Sexual behavior and fertility of male rats submitted to prolonged immobilization-induced stress
Braz. j. med. biol. res
; 33(9): 1105-9, Sept. 2000.
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: lil-267972
Responsible library:
BR1.1
ABSTRACT
In order to investigate whether prolonged stress interferes with the onset of sexual behavior at puberty and with fertility at adulthood, prepubertal male Wistar rats (40 days of age) were immobilized 6 h a day for 15 days (up to early puberty) or for 60 days (until sexual maturity). Pubertal stressed rats showed a two-fold increase in the latency for the first mount (probably due to repeated aversive experience in which a change of environment was always followed by immobilization) and a 2.5-fold increase in the frequency of thrusting (indicative of enhanced sexual performance). The apparently stimulatory effect of prolonged stress on the onset of sexual behavior is discussed in terms of increased testosterone level and interference with the complex interchanges between the neurotransmitters/neuropeptides involved in the central control of male sexual activity. Adult stressed animals were mated with normal females, which became pregnant but exhibited a more than two-fold increase in both pre-implantation and post-implantation loss, probably due to a smaller rate of fertilization and/or fertilization with damaged spermatozoa
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
LILACS
Main subject:
Sexual Behavior
/
Sexual Maturation
/
Stress, Physiological
/
Fertility
/
Immobilization
Type of study:
Observational study
Limits:
Animals
Language:
English
Journal:
Braz. j. med. biol. res
Journal subject:
Biology
/
Medicine
Year:
2000
Document type:
Article
/
Project document
Affiliation country:
Brazil
Institution/Affiliation country:
Universidade Estadual de Sao Paulo/BR
/
Universidade de Sao Paulo/BR