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At least 613 records · Page 34Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Early maternal behaviors predictive of the survival of suckling rats with intergenerational malnutrition.

Mother-pup interactions during the first 12 hours post partum were studied in intergenerationally malnourished and control rats. Pup mortality during the suckling period was found to be associated with nutritional status with only 50% survival in the malnourished series, as compared to 100% survival in the control series. Litters with subsequent high pup mortality were distinguished by abnormal mothering patterns during the first 12 hours of life and reduced pup weight at the end of this period. High pup mortality was associated with increased active nursing, and reductions in passive nursing, pup licking, amount of contact with the pups and time spent in the nest by the lactating female. Thus, the stimulus to active nursing is most intense under conditions where the pups are least likely to survive, whereas the amount of stimulation provided to such pups is reduced. Maximal associations between early mother-pup interactions and subsequent pup weight and survival were present 7-9 hours after birth.

Animal Population Groups↗
PubMed1982

[Forms of care, health evaluation at 10 months, and maternal behavior].

The purpose of this survey was the comparison of 4 forms of day care: day care center, baby minder, care at home by the mother herself or care at home by someone else. A sample of 1,010 children, born to French mothers in a public hospital in Paris, was examined at a check-up clinic organized by National Social Security for 10 months old children. Home care by the mother herself was more frequent for mothers with primary level education or for families with 2 children or more; care at home by someone else was often chosen by families with high social level. The health and psychosocial and motor development of the children were not very different according to the type of day care. There was a higher frequency of acute respiratory tract infections and a lower weight gain for children in day care centers. Mothers whose children went to a day care center were more anxious about medical symptoms and more often called for a doctor.

Body Weight↗
PubMed2003

Preferences for cocaine- or pup-associated chambers differentiates otherwise behaviorally identical postpartum maternal rats.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Our previous work uncovered a differential preference of maternal female rats for cues associated with pups versus cues associated with cocaine at three different postpartum time points. Our current study examines the preference for these cues in conjunction with an assessment of the capacity to express the maternal behavior at one of these time points. We examined dams at day 10 postpartum using a procedure that included two additional controls, and a complete assessment of the expression of maternal behavior and locomotor activity. METHODS: A conditioned place-preference procedure was used to determine the preference for cocaine- or pup-associated cues. The two controls were (1) a preconditioning test to verify no initial chamber preference and (2) a separate control group of postpartum day-10 dams exposed to chambers and cues but not to unconditioned stimuli. The expression of maternal behavior was determined by measurement of maternal nest building, retrieval of pups to the nest, grooming, crouching over pups, nursing, and maternal aggression. Locomotor activity was measured with an automated apparatus. RESULTS: Dams conditioned with cocaine or pups showed a preference for either the cocaine-associated chamber or the pup-associated chamber, confirming the existence of two similar-sized preference groups at this time point. Regardless of preference, dams had equal and robust expression of maternal behavior and similar locomotor capacity. The pre-conditioning test showed no initial chamber preferences and did not alter the conditioned preference response. The use of unconditioned stimuli in the place-preference conditioning procedure was effective and necessary for the preference response. CONCLUSION: Our current study has revealed that differences in the motivational state of the maternal dam emerge even while the expression of maternal behavior is constant and substantial. The data suggest that the difference in preference is a very specific appetitive response that is not linked to expression of maternal behavior or locomotor capacity.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Hormonal and behavioral aspects of maternal care in the hamster: a review.

This review covers a description of the maternal behavior cycle in the hamster and relationships between the endocrine system and prepartum changes in activity, aggression, sexual receptivity, and maternal care. Postpartum maternal behavior consists of the mother's "normal" cannibalism of some portion of her litter, the formation of a bond between mother and her young, the development of behavioral synchrony between the mother and her pups, and maternal aggression toward conspecifics. The maternal responses of virgin female, male, and juvenile animals are described and methodological considerations in the testing of both virgin and parturient animals are presented. Finally, a theoretical framework for considering the regulation of maternal care in the hamster is presented. Two main phases of regulation are proposed; an onset phase that that originates prepartum and depends on the physiological conditions of pregnancy and a maintenance phase which provides for the continuation of maternal care during lactation and is based on both endogenous maternal factors and external litter-related stimuli. A transition period beginning at parturition facilitates the shift between the onset and maintenance phases.

Aggression↗
PubMed1998

Nests, tree holes, and the evolution of primate life histories.

In contrast to the majority of primates, many prosimians, some New World monkeys, and the great apes rest in tree holes or self-constructed nests during their inactive periods. The goal of this comparative study was to examine possible functions of this interspecific variation. Information on resting behavior, maternal behavior, and basic life-history traits was gleaned from the literature and mapped onto a phylogenetic tree of primates for various comparative tests. Parsimony-based reconstructions revealed that only the use of nests or tree holes as shelters for young infants can be unequivocally reconstructed for various higher taxa, suggesting that it is functionally different from the use of shelters by adults (who may be accompanied by infants). Further reconstructions revealed that the ancestral primate was most likely nocturnal and solitary and produced a single infant that was initially left in a shelter and later carried orally to a parking place in the vegetation--a combination of traits exhibited by many living galagos. Evolutionary losses of the use of nests were concentrated among diurnal and nonsolitary taxa and weakly associated with evolutionary increases in body size. Thus, protective functions of nests or tree holes used by prosimians are either secondary or there are alternative ways of obtaining protection. Because the evolution of larger litters was significantly associated with the presence of shelters, the presence of relatively altricial young among prosimians best explains the use of nests and tree holes, which are in most but not all cases also used by adults. These shelters therefore play an integral part in the life-history strategies of primitive primates and their ancestors and evolved secondarily among anthropoids for other purposes.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Mother-child play and emerging social behaviors among infants from maltreating families.

Mother-child play of 12-month-old infants (N=130) from maltreating (N=78) and non-maltreating (N=52) families was analyzed as a context that integrates infants' developing social and cognitive skills. Play was coded from semistructured and unstructured play paradigms. No group differences were found in infants' play maturity. Infants from abusing families demonstrated more imitative play than infants from non-maltreating families, and engaged in less independent play than infants from both neglecting and non-maltreating families, suggesting a delay in emerging social behaviors. Mothers from abusing and non-maltreating families differed in attention directing behaviors. Maternal behaviors predicted child play style variables, but did not mediate the effects of maltreatment. Findings discuss the influence of an early maltreating environment upon the development of the emergent self. Implications for early intervention are underscored.

Adult↗