It is well established that the neurotransmitter serotonin participates in the control of sexual behaviour in the male rat. Recently, it has been found that serotonergic activity may either inhibit or facilitate sexual behaviour, depending on the subtypes of serotonin receptors involved. However, the participation of 5-HT2 receptors in the control of male rat copulation has received little experimental attention, and the published data are equivocal. In Experiments 1-4, it was established that the 5- HT2/1C agonist DCI inhibits sexual behaviour in male rats; this inhibition is effectively reversed by the antagonists ritanserin, pirenperone, and ketanserin. Comparison of these effects , with reference to the binding profiles of each drug, provided strong evidence that 5-HT2/1C receptors mediate an inhibitory influence on sexual behaviour in male rats. In addition, a tentative claim may be made that the effects of these drugs may be more attributable to 5-HT2 activity than 5-UT1C activity. ‘Wet dog shake’ behaviour in rats is known to be 5-HT2- dependent. Experiments 5—7 evaluated the novel proposition that the incidence of spontaneous wet dog shaking (WDS) by male rats in mating tests may provide a behavioural assay of concurrent 5—HT2 activity. WDS was found to be associated with copulatory inhibition in noncopulating males, compared to normal copulators, and this relationship was specific to mating situations. Activating 5-HT2/1C receptors with DOl simultaneously induced WDS and inhibited copulation. Thus, the incidence of spontaneous WDS in untreated males may reflect the function of a 5—HT2—mediated neural mechanism that tonically inhibits copulation in male rats. In Experiment 8, DOl microinjection in the nucleus raphe obscurus/inferior olivary complex also induced WDS and inhibited copulation. This suggests that the hypothesized 5- flT2-dependent inhibitory mechanism is vested in the ventromedial brainstem. Recent anatomical findings support this suggestion: cells in this region have bifurcating axons, projecting collaterally to both the medial preoptic area (implicated in sexual behaviour) and to the ventral cervical spinal cord (implicated in WDS). Overall, the results of the eight experiments provide strong evidence that 5-HT2 receptors mediate some of the inhibitory effects of serotonin on male rat sexual behaviour. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-138). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 219-233). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--York University, 1997. Graduate Programme in Biology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 24-31). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ27365.

Thesis--University of Kentucky (Ph. D.), 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 194 p. : ill. Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 180-191).

Acoustic signals are used for communication in a variety of social contexts. Signals and receiver responses can vary, and that variation can come from development processes, physiological factors, or cognitive processes such as learning. The process of learning encompasses social learning, sexual imprinting, and vocal learning, among others. The development of acoustic behaviors has not been studied in anurans, one of the model systems for acoustic communications. This study examines the contribution of early experience in the development of the acoustically linked mating behaviors in Physalaemus pustulosus. I reared frogs from tadpole stage through metamorphosis to sexual maturity in four treatments -- conspecific chorus, heterospecific (P. enesefae) chorus, isolation, and noise. I then measured the advertisement calls of males, mate choices of females, and vocal responses of males. The male calls differed slightly with early experience; males who were reared in isolation produced shorter calls that were less attractive to females than species typical calls. In phonotaxis tests, female mate choices showed no effect of early experience. The vocal responses of males to acoustic stimuli showed the largest effect of experience. Males who were reared hearing a chorus of congeners, P. enesefae, increased their overall rate of calling and the production of complex calls when presented with a P. enesefae stimulus. By contrast, in the same test, males from other rearing groups showed either little increase or a decrease in calling activity. These findings support the prediction that female behaviors are less subject to environmental influence than are male behaviors. This research suggests that environment may play a role in the variation of male anuran behaviors and highlights the need for more research on the interaction of genes and environment in the development and variation of anuran mating behaviors.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 171-190). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Lehigh University, 2004. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 287-315).

Thesis--University of Florida. / Description based on print version record. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-56).