Isolation-induced facilitation of male sexual behavior in mice

Sexual performance of male mice housed individually or in groups of 3 or 12 was compared. Experiment 1 examined naive males presented at weekly intervals with ovariectomized, estrogen-primed, progesterone-treated females. Performance in isolates was consistently superior and reached an asymptote that was twice that of grouped animals. Reversal of housing conditions reversed performance. Experiment 2 varied intervals of isolation among subjects, finding facilitation at several intervals. Experiment 3 compared animals under different population densities. Density did not alter the effects of isolation and grouping. In all experiments, additional tests with target males indicated that aggressive and sexual performance were moderately correlated and responded similarly to parametric manipulations. These results parallel and extend studies of isolation-induced aggression.