Nelson R J, Mason R T, Krohmer R W, Crews D
Physiol Behav. 1987;39(2):231-3. doi: 10.1016/0031-9384(87)90014-x.
Male red-sided garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis) court only on emergence from winter dormancy. The salient proximate factor responsible for the initiation of courtship behavior appears to be warm ambient temperatures subsequent to sustained exposure to cold temperatures. In the present study, autumn-captured garter snakes were pinealectomized or sham-pinealectomized 1-2 weeks prior to hibernation. After 17 weeks of maintenance in several ambient lighting and temperature conditions, all males were tested for the presence of courtship behavior. No pinealectomized animals exhibited any indications of reproductive behavior, whereas 53% of sham-pinealectomized males actively courted females. Photoperiod did not influence the prevalence of mating behavior. These results suggest that the pineal gland mediates non-photoperiodic seasonal information in the garter snake. This is the first demonstration, in any vertebrate species, that the pineal gland can directly influence reproductive behavior.
雄性红边袜带蛇（草原袜带蛇指名亚种）仅在从冬季休眠中苏醒时进行求偶。引发求偶行为的一个显著的近因似乎是在持续暴露于低温之后出现的温暖环境温度。在本研究中，秋季捕获的袜带蛇在冬眠前1至2周接受松果体切除或假松果体切除手术。在几种环境光照和温度条件下饲养17周后，对所有雄性进行求偶行为测试。没有接受松果体切除的动物表现出任何生殖行为迹象，而53%接受假松果体切除的雄性积极向雌性求偶。光周期并不影响交配行为的发生率。这些结果表明，松果体在袜带蛇中介导非光周期季节性信息。这是在任何脊椎动物物种中首次证明松果体可直接影响生殖行为。
