Hormonal Activation of the Striatum and the Nucleus Accumbens Modulates Paced Mating Behavior in the Female Rat. Injections of estrogen followed by progesterone in the striatum and the nucleus accumbens simulates pacing copulative behavior in female rats. When the female rat has the opportunity to pull away from the sexual encounter even if for a moment this is pacing on her part. Sensorimotor neural and information sites are relevant to the pacing behavior, especially the dopamine projections to the striatum and the nucleus accumbens. Estrogen injected directly into the dopamine areas of striatum and the nucleus accumbens affect pacing differently, but both brain areas are involved in increasing avoidance pacing.
Females return to the male when dopamine levels decline.
It is found that the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus is also responsible for the control of pacing when estrogen is administered to female rats. Furthermore, when a female controls the pacing less intromissions will result in pregnancy since vaginocervial stimulation are correlated with luteal function. During the breading season both male and female meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, exhibit scents that are attracted to each other. Whereas, during the non-mating season, females exhibit scents that are only attractive to females, and males exhibit scents that are not attractive to either sex. The results suggested that prolactin and testosterone are both necessary for production of male scent attractiveness to female voles during mating seasons.