulatory behaviors gradually declined during successive test sessions. These male rats also received ip injections of either yohimbine (2 mg/kg/ml), naloxone (4 mg/kg/ml), or isotonic saline 20 min prior to each copulation test. Yohimbine-treated rats were more likely to copulate than control rats during both acquisition and extinction of lithium chloride-induced associative inhibition of copulatory behavior. Conversely, naloxone-treated rats were less likely to copulate than control rats during both acquisition and extinction. Data are consistent with the hypothesis that yohimbine increases sexual motivation in the male rat and limit the generality of the excitatory effects of naloxone on copulatory behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A presumptive sex pheromone in the hamster: Some behavioral effects.

Notes that female hamster vaginal discharge (FHVD) contains a presumptive pheromone(s) that affects male hamsters in at least 2 ways. Alone it attracts investigatory interest, and if applied to an appropriate stimulus object, it facilitates copulatory behavior. The latter property was investigated by applying a fixed quantity of the discharge to a series of "surrogate females." The same 8 sexually experienced adult male Golden hamsters were used in 2 experiments; in Exp II a 9th S, experimentally naive, was added because of its sexual vigor. Results indicate that the patterning and vigor of the elicited behavior more closely resembled the normal stereotyped mating sequence as the features of the stimulus object more closely approached those of a receptive female hamster. The ability of FHVD to facilitate mating with an otherwise sexually uninteresting stimulus object was unchanged 2 wks after ovariectomy of the donor female. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learned aversions to copulatory behaviors in male rats.

Used LiCl for an aversive effect on copulatory behavior in adult experienced and inexperienced male hooded rats (Exp I) and in inexperienced adult male Holtzman rats (Exp II). When males received an injection of LiCl immediately after an encounter with an estrous female, the vigor of subsequent copulatory responding was initially unaffected. After 5–20 such pairings, however, males displayed an aversion to copulatory behaviors; they ceased to copulate entirely. These aversions persisted when Ss were tested in a novel environment and extinguished after 4 nonreinforced trials. This multiple-trial adaptation of the conditioned taste aversion paradigm provides a new approach to the aversive control of sexual behavior. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learning and male–male sexual competition in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica).

Male Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were trained individually to discriminate between 2 sounds presented at opposite ends of an outdoor aviary. One of the sounds (the positive conditioned stimulus [CS+]) was associated with the release of a female, and the other (the negative CS [CS–]) was presented alone. Which of the 2 sounds served as the CS+ (and which served as the CS–) was counterbalanced across Ss. The Ss came to approach their CS+ but did not move away from their CS–. After having been conditioned individually, the subjects were tested in pairs, with a single female released after the presentation of a stimulus that was the CS+ for one of the males and the CS– for the other male. During most of these tests, the male for whom the prefemale stimulus was the CS+ copulated with the female before the male for whom the prefemale stimulus was the CS–. These results indicate that learning can have an important role in competition for access to a reproductive partner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual approach conditioning: Unconditioned stimulus factors.

Unconditioned stimulus (US) factors were investigated in a Pavlovian sexual conditioning paradigm with male Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Copulation with a female quail was more effective than exposure to a female without copulation, but the latter also produced conditioned responding (Exp 1). The greater effectiveness of copulatory opportunity as a US was probably not due to nonassociative effects of copulation (Exp 2). Visual cues of the female, as presented on a taxidermic model, were not effective unless the Ss had prior sexual experience that increased their response to the model (Exps 3a and 3b). Successful conditioning with noncopulatory female exposure is significant because it allows for sexual learning to occur in a broader range of circumstances than does conditioning with copulation and because it permits conducting multiple trials per day because males do not become satiated as rapidly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of novelty on the reproductive behavior of male Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).

In Exp I, 8 sexually deprived male Japanese quail were exposed to 1 of 7 female Japanese quail until they satisfied a 20-min sexual satiation criterion. The female was then replaced with a novel female or was allowed to remain in the test cage undisturbed. Introduction of the novel female did not reinvigorate sexual behavior above levels observed when the female was allowed to remain undisturbed. In Exp II, with 9 males and 15 females, males that were not sexually deprived were tested in the presence of 2 females. During experimental tests, 1 of the females was novel and the other was familiar. During control tests, both of the females were familiar. The presence of a novel female increased overall levels of male sexual behavior and also increased the number of males engaged in reproductive behavior. However, the enhanced sexual behavior was not differentially directed toward the novel or familiar female. Implications of these findings for the mating system of Japanese quail and for studies of the role of novelty in sexual behavior are discussed. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)