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H Pachón

Publications and source records attributed to H Pachón.

2 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Nutritional status and behavior during lactation.

Effects of chronic maternal food restriction and time of day on maternal and pup behaviors were examined in ovariectomized Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 26). Dams were fed ad lib (AL) or were restricted to 85% (85 AL) or 70% (70 AL) of ad lib intake. Dams and their 5-pup litters were observed for 45 min at night on days 9, 14, and 19 of lactation and during the day on day 14. A novel behavioral instrument was used to observe maternal and pup behaviors. At night, food-restricted animals engaged in more nursing behaviors than AL animals. Differential pup stimuli may account for this difference. AL animals engaged in more nursing behaviors during the day than night, whereas 70 AL animals demonstrated the opposite diurnal pattern. Time of feeding may explain this difference. On the other hand, 85 AL animals behaved similarly during the day and at night. Therefore, alterations in circadian behavior patterns are less pronounced in rats mildly restricted (85 AL) than in rats more food restricted (70 AL).

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Food restriction, gonadotropins, and behavior in the lactating rat.

This study sought to quantify effects of undernutrition on behaviors and to relate these to gonadotropin and prolactin concentrations in the lactating dam. Dams were studied in a 2 x 3 factorial design with litter size and food intake as the two factors. Behavioral data were collected from each dam and her litter on day 9, day 14, and day 19 of lactation, and maternal blood samples collected. Plasma was analyzed for luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone and prolactin. On day 15 of lactation, percent time nursing, number of pups actively nursing, total number of pups nursing and dam location acted as mediating factors of the effect of diet group on plasma luteinizing hormone concentration. No such relationships were seen for plasma follicle stimulating hormone, and only nest condition score appeared to be a mediator for plasma prolactin concentration. In conclusion, this analysis suggests that food restriction indirectly influences plasma concentration of luteinizing hormone, but not follicle stimulating hormone, by changing maternal and pup behaviors. The relationship among diet, behavior and circulating prolactin was less clear.

Animals↗