Research reportPrior hormonal treatment, but not sexual experience, reduces the negative effects of restraint on female sexual behavior

- The effects of sexual experience on the lordosis-inhibiting effect of restraint were examined.
- Three weeks hormonal priming with or without sexual experience reduced the response to restraint.
- A 3-week hormone vacation eliminated the effects of the prior experience.
- There was no effect of sexual experience.

These experiments were designed to determine if prior sexual experience reduced the negative effect of mild stress on female sexual behavior. In the first experiment, ovariectomized rats were hormonally primed with estradiol benzoate and progesterone for 3 consecutive weeks during which they received six mating experiences in a male's home cage or received no sexual experience. The next week, females were primed with 10 μg estradiol benzoate two days before a 5 min restraint. Both groups were resistant to the negative effects of the stressor. In the second experiment, females received 0, 1, 2, or 3 weeks of 10 μg estradiol benzoate and were restrained on the fourth week after priming with 10 μg estradiol benzoate. Rats without prior hormonal priming showed a decline in lordosis behavior after restraint but prior priming with estradiol benzoate reduced this effect. In the third experiment, rats received 3 weeks of hormonal priming with estradiol benzoate and progesterone with or without sexual experience. An additional group received no sexual experience or hormonal priming. Females were then given a 3-week hormone vacation before testing in the restraint paradigm. All groups showed a decline in lordosis behavior after restraint. The fourth experiment was identical to the third except that sexual experience in the male's cage and in a pacing apparatus were compared. There was no effect of either type of sexual experience on the response to restraint. Possible mechanisms responsible for effects of prior hormonal priming are presented and the absence of an effect of sexual experience is discussed in comparison to findings in male rats.