Male rats prefer female rats wearing special rodent “jackets”

The scientists think the reason is in the special genes active in the brain of male rats.

During the study researchers allowed virgin male rats to have sex with females. Later, when scientists gave the males a chance to mate again, the animals preferred to mate with jacket-wearing female rats rather than with unclad ones. In addition, the males made more mounting attempts and ejaculated more quickly with the jacketed females.

The researchers injected a dye into the brains of the rats that shows the activity of a gene called c-fos, which is a measure of neural activation. Specifically, they looked at c-fos activity in the pleasure centers of the rats' brains.

In previous studies, researchers trained rats to associate a particular odor (almond) with having sex, and male rats preferentially mated with females bearing that scent.

The findings suggest that male animals can learn to associate the sight and feel of clothing with sex.

The findings were presented Nov. 17 at the 44th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Washington, D.C.

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