Influence of a dopamine agonist (lisuride) on sex-specific behavioural patterns in rats. I. Short term effects

Lisuride induces in juvenile male and especially in female rats a significant increase of the initiating activity in tests on social play-fighting behaviour. In neonatally castrated as well as in prenatally stress exposed males, castrated in adulthood, which exhibit under androgen alone bisexual or even predominantly heterotypical sexual behaviour, additional treatment with lisuride resulted in a temporary normalization of sexual orientation in the homotypical male direction. In castrated androgen treated females, lisuride induces a partial conversion of sexual orientation to heterotypical male direction.