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PubMed1986

Effects of hypothalamic knife cuts and experience on maternal behavior in the rat.

Recent investigations suggest that the disruption of placentophagia, pup-directed maternal behavior, and nestbuilding seen after lesions of the medial preoptic area (MPO) or the lateral hypothalamus may be due to the interruption at different points of a single longitudinal neural system mediating these behaviors. To test this, we compared the effects of knife cuts on the lateral border of the MPO, and of the posterior medial forebrain bundle (MFB), with asymmetrical cuts combining a unilateral MPO cut with a contralateral MFB cut. We observed placentophagia, nestbuilding, and pup-directed maternal behaviors at, and after, parturition in both primiparous and biparous rats. In primiparae, MPO cuts (a) disrupted placentophagia, (b) delayed the onset of crouching and pup-licking, and (c) eliminated retrieval and nestbuilding. MFB cuts (a) disrupted placentophagia, (b) delayed the onset of maternal behavior, and (c) eliminated nestbuilding. Asymmetrical cuts (a) disrupted placentophagia, and (b) delayed the onset of maternal behavior. In biparous rats, MPO cuts eliminated nestbuilding and retrieval. MFB cuts (a) disrupted placentophagia, and (b) eliminated nestbuilding. Asymmetrical cuts (a) delayed nestbuilding. These results suggest the involvement of a longitudinal neural system in the production of immediate pup-directed maternal behavior, placentophagia, and nestbuilding in parturient primiparae, but which is not critical for the eventual display of maternal behavior and nestbuilding in maternally naive rats, nor for the immediate onset of placentophagia and maternal behavior in maternally experienced rats.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Interacting effects of oxazepam in late pregnancy and fostering procedure on mouse maternal behavior.

The present study was designed to assess the proactive effects of late pregnancy benzodiazepine (BDZ) treatment on maternal behavior in the postpartum period, using cross-fostering procedures to control for the role of changes produced prenatally in the offspring. Outbred CD-1 mouse dams were treated with either oxazepam (OX, 15 mg/kg PO twice/day on pregnancy days 12-16) or vehicle (VEH). After parturition, entire litters were exchanged either within treatments (in-fostered groups, IF) or between treatments (cross-fostered groups, CF), while additional litters were left undisturbed (un-fostered groups, UF). The behavior of lactating dams was observed in their home cages at 4, 8, and 12 days postpartum. Maternal responses, particularly nursing, were reduced in the OX-UF and OX-CF conditions and either normal or enhanced in the OX-IF condition. Correspondingly, locomotor/exploratory activity was markedly enhanced in the former conditions and close to the control level in the latter condition. In sum, the fostering variable appeared to determine whether pups raised by dams treated previously with BDZ receive either insufficient or exaggerated maternal care. This points to the need for a better understanding of mother/pup interactions in studies aimed at characterizing drug and toxicant effects on offspring development.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Peripeduncular nucleus lesions in the rat: I. Effects on maternal aggression, lactation, and maternal behavior during pre- and postpartum periods.

Bilateral peripeduncular (PPN) lesions made on the seventh postpartum day (L7) with either radiofrequency (RF) current or N-methyl-d,l-aspartic acid (NMDA)/phosphate buffered saline (PBS) reduced maternal aggression (MA) and partially inhibited lactation without producing significant deficits in other items of maternal behavior (MB). RF-PPN lesions did not interfere with prolactin secretion, which suggests that there was deficient oxytocinergic activity. The deficit in MA was not due to interruption of afferent suckling input to the PPN: either thelectomizing females (day L6) or producing bilateral knifecuts in the mesencephalon (placed caudal to the level of the PPN; Day L7) had no effect on MA, but both procedures impaired lactation. Deficits in MA produced by RF-PPN lesions developed gradually between Days L4 and L7; lesions made either prepartum or on Day L1 did not impair MA or MB. Deficits in lactation first appeared after RF-PPN lesions on Day L1.

Aggression↗
PubMed2003

Dynamics of the caring family.

When several individuals simultaneously provide for offspring, as in families, the effort of any one individual will depend on the efforts of the other family members. This conflict of interest among family members is made more complicated by their relatedness because relatives share genetic interest to some degree. The conflict resolution will also be influenced by the differences in reproductive value between breeders and helpers. Here, we calculate evolutionarily stable provisioning efforts in families with up to two helpers. We explicitly consider that the behavioral choices are made in a life-history context, and we also consider how group sizes change dynamically; this affects, for example, average relatedness among group members. We assume two different scenarios: intact families in which the breeder is 100% monogamous and stepfamilies in which the breeder shifts mate between breeding events. The average relatedness among family members is allowed to evolve in concert with changes in provisioning effort. Our model shows that an individual's provisioning effort is not easy to predict from either its relatedness to the offspring or its reproductive value. Instead, it is necessary to consider the inclusive fitness effect of provisioning, which is determined by a combination of relatedness, reproductive value, and the reproductive value of the offspring.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

New insights into chimpanzees, tools, and termites from the Congo Basin.

The tool-using behaviors of wild chimpanzees comprise the most impressive assemblages and flexible repertoires of nonhuman material culture. We expand knowledge of the breadth and complexity of tool use in this species by providing the first descriptions of the form and function of two distinct tool sets used by chimpanzees in preying upon termites within the forests of the Goualougo Triangle, Republic of Congo. Further, we report the first application of remote video monitoring technology to record wild chimpanzee tool-using behavior. Based on tool assemblages recovered at termite nests, we hypothesized that chimpanzees were regularly visiting two forms of termite nests and using specific tools to extract termite prey depending on the structure of the nest. Six months of continuous remote video monitoring at six termite nests confirmed that chimpanzees use a tool set to puncture and fish at subterranean termite nests and another tool set to perforate and fish at epigeal (aboveground) nests. Our findings of strict adherence to tool forms at different nest types, tool material selectivity, repeated visits to nests with reusable wood tool assemblages, and differences in material culture between communities have broad implications for our understanding of the ecological and cultural factors that shape hominoid tool use.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

Cooperative care influences genome-wide levels of DNA methylation in nestling chestnut-crowned babblers.

Carers in cooperatively breeding vertebrates increase food acquisition for offspring; however, they also impact the developmental social environment. One means of linking early-life environments, such as nutrition and social structure, with later-life phenotypes is DNA methylation. Here, using whole-genome methylation sequencing, we measured how additional carers influence DNA methylation in nestlings of the cooperatively breeding chestnut-crowned babbler (Pomatostomus ruficeps). A comparison of nestlings raised by their parents (two carers) and those raised by parents plus additional helpers ('three plus' carers; mean = 4.3 ± 1.4 s.d.) revealed that additional care is associated with genome-wide differences in DNA methylation. Overall, 570 cytosine-phosphate-guanine sites from the regulatory regions of 487 genes were differentially methylated, with 85% being more methylated in nestlings reared by groups. Specifially, sites associated with genes that are integral for metabolism, growth, the regulation and promotion of sociality, the ability to cope with stressors, and cell communication were differentially methylated between the groups. Furthermore, gene ontology-term analysis revealed that differentially methylated sites were over-represented in multiple pathways, including those important for protein binding, metabolism and cell-to-cell and environment-to-cell communication. Our results suggest that the effects of being reared by groups as opposed to pairs in cooperative breeders can extend beyond those typically attributed to nutritional benefits and that these effects are molecularly mediated. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ecological epigenetics at the intersection of behaviour and life history variation in non-model animals'.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

The responses of one-day old Acomys cabirinus pups to naturally occurring chemical stimuli.

The role of olfactory stimuli in the mediation of the behavior of 26--36 hour old spiny mice (Acomys cabirinus) was assessed through a series of six experiments. The major results of these experiments are: 1. One day old spiny mice showed a preference for soiled bedding from their own home-cage as compared to clean bedding in a simultaneous two-choice preference test. 2. No significant preference was displayed for home-cage bedding vs. bedding from the cage of a conspecific litter and parents. 3. Soiled bedding from the home-cage was preferred over soiled bedding from the cage of a nulliparous adult female conspecific. 4. A reduced mean latency to leave an area of clean bedding was found in comparison to mean latencies to leave soiled bedding from the subjects' home-cage or from the cage of a conspecific litter. 5. No differential activity levels were displayed on home-cage vs. clean bedding. It was concluded that by the second day of life, Acomys pups have developed attachment to chemical stimuli produced by specific classes of conspecifics--and that the early appearance of such attachments is a function of the high degree of sensory and motor precocity of the Acomys pups at birth. The adaptive value of such rapidly developed attachments in precocial as contrasted to altricial species was discussed.

Age Factors↗