Facilitory effects of male urine on feminine behavior in the male rat: androgen-dependency.

Feminine behavior in the male rat can be enhanced by exposing ORCH animals primed with estradiol benzoate and progesterone to the odor of urine collected from intact male adult congeners [20]. The present study provides evidence that this pheromonal effect is androgen dependent. A higher proportion of ORCH feminized rats displayed lordosis behavior following exposure to the odor of urine for either intact male rats or from ORCH rats supplemented with testosterone propionate than did ORCH feminized rats exposed to the odor of urine originating from non injected ORCH males.