Effects of rostral medial forebrain bundle and olfactory tubercle lesions upon sexual behavior of male rats.

Abstract
Examined the effect on sexual behavior of 57 male Sprague-Dawley rats of reduced olfactory system input to the preoptic area and medial forebrain bundle (MFB). Bilateral electrolytic lesions in the MFB just caudal to the preoptic area virtually abolished mating behavior. Electrolytic lesions or sham lesions placed bilaterally in the olfactory tubercle produced decrements in the mating behavior. There was no evidence of gonadotropic dysfunction in any of the groups, nor were there significant differences in their mean body weights at sacrifice. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)