Caffeine does it for female rats

Jan 10 2006

According to recent research, something as simple as caffeine may be the female version of Viagra.

The research was conducted by Fay Guarraci, an assistant professor of psychology at Southwestern University, and Stacey Benson, a 2005 Southwestern graduate.

Their study, entitled “Coffee, Tea and Me: Moderate doses of caffeine affect sexual behavior in female rats,” is the first to examine the interaction between caffeine and sex in females.

In the study Guarraci and Benson gave 108 female rats a moderate dose of caffeine before a mating test to determine if the caffeine had any effect on female mating behavior.

They found that the dose of caffeine shortened the amount of time it took the females to return to the males after receiving an ejaculation, suggesting that the females were more motivated to be with the male rats.

The idea that caffeine could also affect sexual motivation in other female mammals such as humans, is interesting, but Guarraci warns that may not be the case as most humans consume moderate doses of caffeine on a daily basis, while the rats had never had caffeine before.

She suggests similar effects might be seen in humans who had never tried caffeine but says the study should create an understanding of the relationship between the brain and behavior.

Guarraci says that understanding the circuits that control the behavior helps towards a better understanding of how the brain works and what part of the brain mediates motivation ,because sexual behavior is a motivative behavior.

The research will be published in a future issue of Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, but can also be found online at http://www.sciencedirect.com.