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Updated: Aug 7, 2025

Assessment of Sexual Behavior of Male Mice
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Mouse spontaneous behavior reflects individual variation rather than estrous state.

Dana Rubi Levy1, Nigel Hunter1, Sherry Lin1

  • 1Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Current Biology : CB
|March 8, 2023
PubMed
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Female mice display consistent individual exploration patterns, with estrous cycle influencing behavior minimally. Male mice show more variable exploratory behavior than females.

Area of Science:

  • Ethology
  • Neuroscience
  • Animal Behavior

Background:

  • Animal behavior is influenced by internal states and individual biases.
  • The estrous cycle, marked by hormonal fluctuations, significantly impacts female internal states and sociosexual behaviors.
  • The effect of the estrous cycle on spontaneous behavior and its relation to individual variation remains largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how estrous cycle phases influence spontaneous open-field behavior in female mice.
  • To determine the relationship between estrous state and individual behavioral variation.
  • To compare behavioral variability between sexes.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal characterization of female mouse open-field behavior across the estrous cycle.
Keywords:
behaviorcomputational ethologyestrousexplorationindividualitymousesex differencesspontaneousvariability

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  • Application of unsupervised machine learning to analyze spontaneous behaviors.
  • Decomposition of complex behaviors into fundamental elements.

    • Main Results:

    • Each female mouse exhibited a unique, consistent exploratory pattern across sessions, identifying individual-specific behavior.
    • Estrous state had a negligible impact on female mouse behavior, despite known neural influences.
    • Male mice displayed more variable exploratory behavior than females, both within and across individuals.

    Conclusions:

    • Female mice possess stable exploratory circuits, leading to highly specific individual behavioral patterns.
    • Spontaneous behaviors in female mice are primarily driven by individual characteristics rather than estrous cycle fluctuations.
    • Findings support including both sexes in studies of spontaneous behaviors to capture comprehensive behavioral insights.