ENDOCRINE DETERMINANTS OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR AND AROUSAL

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This application seeks to clarify hormone-behavior relationships associated with the display of sociosexual behavior in female rhesus monkeys. A prominent feature of the proposal is the inclusion of telemetrically signalled somatic-visceral responses of genital tract structures, heart rate, and respiration frequencies of females exposed to four differing assessment tests of sexual stimulation. Using the physiological information, a quantitative index of physiologic sexual arousal will be constructed. The index will be used to examine individual differences among selected females with regard to the display of proceptive and receptive behavior. Endocrine factors (estradiol and testosterone) will be monitored and/or administered to determine their effects on physiological sexual arousal, and on relationships between arousal and proceptivity and receptivity. Goals of the project are three-fold: 1) To contribute to refinement of "APR" (attractivity-proceptivity-receptivity) theory regarding endocrine mediation of sociosexual behavior; 2) To relate psychophysical manifestations of sexual arousal to overt behavior and the concepts of proceptivity and receptivity; and 3) To begin a systematic approach to problems of sexual arousal dysfunction by using existing ranges of individual differences among rhesus females. Ultimate clinical benefits include identification and treatment of specific types of sexual dysfunction, and futher clarification of relationships between sexual arousal and dominance/aggression manifestations.