Mating preference and sexual reinforcement in female rats

Intact female rats chose between sexually active males and inactive males or females in a runway-choice apparatus. In either a discrete choice or continuous choice format, sexually receptive female rats demonstrated a preference for sexually active males over the other two incentive animals. No preference was demonstrated when females were sexually non-receptive. The results demonstrate that, for sexually receptive female rats, copulation can have reinforcing effects distinct from the reinforcing effects of more general social and exploratory factors.