Sexual inhibition in a prosimian primate: a pheromone-like effect.

The effect of dominant urine odour on plasma levels of testosterone and cortisol was studied in the prosimian primate Microcebus murinus. This species shows a photoperiod-dependent cycle of sexual activity. In particular, mean testosterone levels vary from 15 nmol/l during the annual rest period to 245 nmol/l during the breeding season. When males of this solitary and territorial species are artificially grouped in captivity, they develop a social hierarchy which in turn results in physiological disorders, especially of reproductive function, in non-dominant individuals. Since olfactory behaviours appear to be important in the establishment and maintenance of the social structure, we have tested the effects of dominant odorant signals upon the sexual inhibition observed in male conspecifics. A preliminary experiment showed that a decrease in plasma testosterone concentrations could be induced by dominant scent marks. Furthermore, dominant urine odour alone was found to be sufficient to induce this modification. Plasma cortisol levels also increased in these animals. Conversely, when sexually inhibited males were olfactorily isolated from dominant urine odour, testosterone and cortisol concentrations returned to a normal seasonal level. These effects were observed even in males which had had no previous contact with the dominant urine donor. It is inferred from these results that a pheromone-like process could lead to sexual inhibition in male Microcebus murinus exposed to an odorant urinary signal produced by a dominant individual. Nevertheless, the endocrine response seems to vary according to the seasonal period of the sexual activity cycle which suggests that the social effect described is modulated by other external (e.g. photoperiodic) or internal (e.g. reproductive physiology) factors.