Chronic oral administration of clomipramine decreases sexual behavior in the male Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus)

Previous studies have demonstrated that clomipramine (CLI), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, has negative side effects on sexual behavior when administered to adult rats and humans. In addition, neonatal rat pups given chronic doses of CLI display similar sexual deficits upon sexual maturity. This study used two experiments to test the hypothesis that 2 weeks of CLI would cause a decrease in sexual motivation and performance in the male Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus). Experiment I administered 0, 40, or 60 mg/kg CLI for 14 days to adult male hamsters via a sugar water solution, Experiment 2 administered 0, 40, or 60 mg/kg CLI for 14 days to pregnant dams during gestation (also via a sugar water solution). We hypothesized that this administration of CLI via the pregnant mother would have long-lasting developmental effects on the male hamster pups resulting in later dysfunction in male sexual behavior. Results from Experiment 1 indicate that CLI administration to adult males caused a significant decrease in the number of ejaculations compared to controls. The only significant difference in sexual behavior between those males whose mothers received CLI during pregnancy compared to males from untreated mothers was an increase in the number of intromissions in the highest dosage group. These findings demonstrate that CLI inhibits sexual performance in adult male Syrian hamsters, and also suggest that oral administration of CLI via a sugar water solution is an effective mode of administration. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.