Medial preoptic-anterior hypothalamic lesions and sociosexual behavior of male goats

With the aid of x-ray ventriculography, lesions were placed in the medial preoptic-anterior hypothalamic (MP-AH) area of 5 adult male pygmy goats. The lesions resulted in a marked decrement in ejaculatory responses, as they have in previous studies on rats, cats, dogs and rhesus monkeys. The results illustrate the apparent universal effects of MP-AH lesions on copulatory behavior in mammalian species. Male sex-typical non-courtship responses of flehmen, self-enurination and penis licking were not altered by the MP-AH lesions. Since the non-courtship responses are displayed most frequently when male goats are sexually aroused, the results point to a specific effect of the lesions in disturbing a male's copulating performance while sparing other expressions of sexual arousal.