The behavior system for sexual learning

• Published in: Behavioural processes Vol. 162; pp. 184 - 196
• Main Authors: Domjan, Michael, Gutiérrez, Germán
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.05.2019; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Behavior systems; Breeding success; Conditioned copulation; Conditioned fertility; Constraints on learning; Copulation; Eggs; Female sexual behavior; Fertilization; Focal search; General search; Learning; Male sexual behavior; Pavlovian conditioning; Place preference; Quail; Sexual behavior; Sexual conditioning; Sexual learning; Sign tracking; Species; Sperm allocation; Sperm competition; Unconditioned stimulus; Sexual learning; Pavlovian conditioning; Sperm allocation; Constraints on learning; General search; Sign tracking; Conditioned fertility; Quail; Sperm competition; Male sexual behavior; Place preference; Sexual conditioning; Conditioned copulation; Focal search; Behavior systems; Female sexual behavior
• ISSN: 0376-6357; 1872-8308
• DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.01.013

•Reviews the current status of the behavior system for sexual learning.•In addition to reviewing research with quail (which was the focus of prior paper), in this treatment research with rats is also incorporated into the characterization of the behavior system.•Unlike prior papers which dealt primarily with sexual learning in males, in this review we also discuss in detail sexual learning in females.•For the first time the characterization of the sexual learning system includes detailed information on how learning facilitates fertilization and reproductive success.•Although much progress has been made in characterizing the sexual learning system, we include an extensive section discussing areas for future research.•A new perspective on how sexual learning can contribute to evolutionary change is included. In this paper we review and update evidence relevant to formulating a behavior system for sexual learning. We emphasize behavioral rather than neurobiological evidence and mechanisms. Our analysis focuses on three types of responses or response modes: general search, focal search, and consummatory or copulatory behavior. We consider how these response modes are influenced by three categories of stimuli: spatially distributed contextual cues, arbitrary localized stimuli, and species-typical cues provided by the sexual partner. We characterize behavior control by these types of stimuli before and after various Pavlovian conditioning procedures in which the unconditioned stimulus is provided by copulation with a sexual partner. The results document extensive Pavlovian modifications of sexual behavior. These conditioning effects reflect new conditioned responses that come to be elicited by various categories of stimuli. In addition, the conditioning of contextual cues and localized stimuli facilitate sexual responding to species-typical cues. Thus, learning experiences enhance how the species-typical cues of a sexual partner stimulate sexual behavior. These modulatory conditioning effects not only produce significant behavioral changes but also increase rates of fertilization of eggs and numbers of offspring produced. These latter findings suggest that sexual learning can lead to differential reproductive success, which in turn can contribute to evolutionary change.