Fay Guarraci, assistant professor of psychology at Southwestern University, and Stacey Benson, a 2005 Southwestern graduate, 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 administration 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.
However, while it is tempting to speculate that caffeine exposure could also affect sexual motivation in other female mammals such as humans, Ms Guarraci cautioned that may not be the case since most humans consume moderate doses of caffeine on a daily basis.
“These rats had never had caffeine before,” she noted. “In humans, it might enhance the sexual experience only among people who are not habitual users.”
Ms Guarraci said, however, that the study should add to our understanding of the relationship between the brain and behavior.