Facilitory effects of olfactory cues emitted by estrous females on mounting behavior in the female rat.

Adult ovariectomized rats were implanted with testosterone propionate-filled silastic capsules and exposed to the odor of urine collected from ovariectomized rats made estrous by estrogen treatment. When caged with highly receptive females these androgenized female rats displayed more frequent mounting behavior with pelvic thrusting than their nonexposed counterparts (25/31 vs. 20/39). Olfactory environment may then be considered as a modulatory factor of heterotypic sexual behavior in the female rat.