The effects of lesions in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) on male and female sexual behavior in female cats were examined. Following preoperative testing for receptivity, proceptivity, and male mating behavior, 27 female cats received either lesions in the anterior or posterior portion of the VMH or sham lesions. Neither of the VMH lesion placements reduced proceptivity and receptivity scor...

Because cost asymmetries in sexual reproduction have historically enabled women to exchange sexual access for other resources, including social resources, we tested the possibility that social exclusion would lead women to display an elevated preference for short-term mating strategies in the service of reaffiliation. In Study 1, women were given false feedback to manipulate social inclusion or...

Male mating behavior is an important component of fitness in Drosophila and displays segregating variation in natural populations. However, we know very little about the genes affecting naturally occurring variation in mating behavior, their effects, or their interactions. Here, we have mapped quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting courtship occurrence, courtship latency, copulation occurrence...

Previous studies about the effects of social rejection on individuals' social behaviors have produced mixed results and tend to study mating behaviors from a static point of view. However, mate selection in essence is a dynamic process, and therefore sociometer theory opens up a new perspective for studying mating and its underlying practices. Based on this theory and using self-perceived mate ...

Estrogen stimulation of the medial amygdala (MEA) of the brain promotes male rat mating behavior. However, selective stimulation of either of the estrogen receptor subtypes found in the MEA (ERα or ERβ) does not support mating behavior. We tested the hypothesis that dual stimulation of ERα and ERβ is required to activate estrogen-dependant neural circuits in the MEA responsible for mating by lo...

The acanthocephalan parasite Acanthocephalus dirus develops from the egg to the cystacanth stage inside the freshwater isopod Caecidotea intermedius. We have shown previously that cystacanth-infected male C. intermedius are less likely to initiate mating attempts with females than uninfected males in competitive situations. Here, we used a field-based experiment to examine whether cystacanth-in...

Mating behavior is known to be heritable in several species, but it is not known if selection schemes for ewe reproductive traits affect mating behavior of rams. Therefore, our objectives were to determine if divergent (high vs low index) selection of a female reproductive trait (lambs born divided by age of ewe minus one) affects mating behavior patterns of male offspring during training to se...