Aggression in Adult Mice: Modification by Neonatal Injections of Gonadal Hormones

Abstract

Incidence of spontaneous aggression in adult male mice given a single injection of estradiol benzoate (0.4 milligram) when they were 3 days old was less than that of controls injected with oil. Aggressiveness was increased among adult females injected with either estradiol or testosterone propionate (1 milligram) at the same age. The increased aggressiveness noted among females given androgen was further documented during subsequent mating tests, when these females often attacked, wounded, and, in one case, killed naive males.