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D Zumpe

Publications and source records attributed to D Zumpe.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Testosterone and its metabolites in male cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis): behavior and biochemistry.

To extend our previous study on the behavioral effects of testosterone propionate (TP) and dihydrotestosterone propionate (DHTP) to a dose-range producing supra-physiological plasma androgen levels, 4 castrated cynomolgus monkeys were tested with the same 4 females during successive 4-week treatment periods while receiving 800 micrograms, 1.6 mg, 3.2 mg, 6.4 mg and 12.8 mg of TP or DHTP SC/day in counterbalanced order (16 pairs, 828 1-hr tests). Both androgens increased male sexual activity, but DHTP was less effective than TP in increasing the numbers of ejaculations per test and failed to restore ejaculations to intact levels. Giving androgen-treated males single injections of 50 micrograms and 100 micrograms estradiol benzoate (EB) was without any additional effect on behavior (16 pairs, 256 tests). To examine hormonal effects in the brain, castrated males were given either 3H-T or 3H-DHT, and tissues were examined by high performance liquid chromatography (hplc). After 3H-T, 3H-E2 and unchanged 3H-T were the major forms of radioactivity in nuclei from hypothalamus, preoptic area and amygdala. After 3H-DHT, unchanged 3H-DHT predominated. The lower behavioral effectiveness of DHT could not be ascribed to its failure to enter the brain. The data suggested a role for unchanged T in the regulation of ejaculatory behavior in a male primate.

Animals↗

Comparison of the effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone on the behavior of male cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis).

To compare the behavioral effects of testosterone propionate (TP) and diyhdrotestosterone propionate (DHTP) at doses producing plasma levels of androgens within the physiological rage, observations were made on 4 castrated male cynomolgus monkeys during successive 4-week treatment periods while they received 25, 50, 100, 200, 400 and 800 micrograms of either TP or DHTP SC/day in counterbalanced order. Males were tested with each of the same 4 female partners (16 pairs, 1024 1-hr behavior tests). Males were injected at 1600 hr and blood samples were obtained at 0800 hr (256 samples, 456 hormone determinations). Physiological plasma levels of T resulted from the 200 micrograms and 400 micrograms TP treatments, and were associated with significantly increased ejaculatory behavior. Physiological plasma levels of DHT resulted from the 50 micrograms and 100 micrograms DHTP treatments, but there were no changes in ejaculatory behavior over the entire DHTP dose range used. This difference in the behavioral effects of TP and DHTP, not previously reported for a primate, could not be accounted for by the effects of treatment order, season, long-term behavioral testing, female sexual motivation or behavior reflecting the peripheral action of androgens.

Animals↗

An annual rhythm in the battering of women.

Over 27,000 reports about women abused by their live-in male partners were provided by 23 shelter organizations in five locations in the United States. Cosinor analyses revealed statistically significant annual rhythms in the frequencies of abuse, with maxima in the summer. The rhythms were closely related to annual changes in ambient temperature in these locations, and the time of the maxima was similar to those previously reported for assaults and rapes. The findings support the hypothesis that violence by men toward women increases in summer independently of any major seasonal changes in the opportunity for contact between perpetrator and victim.

Aggression↗

Effects of testosterone on the behavior of male cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis).

To determine the threshold doses of testosterone propionate (TP) that cause clear-cut behavioral changes in the sexual behavior of castrated male cynomolgus monkeys, observations were made on three males during successive 5-week treatment periods while they received daily subcutaneous doses of 100 micrograms TP increasing in octaves to 25.6 mg TP. Males were tested with each of the same two ovariectomized, estrogen-treated females (6 pairs, 330 1-hr behavior tests). To mimic the diurnal plasma testosterone rhythm, TP injections were given at 1600 hr and blood samples were obtained at 0800 hr (141 samples). Male ejaculatory activity increased at the threshold dose of 200 micrograms TP per day giving plasma testosterone levels of 830 ng/100 ml, which is in the physiological range of 600-1600 ng/100 ml for intact males. This threshold dose was eight times higher than in rhesus monkeys on a dose per kilogram body weight basis. There was a further marked increase in ejaculatory performance at higher doses (6.4 to 25.6 mg) giving supraphysiological plasma levels of 4000-9000 ng/100 ml. There were individual differences in the behavioral changes occurring with TP treatment, and the female partner modulated the effects. These findings were generally similar to those obtained with male rhesus monkeys, but certain species differences were noted.

Animals↗

The behavioral thresholds of testosterone in castrated male rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

To determine the lowest doses of testosterone propionate (TP) that cause clearcut behavioral changes in castrated male rhesus monkeys (behavioral thresholds), observations were made on eight males during successive 4-week treatment periods while they received daily doses of TP ranging from 25 micrograms to 12.8 mg subcutaneously. Males were tested with each of the same four ovariectomized females (32 pairs, 1408 one-hour behavior tests). Two females were untreated and the other two received either 5 or 15 micrograms estradiol benzoate sc per day. TP injections were given at 1600 hr, and plasma samples were obtained at 0800 hr (352 samples). Individual males had widely different behavioral thresholds from 50 micrograms up to 3.2 mg TP per day. Males showed two types of response: A, a graded increase in ejaculatory activity as plasma testosterone values increased, and B, an all-or-none type of response in which there were no further increases in ejaculation with increasing plasma levels once the behavioral threshold had been reached. At levels below the physiological range, small changes in plasma testosterone were associated with marked changes in behavior. The female partner exerted a pronounced effect upon the responses of males to TP treatment.

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Sexual behavior correlates with the diurnal plasma testosterone range in intact male rhesus monkeys.

There is evidence that androgens are necessary for the full expression of sexual behavior in male primates, but it has proved difficult to relate sexual activity to circulating androgens levels in comparisons between intact males. In the present study, 4423 behavior tests of 32 pairs of rhesus monkeys were conducted in a constant photoperiod over a 2-year period, and there was no significant relationship between the frequency of ejaculation and plasma testosterone levels in samples collected at 0800, 1600 or 2200 h. However, the magnitude of the diurnal range between the lowest and highest levels correlated negatively with sexual behavior. As the seasonal increase in sexual activity occurred, there was a corresponding decrease in the diurnal range of plasma testosterone. Furthermore, those males with the highest numbers of ejaculations showed the smallest diurnal plasma testosterone ranges. An additional experiment with 32 males revealed that neither behavior testing nor the occurrence of ejaculation influenced the diurnal testosterone range. Consequently, we have concluded that if any causality operated it would be in the direction of a hormonal influence on behavior. These findings suggest that increased nocturnal levels of testosterone do not enhance behavior and that a threshold level maintained throughout the 24 h may be a critical endocrine factor.

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Behavior of rhesus monkeys during 28-day cycles of estrogen treatment.

Sixteen ovariectomized rhesus monkeys were paired, each with two males, during thirty-two 28-day periods during which they received one or more of the following schedules of daily injections: (a) different mixtures of estradiol benzoate, progesterone, and testosterone propionate (artificial menstrual cycles), (b) the doses of estradiol benzoate given in artificial cycles but without the other hormones (cyclic estradiol regimens), and (c) appropriate control treatments (625 one-hour behavioral tests). Hormone doses were adjusted to give plasma levels in the physiological range (335 blood samples). Measures of male sexual activity during artificial cycles and during cyclic estradiol regimens showed significant cyclic changes, but these changes were indistinguishable from each other. In four females studied in an operant conditioning paradigm, there was a midcycle dip in the times taken to obtain access to males during the cyclic estradiol regimens. The data indicated that the estrogen state of the female plays a preponderant role in determining the cyclic changes in the behavioral interactions of the pair independently of the effects of other ovarian hormones.

Animals↗

Sexual violence in the United States and the role of season.

An analysis by the cosinor method of over 50,000 rapes in 16 different locations in the United States revealed statistically significant annual rhythms in 14 locations, with maxima in the summer. Changes in numbers of rapes and assaults showed similar seasonal patterns, suggesting that rape comprised a subcategory of aggressive behavior. In contrast, there was a virtual absence of seasonal changes in numbers of murders. A close relation emerged between assaults and rapes, on the one hand, and temperature, on the other, in different geographical locations. The authors hypothesize that human violence, just like aggression in nonhuman primates, is influenced by exteroceptive environmental factors.

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Influence of olfactory signals on the reproductive behaviour of social groups of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

Olfactory influences are important in the control of reproductive function in many mammalian species including primates. Previous studies have shown that a mixture of volatile aliphatic acids (copulins), normally present in the vaginal secretions of rhesus monkeys, can exert a stimulatory effect on the sexual behaviour of males when pairs are tested in small cages. The present study deals with the role of these substances when tested in social groups of rhesus monkeys housed in a large testing arena, the purpose being to assess the effectiveness of olfactory signals under more nearly naturalistic conditions. Each group consisted of one male with four long-term ovariectomized females from which the male could choose. A counter-balanced experimental design was used in which each female of a testosterone-treated pair was given applications to the sexual skin of either copulins or control ether immediately before each 1-h behaviour test. After 16 tests, the procedure was repeated with the previously untreated pair in each group, and nine groups were separately studied. Testosterone was used here simply to enhance female proceptivity. The results showed that females received significantly more ejaculations (P less than 0.05), mounting attempts (P less than 0.01) and mounts (P less than 0.05) when bearing copulins than when bearing control ether. There were positive responses to copulins in 12 of the 36 males-females pairs, involving all males, and positive responses to ether in five of 36 pairs, involving four males. Copulins resulted in a change in the choice of sexual partner in five males, but there were no changes in the choice of partner with ether. Social factors, such as dominance, could override the responses to olfactory signals, and there was a significant treatment order effect, but this was eliminated by the counter-balanced design. These findings indicate a significant role for olfactory communication in mate selection in a socially living higher primate.

Animals↗

Behavior of rhesus monkeys during artificial menstrual cycles.

Daily subcutaneous injections of estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone were given to ovariectomized rhesus monkeys in amounts that imitated accurately the changing plasma levels of hormones in intact females with natural menstrual cycles. Because these cycles in ovariectomized, treated females were terminated by normal vaginal bleeding every 28 days and showed a mid-cycle gonadotropin surge, we termed them "artificial menstrual cycles." In dyadic mating tests, changes in the females' access times (lever pressing) for males, and in the males' ejaculatory performance, were closely similar during natural and artificial cycles, and there were well-marked behavioral rhythms. These rhythms were lost during 28-day control periods when ovariectomized females received injections of vehicle alone. Differences in ejaculatory performance during natural and artificial cycles could be accounted for by an order effect. It is concluded that the artificial cycle provides a valid and useful paradigm for a more detailed study of the neuroendocrine regulation of primate reproductive behavior.

Animals↗

Unusual outbreak of tuberculosis due to Mycobacterium bovis in a closed colony of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

An outbreak of tuberculosis due to Mycobacterium bovis among 46 rhesus monkeys housed in individual cages in the same large room of a closed experimental colony appeared to originate in one male that had been in the laboratory for 25 months. During this time, the animal received a total of 17 intrapalpebral tuberculin tests and two chest radiographs, all of which were negative. Of the remaining 45 animals in the room, 43 converted from tuberculin negative to positive within 7 weeks, while the animals in all other rooms remained tuberculin negative during the 1-year follow-up period.

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Potency in male rhesus monkeys: effects of continuously receptive females.

Ejaculations decreased and mount latencies increased when intact males were paired regularly over a 3.5-year period (3180 tests) with ovariectomized females made constantly receptive by daily injections of estradiol. The deterioration in potency was abruptly and completely reversed by substituting a group of new but similarly treated females for the original ones.

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