Alterations to the copulatory sequence in young adult male Sprague-Dawley rats administered a ketogenic diet [post-print]

Authors

Christina Tzianabos
Grace Chouinard
Luis Martinez, Trinity College, Hartford Connecticut

Document Type

Article

Department

​Neuroscience

Publication Date

2024

Abstract

Ketogenic diets (KDs) have shown therapeutic potential for a range of neuropsychiatric disorders; however, there is insufficient data regarding the behavioral impacts of KDs in healthy populations. Here, we examined the impact of a KD on sexual behavior in young adult male Sprague-Dawley rats maintained on either a KD or standard chow diet (SD). We found that KD males exhibited higher mount rates, higher intromission rates (third and fourth tests only), and lower ejaculation likelihood (second test only) compared to SD males. Consequently, it may be that experience-dependent changes in the processing of sexual stimuli are not occurring as efficiently in KD males, thereby yielding the observed copulatory sequence alterations.

Comments

Author's manuscript provided in accordance with Publisher distribution policies. Published version available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2024.114650

Publication Title

Physiology & Behavior

Volume

285

DOI

10.1016/j.physbeh.2024.114650