GENDER-SPECIFIC SOCIAL EXPERIENCES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGGRESSIVE AND SEXUAL-BEHAVIOR IN MALE-MICE

This study examined influences of gender-specific social experiences o n the development of aggressive and sexual behavior in male mice. To d etermine the effects of gender-specific social experience three differ ent types of groups were constituted after the animals had been weaned . The subjects were randomly assigned to different treatments. Female groups were composed of one experimental male and three female cohabit ants. Male groups were composed of five experimental males each, and t he mixed-sex groups were composed of two experimental males and of two females. The experimental subjects stayed in these groups until the a ge of approximately three months, when the testing for sexual and aggr essive behavior commenced. For the sexuality tests, a receptive female was placed in the home cage of the experimental male for ten minutes. A nonaggressive male was placed in the home cage of the experimental male for seven minutes for the aggression tests. The experimental male s were administered both sexuality and aggression tests, the sequence of testing sexual and aggressive behavior was systematically varied in order to control the influence of the two different types of behavior al tests. The results showed that males with only male social experien ces showed fewer responses and were less active in both the aggression and sexuality tests than the males from the two other types of groups . Significant positive correlations between activity during aggression and sexual tests were obtained for all three groups. (C) 1994 Wiley-L iss, Inc