Effects of ultrasonic vocalizations and male's urine on female rat readiness to mate.

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Abstract
Solitary estrous female rats were presented with ultrasonic vocalizations and/or urine of males to determine their effects on the females'' subsequent copulatory behavior. Following exposure to ultrasounds, females exhibited a shorter latency to dart and a higher rate of darting when a male was presented. The vocalization effect was enhanced when male urine was present, but urine alone had no effect. The rate of copulation was also increased by the vocalization priming of the female. For a few individual females, ultrasounds elicited darting in the absence of a male. Auditory cues, particularly in association with appropriate olfactory cues, may prime estrous females for proceptive behavior. This increases both the likelihood and the rate of sexual performance and, therefore, the probability of successful mating.

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