EFFECTS OF HOUSING CONDITIONS AND 5-HT2A ACTIVATION ON MALE-RAT SEXUAL-BEHAVIOR

Adult male rats were housed individually or in groups for a period of 39 days. In Experiment 1, the effects of housing conditions on sexual behavior and concurrent spontaneous ''wet dog shaking'' (WDS) were inv estigated. Individual housing significantly impaired male sexual behav ior and resulted in a trend toward increased WDS. In Experiment 2, the effects of housing conditions were examined following administration of the serotonergic type 2A (5-HT2A) agonist DOI. Individual housing s ignificantly increased DOI-induced WDS. The implications of these find ings are discussed in the context of stress-induced corticosterone sec retion and the possible regulatory effect on 5-HT2A receptors. (C) 199 8 Elsevier Science Inc.