A quantitative analysis of the role of experience in the regulation of sexual behavior in male rats

The effects of repeated sexual behavior tests in male rats were assessed. Training (seven times, 5 days apart) revealed significant decreases in latencies to the first mount, first intromission, ejaculation, postejaculatory mount, and postejaculatory intromission, the total number of mounts, and mount frequency. The number of intromissions before ejaculation did not show differences among the seven observations. In addition, the percentage of animals that ejaculated did not change. Indices of copulatory efficiency and sexual activity were influenced by training. Both increased, but different numbers of sessions were required. Variability decreased among sessions, which increased homogeneity. Our results indicate that training (i.e., the number of test sessions) affects male sexual behavior and, therefore, should be taken into consideration when analyzing facilitatory or inhibitory influences.