Sexual behaviour of the female rat during late adolescence: effect of chronic cocaine treatment

Abstract

Sexual behaviour is highly motivated and female rats begin to express it during adolescence. The circuitries implicated in the control of motivated behaviours continue to mature during adolescence and seem more sensitive to the effects of psychostimulants such as cocaine. However, a putative differential effect of this drug on the sexual behaviour of females according to age has not yet been studied. Therefore, we compared the motivational value of a male and the expression of sexual behaviour of late-adolescent and adult female rats after chronic treatment with a vehicle or 15.0 mg/kg cocaine. The strong incentive value of a male rat, in a male versus female preference test, for adolescent and adult female rats, was not affected by cocaine. During sexual interaction, adolescents were as sexually receptive as were adults; however, they expressed more runaways and social investigation. Cocaine treatment did not modify the expression of sexual behaviour in either group, but increased social investigation in adolescent rats. These results indicate that late-adolescent pro-oestrus females are highly sexually motivated and might express behaviours typical of this life period during sexual interaction. Moreover, although chronic cocaine treatment seemed to affect more adolescents, it did not alter the sexual motivation or behaviour of females.