Naloxone, but not flupenthixol, disrupts the development of conditioned ejaculatory preference in the male rat

Abstract

Male rats display a conditioned preference to ejaculate with a female bearing an odor paired previously with copulation to ejaculation. The present study examined the role of endogenous opioid and dopamine systems in this preference. Male rats received saline, the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone, or the dopamine receptor antagonist flupenthixol prior to 10 conditioning trials in a pacing chamber with an almond-scented female. On the final test, all males were injected with saline and given access to 2 females, 1 scented and the other unscented, in an open field. Only males injected with naloxone during training failed to manifest a conditioned ejaculatory preference. These findings suggest that activation of opioid, but not dopamine, systems during sexual interaction are necessary for conditioned ejaculatory preference in male rats.