Abstract
These studies evaluated the potential for naloxone to modify ethanol’s suppression of sexual reflexes (lateral displacement) of the female golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus). In Experiment 1, sexual reflexes were reduced approximately 50% following ethanol administration (1.2 g/kg, sc, in 10% v/v). Naloxone (4 mg/kg, sc) reversed ethanol’s suppressive effect on sexual reflexes. The results from Experiment 2 indicated that naloxone (.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 8.0 mg/kg) reversed ethanol’s suppressive effect on lateral displacement in a dose-related manner. Naloxone (8.0 mg/kg), when administered alone, had no effects on sexual reflexes. Ethanol tended to increase lordosis latency and lordosis duration measures; however, these effects were not consistent across experiments. These observations lead to the suggestion that ethanol administration may modify female sexual behavior by activating, either directly or indirectly, the endogeneous opioid system.
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Nelson, J.L., Ostrowski, N.L., Noble, R.G. et al. Naloxone reverses ethanol’s effects on sexual behavior of the female Syrian hamster. Psychobiology 9, 367–370 (1981). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03326997
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03326997