Krohmer R W, Crews D
Department of Zoology, University of Texas, Austin 78712.
Physiol Behav. 1987;40(6):759-65. doi: 10.1016/0031-9384(87)90280-0.
Courtship behavior in male red-sided garter snakes is limited to the period immediately following spring emergence. Lesions of the septum or nucleus sphericus prior to hibernation facilitate courtship behavior upon emergence the following spring. These lesions also had a significant effect on the reproductive physiology of the male snake. Snakes with lesions in the nucleus sphericus had a significantly higher concentration of circulating androgens compared to the control group. While animals with lesions in the septum exhibited elevated levels of circulating androgens, they were not statistically elevated when compared to the control group. The quantity of sexual granules in the epithelium of the renal sexual segment, a secondary sexual characteristic of male squamate reptiles, was significantly greater in lesioned animals. These results are the first to demonstrate a central inhibitory control of sexual behavior in a snake.
雄性红边袜带蛇的求偶行为仅限于春季出蛰后的一段时间。冬眠前对隔区或球形核进行损伤，会促使其在次年春季出蛰时出现求偶行为。这些损伤对雄蛇的生殖生理也有显著影响。与对照组相比，球形核有损伤的蛇循环雄激素浓度显著更高。虽然隔区有损伤的动物循环雄激素水平有所升高，但与对照组相比在统计学上并无显著升高。雄性有鳞爬行动物的第二性征——肾性节段上皮中性腺颗粒的数量，在有损伤的动物中显著更多。这些结果首次证明了蛇的性行为存在中枢抑制控制。
