Dihydrotestosterone activates male mating behavior in castrated King—Holtzman rats

Having previously found that King-Holtzman rats respond behaviorally to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), this strain was used to compare the effectiveness of DHT and dihydrotestosterone propionate (DHTP) in maintaining and reinstating copulatory behavior. The 5α-reduced androgens were capable of stimulating mating behavior in these castrated male rats. DHT and DHTP were equally effective in maintaining ejaculatory behavior, whereas DHT was slightly more potent behaviorally than DHTP in restoring mating responses. It was found that as little as 200 μg hormone/day restored ejaculatory behavior in 78% of the DHT-treated and 50% of the DHTP-treated rats. In both the maintenance and restoration paradigms, the mating performance of the DHT(P) treated males declined over time. The present data suggest that the conversion of androgen to estrogen may not be critical for the activation of male mating behavior.