Sexual experience and preferences for odors of estrous females in staggerer mutant male mice

doi:10.1016/0163-1047(93)90561-U

Behavioral and Neural Biology

Volume 60, Issue 3, November 1993, Pages 280-281

https://doi.org/10.1016/0163-1047(93)90561-U Get rights and content

Staggerer mutant male mice generally do not mate and olfactory disabilities may be involved. Choice tests were used to determine the preference of C57BL/6 male mice with the staggerer mutation for urine and vaginal secretions from receptive and unreceptive females. The staggerer mutation does not prevent the olfactory discrimination between vaginal secretions of estrous and anestrous females. Male preferences for odors of receptive females are related to the presence of sexual experience.

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Cited by (11)

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Learning plays numerous important roles in sexual development. Yet, the possible impacts on sexuality, of learning from experience, are rarely included in discussions of the organization of behavioral sex differences and the differentiation of psychosexual function. This article reviews the empirical evidence for ‘learned sexuality’ with a goal of reintroducing the topic of nurture into discussions of the ontogenetic processes that lead to sexual reproduction in nature. Evolutionarily relevant examples of sexual learning are broadly represented in the animal kingdom, and can occur relatively early in development, leading to lasting changes in behaviors that might otherwise appear to be instinctive, or in other cases, maladaptive. The lasting effects of social and sexual experiences across the lifespan provide an essential link between steroid-mediated events occurring during development, behavioral plasticity, and changes in motivational states in adulthood.
Discrimination of olfactory sexual cues in staggerer mutant male mice
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Generally, staggerer male mice do not express any preference between oestrous and anoestrous female odours in a choice test situation. The staggerer ability to discriminate between these olfactory sexual cues was evaluated in an habituation–dishabituation paradigm. In this situation it was found that the staggerer mice discriminate between these two odours. The lack of sexual odour preference in staggerer male mice is discussed through hormonal and neurological interpretation.
Hyposmia for butanol and vanillin in mutant staggerer male mice
1997, Physiology and Behavior
Deiss, V. and C. Baudoin. Hyposmia for butanol and vanillin in mutant staggerer male mice. Physiol Behav 61(2) 209–213, 1997.—To address the hypothesis that reproductive deficits in male house mice expressing the staggerer mutation are due to chemosensory deficits, we examined behavioral responses to odorants. Two-choice tests (butanol or vanillin vs. amyl acetate odors) were used to determine behavioral thresholds for butanol, an aversive odor, and for vanillin, an attractive odor. Two groups of C57Bl/6 male mice (one nonmutant group and one mutant group) were studied using an olfactometer. Different concentrations of butanol were used: from 5.5 × 10⁻⁴ M to 5.5 × 10⁻¹ M. Vanillin at different concentrations, from 6.6 × 10⁻⁵ M to 6.6 × 10⁻² M, was presented during the tests after a 1-month period of familiarization. Aversive and attractive behavioral thresholds of staggerer mice were higher than those of nonmutant mice. The staggerer mutation induces hyposmia in mice. This olfactory deficit could explain, at least partially, abnormalities in the social and sexual behaviors of staggerer mice.
Social isolation partially restores reproduction of male staggerer mutant mice
1995, Physiology and Behavior
Social isolation is generally known to promote sexual performances in male mice. We employ here other indices to investigate the positive effects of social isolation on sexual behavior. Mutant staggerer male mice generally do not mate. However some of their reproductive traits can be restored by environmental modifications. We demonstrate that a postpubertal period of social isolation can significantly enhance mutant male sexual behavior. After a period of partial social isolation of one or 2 mo a significantly larger number of mutant males were observed to attempt mounting receptive non mutant C57BL/6 females during a 30 min test encounter. When reproductive success is considered, a larger number of males who were isolated for a period of 2 mo and then allowed to remain with non mutant females were found to sire pups than control (non-isolated) males. The results show that staggerer males isolated for 2 mo can partially overcome the reproductive deficit usually associated with the mutation.
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2018, PLoS ONE
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Brief reportSexual experience and preferences for odors of estrous females in staggerer mutant male mice

Behavioural Processes

Animal Behaviour

Behavioural Processes

Behavioral and Neural Biology

Brain Research

Brief report
Sexual experience and preferences for odors of estrous females in staggerer mutant male mice