Abstract
Male copulation in mammals consists of motor and genital components. Two distinct and complementary aspects of copulation are reviewed: masculine sexual behavior and the seminal parameters of the ejaculate. In the first part, we describe in detail how the rat’s masculine sexual behavior must be recorded and analyzed, including sexual training tests to have a homogenous population and to identify animals with endogenous phenotypes of copulation (rapid, intermediate, or sluggish). In the second section, we thoroughly explain how to obtain the rat’s ejaculate and how to analyze the different parameters. In the final part, we give an example of how these two areas of research may be reported by comparing the seminal parameters in male rats with different endogenous phenotypes of copulation.
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Authors wish to thank M. Sc. Rebeca Reyes for carefully editing the manuscript.
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Lucio, R.A., Fuentes-Morales, M.R., Fernández-Guasti, A. (2023). Copulation in Rats: Analysis of Behavioral and Seminal Parameters. In: Paredes, R.G., Portillo, W., Bedos, M. (eds) Animal Models of Reproductive Behavior. Neuromethods, vol 200. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3234-5_11
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