Studies in wild house mice. II. Testosterone and aggression

Abstract

The relationship between testosterone level and attack latency was studied in genetically different wild house mice by means of castration and subsequent testosterone therapy. This was done to provide adequate physiological knowledge for further research on the genetic basis of individual differences in these mice. The findings show that individual variation in attack latency is related not only to variation in baseline plasma testosterone level (via a dose-response relation), but also to variation in responsiveness to testosterone that is induced before puberty. In addition it is shown that in fast-attacking mice the maintenance of the attack latency level reached by maturation is independent of testosterone, whereas this is not the case in mice that are reluctant to attack.