Estrogen has well known effects on sexual behavior, howev
er the role of the estrogen receptors (ER)
er alpha" title="greek small lett
er alpha" bord
er="0"> and β on sexual behavior remains to be fully det
ermined. This study investigated the individual and co-op
erative involvement of ER
er alpha" title="greek small lett
er alpha" bord
er="0"> and β on sexual behaviors in the adult female rat. Subtype selective ER agonists, propyl-pyrazole triol (PPT; ER
er alpha" title="greek small lett
er alpha" bord
er="0"> agonist) and diarylpropionitrile (DPN; ERβ agonist) w
ere utilized to examine each receptor subtype's contribution, individual and co-op
erative, for both receptive (lordosis) and proceptive (hopping/darting, ‘ear wiggling’) female sexual behaviors. Ovariectomized female rats received subcutaneous injections of eith
er: sesame oil (OIL), dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), estradiol benzoate (EB; 10 μg/0.1 ml OIL), one of three doses of the ER
er alpha" title="greek small lett
er alpha" bord
er="0"> agonist PPT (1.25 mg, 2.5 mg or 5.0 mg/0.1 ml DMSO), one of three doses of the ERβ agonist DPN (1.25 mg, 2.5 mg or 5.0 mg/0.1 ml DMSO) or a combination dose of PPT and DPN (2.5 mg PPT + 2.5 mg DPN/0.1 ml DMSO) for two consecutive days, 48 and 24 h prior to testing followed by a progest
erone injection (500 μg/0.1 ml OIL) 4 h prior to testing in ord
er to elicit sexual behavior. The ER
er alpha" title="greek small lett
er alpha" bord
er="0"> agonist PPT, but not the ERβ agonist DPN, elicited both proceptive and receptive behavior. PPT at doses of 2.5 and 5.0 mg significantly elicited lordosis and proceptive behavior (‘ear wiggling’, hopping and darting). Intriguingly, the administration of both agonists togeth
er at the 2.5 mg dose resulted in reduced levels of proceptivity and receptivity, suggesting that ERβ modulates ER
er alpha" title="greek small lett
er alpha" bord
er="0">'s ability to elicit receptive and proceptive sexual behavior.