SEXUAL BEHAVIOR AND HORMONES IN AGING MALES

我们建议扩大研究范围，以确定除 睾丸激素（T），这可能是导致性行为下降的原因。 老年男性 因为年长的雄性灵长类动物（24岁以上） 作为受试者，他们的预期寿命已接近最大值，许多人已经 经过15年的研究，这是一个独特的研究机会。 我们 目的是确定（1）性行为和血清激素水平， 老年雄性恒河猴和增加T水平对性行为的影响， (2)老年男性的健康状况下降在多大程度上降低了性生活质量， 活性及其对血清激素水平的影响;（3）T 这将导致老年人（24岁及以上）的性行为水平 长期阉割的雄性动物与未阉割的雄性动物相当， （4）阴茎反射与性功能的相关程度 老年完整和去势雄性的性能和血清T水平，（5） 年轻人（平均12岁）和 在实验室配对测试中观察到的老年男性也发生在一个 半自然主义的社会环境，（6）差异（生理 和行为）之间的少数首选女性谁可以唤起老恒河猴 男性交配和大多数其他女性，谁不能，（7）是否精子 老年雄性恒河猴的活动力和生育力，像性行为一样， 其血清T水平在年轻男性的范围内，（8）是否 作用于多巴胺能和多巴胺能系统的药物影响 老年男性的性行为，（9）是否生活在隔离增加 性行为下降率和影响血清睾酮水平 老年大鼠阴茎乳头的退化，以及（10）是否我们 反映了组织敏感性的降低，或 反映了血清T水平的下降。 该研究寻求以下问题的答案 一般来说，与衰老的雄性哺乳动物有关的问题，但每一个实验都是 在不同程度上与性行为问题有关， 个老者 重点是行为，但答案必须从一个数字中得出 学科，包括内分泌学，解剖学，生理学， 比较心理学 我们的发现应该对实践有意义 性治疗师和老年医学教授

We propose to extend our research to identify factors other than testosterone (T) that may account for the decline in sexual behavior of aging males. Because the old male primates (24 years and older) that will serve as subjects are nearing maximum life expectancy, and many have been under study for over 15 years, this is a unique research opportunity. Our aims are to determine (1) sexual behavior and serum hormone levels in very old rhesus males and the effects of increasing T levels on sexual behavior, (2) the extent to which failing health in very old males reduces sexual activity and its effect on serum hormone levels, (3) threshold levels of T that will induce levels of sexual behavior in old (24 years and older) long-term-castrated males that are comparable to those of intact males of the same age, (4) the extent to which penile reflexes correlate with sexual performance and serum T levels in old intact and castrated males, (5) whether differences in the sexual behaviors of young (mean of 12 years) and old males observed in laboratory pair tests also occur in a semi-naturalistic social environment, (6) the differences (physiological and behavioral) between the few preferred females who can arouse old rhesus males to copulate and most other females, who cannot, (7) whether sperm motility and fertility, like sexual behavior, decline in old rhesus males whose serum T levels are within the range for young males, (8) whether drugs that act on the dopaminergic and serotoninergic systems influence sexual behavior in old males, (9) whether living in isolation increases the rate of decline in sexual behavior and influences serum testosterone levels in old rats, and (10) whether the deterioration of penile papillae that we have observed in old rats reflects a decrease in tissue sensitivity or reflects a decrease in serum T levels. The research seeks answers to questions relevant to aging male mammals in general, but each experiment is relevant in varying degrees to the problems of sexual behavior confronting old men. The focus is on behavior, but answers must be drawn from a number of disciplines, including endocrinology, anatomy, physiology, and comparative psychology. Our findings should be of interest to practicing sex therapists as well as professors of geriatrics.