The effects of castration and androgen on the social dominance of BALB/cJ male mice

Abstract

Four experiments were conducted to investigate the relationship between androgen and the maintenance of social dominance in BALB/cJ male mice. Experiment I revealed that 9 out of 10 dominant mice lost their dominant positions after castration, and of the 10 sham-operated dominant mice, 9 still remained dominant. Thus, androgen is necessary for the maintenance of social dominance. Experiment II showed that.2,.4, and.8 mg of testosterone propionate (TP) injected daily to the castrated dominant mice did not restore their precastration dominant positions. Experiment III replicated the second experiment by giving 5 castrated dominant mice.8 mg of TP and and another 5 mice 1.2 mg of TP. Neither treatment restored the precastration dominant status of the treated mice. The animals were then injected with 4 mg of TP, which was not effective in restoring their precastration dominance position. The 8 mg of TP used in Experiment IV was also not effective. The relationship between androgen and social order was discussed. © 1974, Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.