Pituitary-adrenal effects on sexual behavior in isolated and group-housed mice

Individual housing of intact male mice increased sexual responding with stimulus females in behavioral estrus. Following adrenalectomy, group-housed mice showed elevated sexual activity while isolates declined. Corticosterone treatment failed to reverse the decline in sexual activity of isolated adrenalectomized mice. ACTH treatment restored mating activity to preadrenalectomy levels in adrenalectomized isolates but had little effect on intact isolates. Results suggest that isolation-induced facilitation of mating relates to pituitary adrenocortical activity, but that this relationship differs from that found elsewhere for isolation-induced aggression.