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PubMed1982

[Effects of pup exposure to maternal nest building in virgin female and male mice].

Nest-building behavior in 6 female and 6 male mice of IVCS strain, 20 to 30 weeks old, was studied over a period of 24 days. Weight and style of the nest were used as measures to assess the effects of pup exposure on nest-building. Data were collected between 13 : 00 and 14 : 00 of each day. Female mice with pup exposure showed significant increases in the nest weight and the percentage of good-excellent nest, while males did not respond.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Effect of estradiol implants on reproductive behavior of female Lapland longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus).

The role of estrogens in reproductive behavior of free-living birds has been little investigated, despite the importance of estrogens in coordinating reproductive behavior and the need for information on potential effects of estrogenic contaminants on wildlife. We gave subcutaneous implants of estradiol (E2) to 15 female Lapland longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus), an arctic bird with a six-week breeding season. Controls were 9 females with empty implants and 14 unimplanted females. After implantation, E2 females had greater E2 levels and greater body mass than controls. We did not detect any increases in, or prolongation of, sexual or nest-building behavior. The incubation period was longer for E2 nests than for control nests. Nest videotapes showed that E2 females and their mates exhibited normal nestling care, and nestling growth, fledging success, and overwinter survival were also unaffected. However, whenever the males arrived at the nests, E2 females showed a significantly greater likelihood of begging from the male rather than leaving the nest. Courtship or incubation feeding have been considered atypical for this species, and it is not clear what role E2 normally plays in promoting begging behavior. Overall, elevated E2 levels did not result in any obvious costs for the female, save perhaps for slightly reduced incubation efficiency. The weak response to hormonal implants is similar to patterns seen in male Lapland longspurs, and may be related to the short breeding season. However, since little is presently known about the role of estrogens in behavior of wild female birds, it remains to be seen whether these patterns are typical of female passerines in general, or of short-season breeders. Further research on effects of estrogens (both exogenous and endogenous) on free-living female birds is needed.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Alterations in the maternal behavior of rats rearing hypothyroid and hyperthyroid offspring.

To determine whether maternal behavior could serve as a mediator for thyroid hormone effects on behavior, I assessed nesting, nursing, grooming, contact, and retrieval in mothers of hypothyroid, hyperthyroid, and control litters, as well as in mothers of litters receiving thyroxine replacement therapy. Females assigned to the hypothyroid and replacement therapy treatments were placed on a goitrogenic diet of .2% propylthiouracil from Day 15 of gestation to Day 22 postpartum. Hyperthyroid and replacement therapy pups were injected daily with thyroxine starting on the day of birth. The decline in nesting and nursing was delayed in hypothyroid litters whereas the decline in nesting was accelerated in hyperthyroid litters. Retrieval was not affected, but grooming of pups occurred less frequently in hypothyroid and replacement therapy litters. Maternal care received by hypothyroid pups was considered adequate. Maternal behavior may alleviate some of the effects of perinatal hypothyroidism,, but does not seem to be responsible for the more severe effects of hypothyroidism.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Environmental modification and agonistic behavior in NIH/S male mice: nesting material enhances fighting but shelters prevent it.

Outbred NIH/S male mice were housed from weaning in groups of 4 without enrichment (control) or with nesting material (nest), nesting material and a box (nest-and-box), or nesting material and a tube (nest-and-tube) as environmental modification. The aim of the study was to investigate effects of widely recommended nesting material and additional shelters on male mice. The aggressiveness of the mice in their home cages clearly increased in the nest group, as assessed by the number of wounds. In the nest group, fighting was a stressful situation for the mice, leading to changes in weight gain and in the weights of the thymus, adrenals, spleen, and epididymal adipose tissue. Moreover, the agonistic behavior of these mice toward an intruder was increased both in individual tests (an intruder with the individual mouse) and group tests (an intruder with a group of mice). The provision of a box or tube as a shelter, in addition to nesting material, prevented intracage fighting and did not lead to alterations in the weight gain or organ weights of the mice. However, the agonistic behavior of mice with shelters was slightly increased in behavioral tests. Anxiety in the elevated plus-maze was not affected by any of the housing systems. In conclusion, the agonistic behavior of NIH/S mice, an aggressive strain, seemed to be easily enhanced by these environmental modifications. The suitability of any enrichment should be carefully evaluated, especially when highly aggressive mice are used.

Aggression↗
PubMed1975

Variability of the effects of rearing in a large litter on the development of the rat.

The variability in the effects of rearing rats in large litters was examined. Subjects reared in litters of 16 were stunted and delayed in the appearance of eye-opening and fur-eruption as compared with pups reared in litters of 8. However, the effects of the large-litter treatment were not uniform; pups in this group exhibited markedly higher variability with regard to all measures than did pups from small litters. In fact, some pups from the large litters were heavier and some exhibited developmental landmarks earlier than did most pups reared in small litters.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1984

Prolactin and parenting in the pigeon family.

The relationship between plasma prolactin and: crop growth; incubation; brooding; and feeding young in Columbiformes is reviewed. There is a good parallel between changes in crop growth and plasma prolactin fluctuations during the breeding cycle. Prolactin does not play a role in the initiation of incubation, though it can maintain the response. Toward the end of breeding, a decline in prolactin precedes the decline in incubation (of infertile eggs) or brooding (of young), while exogenously administered prolactin can prolong the response. There is no evidence of a necessary relationship between prolactin secretion and parental feeding of young, as this behavior can precede and outlast the secretion of the hormone during breeding.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Hygienic behavior in the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) and the modulatory role of octopamine.

Honey bees, Apis mellifera, which perform hygienic behavior, quickly detect, uncap and remove diseased brood from the nest. This behavior, performed by bees 15-20 days old and prior to foraging, is likely mediated by olfactory cues. Because the neuromodulator octopamine (OA) plays a pivotal role in olfactory-based behaviors of honey bees, we examined whether bees bred for hygienic and nonhygienic behavior differed with regard to their OA expression and physiology. We compared the staining intensity of octopamine-immunoreactive (OA-ir) neurons in the deutocerebral region of the brain, medial to the antennal lobes, between hygienic and nonhygienic bees (based on genotype and phenotype). We also tested how the olfactory responses of the two lines, based on electroantennograms (EAGs), were affected by oral administration of OA and of epinastine, a highly specific OA antagonist. Our results revealed that bees expressing hygienic behavior (irrespective of genotype) possessed OA-ir neurons that exhibited more intense labeling than same-aged bees not performing the behavior. In bees bred for nonhygienic behavior, OA significantly increased the EAG response to low concentrations of diseased brood odor. Conversely, in bees bred for hygienic behavior, epinastine significantly reduced the magnitude of the EAG response, a reduction not observed in nonhygienic bees. Our results provide two lines of evidence that OA has the potential to facilitate the detection and response of honey bees to diseased brood. We discuss the contributions of OA for behavioral shaping and its ability to bias the nervous system to express one form of behavior over another.

Adrenergic alpha-Agonists↗
PubMed1996

A possible contribution of phenomenology to ethology: application to a behaviour pattern in the mouse.

Classical ethology encourages a causal approach to animal behaviour, using Tinbergen's four questions concerning evolution, function, mechanism and development of behaviour. It sets aside the study of mental processes, which could otherwise help to unify our picture of the relationships between animal and environment. Here the steps in research focused on the psychological meaning of a peculiar behaviour in the mouse--carrying its tail--and what this implies regarding the mouse's cognitive world are given. Initial empirical observations suggested epistemic choices concerning space and object notions in the mouse; this led us to go beyond the first stage in exploring the significance of this behaviour. Later experiments showed the limitations of an explanation based on a cause-effect relationship. An interpretative model integrating a phenomenological conceptual framework is proposed.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Burrowing behavior in wild house mice: variation within and between populations.

Burrowing behavior was assessed on 120 lab-reared house mice (Mus domesticus) derived from five geographic populations representing a north-south cline along the east coast of the United States. Mice were placed individually into Plexiglas containers filled with sand and peat moss, and their burrows were excavated 24 h later. Seven measures were taken and reduced by principal-components analysis to two factors for further analysis. Marked differences existed within, but not between populations, and members of full-sib families built qualitatively and quantitatively similar burrows. The lack of a geographic cline and the apparent high heritability of burrowing behavior do not lend support to its use as a major thermoregulatory adaptation.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Identification of growth-hormone- and prolactin-containing neurons within the avian brain.

Prolactin (PRL)- and growth-hormone (GH)-containing perikarya and fibers independent of the anterior pituitary gland have been reported to exist in the central nervous system of several mammalian species. The specific distributions of PRL- or GH-like neurons in the avian forebrain and midbrain, however, have not been reported. The objective of the study was to identify GH- and PRL-containing neurons in the hypothalamus and a few extrahypothalamic areas of two avian species. Brain and peripheral blood samples were collected from laying and broody turkey hens and ring doves. Broody turkey hens and doves had significantly higher plasma PRL concentrations compared with laying hens. Coronal brain sections were prepared and immunostained using anti-turkey GH and anti-chicken synthetic PRL antibodies. In turkey hens, the most dense GH-immunoreactive (ir) perikarya and fibers were found in hippocampus (Hp), periventricular hypothalamic nucleus, paraventricular nucleus, inferior hypothalamic nucleus, infundibular hypothalamic nucleus, medial and lateral septal area, and external zone of the median eminence (ME). In the ring dove, a similar pattern of distribution of GH-ir neurons was noticed at the brain sites listed above except that GH-ir fibers and granules were found only in the internal zone of ME and not in the external zone. In both turkeys and doves, the most immunoreactive PRL-ir perikarya and fibers were found in the medial and lateral septal area, Hp (turkey only), and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis pars magnocellularis. There were no apparent differences in the staining pattern of GH- or PRL-ir neurons between the laying and broody states in either species. However, the presence of GH-ir- and PRL-ir perikarya and fibers in several hypothalamic nuclei indicates that GH and PRL may influence parental behavior, food intake, autonomic nervous system function, and/or reproduction.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

The effects of photoperiod on androgen-induced reproductive behavior in male ring doves, Streptopelia risoria.

The effect of photoperiod on reproductive behavior in male ring doves (Streptopelia risoria) was studied in androgen-injected castrates maintained under long (16L:8D) or short (86:16D) photoperiods. Behavioral recordings were made over a 2-week period during which each male was paired with a female for 6.5 hr/day. There was some indication that males held on long days display higher levels of courtship activity during the initial period following pairing, but the evidence was not conclusive. Day length had no effect upon copulatory behavior. Long-day males exhibited consistently higher levels of nest building than short-day males, indicating that photoperiod affects building through some mechanism other than changes in endogenous androgen levels.

Animals↗