PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Reproductive Behavior”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 469 records · Page 26Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Prostaglandin induction of spawning behavior in Cichlasoma bimaculatum (Pisces cichlidae).

Prostaglandin (PG) stimulates female spawning behavior in goldfish and in some other teleosts in which female reproductive behaviors consist of postovulatory oviposition acts. This study examined the effects of PG on female sexual behavior in a teleost fish, Cichlasoma bimaculatum, in which female reproductive behaviors involve both preovulatory courtship and substrate cleaning behaviors, and post-ovulatory oviposition behavior. In females of established pairs, PGF2 alpha injection (5 micrograms, im) at any stage of the spawning cycle, or in the parental phase, rapidly induced substrate cleaning which soon merged into oviposition behavior (without egg release). These results support a role for PG in oviposition behavior of Cichlasoma. However, indomethacin (1 mg, ip), a PG synthesis inhibitor, did not block oviposition in ovulated females which had begun to spawn. Indomethacin may not have lowered PG levels sufficiently. Alternatively, as shown by J.J. Polder (1971, Neth. J. Zool. 21, 265), oviposition behavior may be induced or maintained by other factors associated with the spawning situation.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

[Adaptations in reproduction and behavior of captive chimpanzees-- zoobiological and veterinary managements].

Monitoring of renal LH-excretion, changes in genital tumescence and menses assesses reproductive status in zookept female chimpanzees. Temporary detumescence of female sex skin in estrus is a reliable indicator for stress. Assessment of female chimpanzee reproductive status relates to local and individual variation of cycle length and temporal correlation of investigated parameters. Monitoring of neonate chimpanzee behavioural ontogeny is an essential tool of evaluating applied rearing methods since individuals were to be integrated into the adult group during adolescence. Slow and continuous transition periods between consecutive rearing phases avoid irreversible disturbed behaviour. Care by one person up to the age of 12 months, followed by a 3 year stay in a peer group guarantee normal development in zookept infant chimpanzees. 4-5 years old chimpanzees with infantile attributes and abilities to submit and appease can be integrated to adults with low risk. In female gorillas sexual cyclicity was monitored by renal excretion of LH, length of menses, sexual behaviour and--in tame females--by basal body temperature and variation of length of the urogenital cleft. Intraspecific variation of cyclicity allowed individual fertility assessment after comparison of several cycles. Analyses of behaviour gave hints to overcharged adaptability and reduced infertility under inadequate maintenance. Data on semen and testicular biopsy improve fertility evaluation in gorilla males and point to degree and time of tissue alteration and etiology. Body hygiene analogous to the human, tool use and interspecific play with chimpanzees and humans behind window screens were observed in inadequately kept gorillas. Homosexual behaviour among females was reversible with environmental and social changes. Coalitions among nonrelated females were an effective social strategy against an aggressive male. Cyclicity was disturbed drastically by social events such as physical lesions made by a male but normalized with improved social situation. Disturbed cyclicity featured prolongation of interestrus intervals and complete detumescence, oligomenorrhea and amenorrhea. Nulliparous females in their third decennium needed more than 1.5 years of social contact to a fertile male to become fullterm pregnant. During the first two months of pregnancy stillbirths and embryonic resorptions were detected. Handreared and inexperienced primiparous gorilla females accepted their infants and reared them normally after witnessing motherrearing in neighbored chimpanzee females for several years. Opportunities of free choice and decision making determine zookept pongid behaviour, that cannot be compared with prisoners' ethology. Adaptations of ontogenetic behaviour and reproduction, teleonomic patterns and zoomorphism are of zoobiological relevance. Adaptations develope during prolonged periods of time and thus results of corresponding management issues are to be assessed a posteriori.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1991

Daily variation of multiple behaviors in Aplysia fasciata: integration of feeding, reproduction, and locomotion.

Daily variations in feeding, reproductive behaviors, and activity level were examined under three conditions: (1) animals had access to food and mates; (2) there was access only to food; (3) neither food nor mates were present. Behaviors differed in amplitude of variations from their daily mean value. Egg-laying had the strongest tendency to be clustered. Amplitude of variations in courtship and swimming was larger than those of immobility, crawling, and feeding, while moving in place was the least clustered behavior. Changes in state affected the tendency to be clustered. When food and mates were present, amplitude of variations became progressively larger for immobility, moving in place, crawling, and swimming. Behaviors differed in the degree to which variations were patterned as a 1/day oscillation. Relatively little of the variability in crawling, moving in place, courtship, and egg-laying was due to a 1/day oscillation under any condition. By contrast, a large proportion of the variability of immobility, swimming, mating, and eating was modulated by a 1/day oscillation in at least one condition. The contribution of a 1/day oscillation to variability differed in the conditions examined. For immobility and swimming, when food and mates were present, the 1/day component of variability became smaller. By contrast, presence of mates led to an increase in the 1/day component of variability modulating feeding. Daily peaks of swimming and feeding were in phase with one another, and out of phase with mating and feeding. The ratio of locomotion to inactivity is constant, independent of change in external conditions. However, this ratio varied throughout the day. When food and mates were absent, variations of immobility and swimming were strongly related to variations in the inactivity ratio. When food and mates were added, this tendency decreased. The data suggest that daily variations in occurrence of behaviors can be accounted for by interactions between oscillators affecting Aplysia behavior and motivational variables. A 1/day oscillator has strong effects on mating, swimming, and immobility. The effect of the oscillator is modified by changes in motivational state.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Lessons from experimental disruption of estrous cycles and behaviors.

In female mammals reproduction is highly sensitive to the food supply. During lean times, females suspend reproductive attempts in favor of maintaining processes necessary for survival; fertility is restored once the food supply is again abundant. Nearly all aspects of reproduction are affected, including puberty, adult ovulatory cycles, and reproductive behaviors. Work with experimental animals reveals that caloric restriction inhibits release of luteinizing hormone (LH) and female sexual behavior via similar, although separate, processes. The primary metabolic event affecting LH release as well as female sexual behavior is the short-term (minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour) availability of oxidizable metabolic fuels, rather than any aspect of body size or composition (e.g., body fat content). Metabolic fuel availability is detected in the hindbrain and perhaps in peripheral tissues. Metabolic information is then transmitted synaptically from the visceral hindbrain to the forebrain effector circuits. In the forebrain, signaling via corticotropin-releasing hormone receptors appears to be crucial for inhibition of both LH secretion and female sexual behavior.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Thyroid hormone and estrogen interact to regulate behavior.

Environmental perturbations that increase plasma thyroid hormone (T3) concentrations also profoundly affect female reproductive behavior and physiology. We explored whether these effects were mediated by interactions between T3 receptor (TR) and estrogen receptor (ER). This hypothesis was of interest because the half-site of a consensus T3 response element DNA sequence is identical to an ER response element (ERE), and TRs bind to a consensus ERE. Molecular data presented in the accompanying paper [Zhu, Y.-S., Yen, P.M., Chin, W.W.& Pfaff, D.W. (1996) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93, 12587-12592] demonstrate that TRs and ERs are both present in rat hypothalamic nuclear extracts and that both can bind to the promoter the hypothalamic gene preproenkephalin and that interations between liganded TRs and ERs affect preproenkephalin transcription. In this paper, we show that molecular interactions between TRs and ERs are sufficient to mediate environmental effects on estrogen-controlled reproductive behavior. Ovariectomized (OVX) rats treated with high doses of T3 showed significantly lower levels of lordosis behavior in response to estradiol benzoate (EB) compared with OVX females treated with EB alone. Conversely, thyroidectomized/OVX females treated with EB showed significantly greater levels of lordosis behavior compared with OVX females treated with EB, showing the effect of endogenous T3. Thyroid hormone interference with EB-induced behavior could not be explained by a reduction in plasma E2 concentrations or by a general reduction in responsiveness of EB-sensitive tissues. Moreover, numbers of hypothalamic ER-immunoreactive cells increased dramatically following T3 treatment. These data suggest that T3 may reduce EB-dependent sexual behavior through interactions between TR and ER in the nuclei of behaviorally relevant hypothalamic neurons, envisioning for the first time a functional consequence of interactions between two nuclear hormone receptors in brain. These results also open up the possibility of molecular interactions on DNA encoding environmental signals, a new field for the study of neuronal integration.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Weight change in relation to natural menopause and other reproductive and behavioral factors in Japanese women.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of menopause on weight change in Japanese women. METHODS: Community-based sample of 828 Japanese women who were premenopausal and aged 40 to 54 years completed a self-administered questionnaire asking information on demographic factors, body size, reproductive history and dietary and behavioral factors in 1992. They responded to a follow-up questionnaire asking weight and menopausal status in 1998. RESULTS: Women gained weight modestly, on average, 0.17 kg during the 6-year study period. Weight gain was significantly higher in women who remained premenopausal at follow-up than those who had natural menopause during the study period. Weight gain was significantly associated with early menarche in women who had natural menopause and with high parity in women remained premenopausal. CONCLUSION: Reproductive factors rather than sociodemographic and behavioral factors appeared to be associated with weight change during the perimenopausal period. Onset of menopause may diminish weight gain. In contrast, early menarche and high parity showed relationships with weight gain.

Adult↗
PubMed2007

Corticotropin releasing hormone: a diagnostic marker for behavioral and reproductive disorders?

Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) is a key mediator of endocrine, autonomic, behavioral, and immune responses to stress. The ability of CRH to induce hormonal stress responses has been used to investigate the functionality of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, and consequently the activity of hypothalamic CRH neuronal systems. Indeed, CRH administration to humans causes prompt release of ACTH, followed by secretion of cortisol, aldosterone and other adrenal steroids. CRH hypersecretion/hyperactivity has been associated to major depression, anxiety-related disorders, anorexia nervosa, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and progressive supranuclear palsy. During pregnancy the human placenta and its accessory membranes are the major sites of CRH synthesis and secretion. Placental CRH secretion is autonomous, but increasing evidence indicates that maternal or fetal conditions may influence such secretion. Therefore, the emerging concept is that in the event of acute or chronic metabolic, physical or infectious stress, the placenta takes part in a stress syndrome by releasing CRH, which may contribute to restore local blood flow and to influence the timing of delivery. The CRH released by the placenta is measurable in maternal plasma and other biological fluids and may be used to diagnose subclinical processes anteceding pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia and preterm delivery.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1988

Soviet fertility as viewed by Soviet authors: the Franco-Soviet demographic meeting of Suzdal (USSR).

The author reports on the Franco-Soviet Seminar of Demography, held in Suzdal, USSR, in 1986. She examines "how the problem of fertility is viewed by Soviet authors, why and when they began to study its theoretical aspects, and what means they propose to raise fertility." Topics considered include sources of information on fertility in the USSR; analysis of fertility and reproductive behavior; the study of selected determinants of fertility, including geographical and ethnic differences, female labor force participation, and the relationships among family planning, health, and reproductive behavior; and means of developing an effective population policy.

Congresses as Topic↗
PubMed2006

[Social-psychological factors of fertility].

Study of social-psychological factors of fertility and the reasons of its reduction in the regions of Georgia from the standpoint of reproduction behavior is the subject of our research. The sociologic inquiry carried out among women of fertile age dwelling in the Imereti Region gave us the corresponding information for analysis. Altogether 1462 forms were analyzed. Research revealed that the result of reproduction behavior is directly affected not only by the rate of evidence of separate multiplier of reproduction purpose, but by its integrity as well. Social-psychological factors influence the birth rate through the mediation of values, motives, purposes. Comparison of the groups of women by their orientation towards different values showed that the respondents with high reproduction purpose have all the values concerned with family getting higher, though the orientation towards material well-being remains rather high. The results of the research revealed (during elaboration of measures of demographic policy) the necessity of consideration of distinguishing features of the region.

Female↗
PubMed1994

Thermal constraints on maternal behavior during reproduction in dwarf hamsters (Phodopus).

The chronic hyperthermia of lactating dwarf hamster (Phodopus) dams may constrain maternal behavior if contact with the litter further increases their body temperature, forcing the termination of nest bouts to dissipate the heat load. Changes in female body temperature and nest attendance in two species of dwarf hamster (P. campbelli and P. sungorus) were recorded each minute over the reproductive cycle. As the pups develop from naked poikilotherms to well-insulated thermoregulators, they function as heat sinks and heat sources. This role of pup development in maternal thermoregulation interacts with the dam's activity, primarily nocturnal wheel running, to produce a complex pattern of heating and cooling in each species. Contact with the pups is more constrained by maternal temperature during the inactive phase (day), and more constrained in P. campbelli than in P. sungorus. The interspecific difference in pup development or maternal thermoregulation is consistent with predictions based on biparental care, and a thermoregulatory role for the male in P. campbelli, but not in P. sungorus. These data suggest that environmental temperature and water availability are ecological variables that affect maternal thermoregulation, reproductive success, and the need for biparental care.

Acclimatization↗
PubMed1999

Androgen and estrogen (alpha) receptor distribution in the periaqueductal gray of the male Rat.

The midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG) has been strongly implicated in numerous behaviors heavily influenced by the gonadal steroids estrogen and testosterone, including reproductive behavior, autonomic regulation, and antinociception. However, the location of receptors for these steroids within the PAG has not been carefully characterized. Immunocytochemical techniques were used to map the distribution of neurons immunoreactive for the androgen (AR) and estrogen receptor (alpha subtype; ERalpha) along the rostrocaudal axis of the PAG in the male rat. The results show that the PAG contains a large population of both androgen and estrogen receptor containing neurons. Neurons immunoreactive for either receptor were concentrated within the caudal two-thirds of the PAG. At midlevels of the PAG, ERalpha and AR immunoreactive neurons were located primarily within the dorsomedial and lateral PAG. In the caudal third of the PAG, immunoreactive cells were distributed primarily within the dorsal half. The distributions of ERalpha and AR were remarkably similar, and it is likely that some PAG neurons contain receptors for both gonadal steroids, similar to what has been previously reported for the male rat hypothalamus. The results of this study suggest that the PAG may provide the anatomical substrate for steroid mediated changes in nociceptive thresholds and reproductive behavior.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Neuroendocrinology of context-dependent stress responses: vasotocin alters the effect of corticosterone on amphibian behaviors.

The ability of an animal to respond with appropriate defensive behaviors when confronted with an immediate threat can affect its survival and reproductive success. In the roughskin newt (Taricha granulosa), exogenous corticosterone (CORT) rapidly blocks and vasotocin (VT) enhances reproductive behaviors (mainly clasping behavior). Electrophysiological studies have shown that pretreatment of male Taricha with VT counteracts the inhibitory effects of CORT on neuronal activity in the medulla. To test whether similar interactions between VT and CORT influence reproductive behaviors in Taricha, we recorded the time spent and incidence of clasping in males injected with VT or vehicle at 60 min and then CORT or vehicle at 5 min before presentation of a female. This study found that clasping behavior is suppressed in males that received vehicle and then CORT, but is not suppressed in males that received VT and then CORT. Considering these results and the possibility that the performance of clasping behaviors might cause increases in endogenous VT activity, we tested whether the suppressive effects of CORT administration on clasping behavior would occur in males that had recently clasped females. The study found that, in contrast to males that had been isolated from females, CORT administration did not suppress clasping behavior in males that had been allowed to clasp females for 60 min prior to the hormone injection. Our results suggest that, at least in this amphibian and perhaps in other animals, the neuroendocrine regulation of alternative behavioral responses to threats involves functional interactions between corticosteroids and VT-like peptides.

Aggression↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Behavior and reproductive function of rat male offspring treated prenatally with 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine.

5-Bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) was administered intraperitoneally to Sprague-Dawley rats at doses of 50 mg/kg/d on Days 9 through 15 and at 100 mg/kg/d on Days 16 through 20 of gestation. Dams were allowed to deliver naturally. Male offspring were subjected to a variety of pre- and postweaning behavioral tests: surface righting, negative geotaxis, open field test, Biel maze test, wheel cage test, and shuttlebox avoidance test. After puberty, masculine sexual behavior was observed. Male offspring of dams treated with BrdU on Days 9 through 15 of gestation showed an accelerated negative geotaxis reflex and increased ambulation and rearing in open field, while those of dams treated on Days 16 through 20 of gestation showed normal activity. Offspring of dams treated on Days 9 through 15 of gestation showed a higher activity level in the wheel cage than offspring of dams treated on Days 16 through 20 of gestation. In the Biel maze, offspring of dams treated on Days 9 through 15 of gestation showed impaired learning and memory. In the shuttlebox avoidance response, offspring of dams treated on Days 9 through 15 of gestation moved significantly more than offspring of dams treated on Days 16 through 20 of gestation. Masculine sexual behavior was markedly reduced in male offspring of dams treated on Days 9 through 15 of gestation. However, no significant differences between groups in blood pressure nor heart rate were noted. We conclude that male offspring of dams treated with BrdU on Days 9 through 15 of gestation are hyperactive without hypertension and that these offspring show an impairment of masculine sexual behavior, i.e., hyposexuality.

Analysis of Variance↗