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At least 811 records · Page 45Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

Circadian Clock mutation in dams disrupts nursing behavior and growth of pups.

To understand the role of the circadian molecular clock in mouse reproduction, we investigated the daily rhythms associated with nursing and pup growth in Clock-mutant mice maintained under light-dark housing conditions. The daily rhythm associated with the maternal behavior of crouching had a strong diurnal peak and two weak nocturnal peaks in wild-type dams, whereas homozygotes (Clock/Clock) exhibited no significant peaks in activity. Wild-type, but not Clock-mutant, dams showed high, rhythmic levels of prolactin content in serum that corresponded with crouching. Pup body weight increased at a significantly slower rate in Clock-mutant dams compared with wild-type dams under all experimental conditions when the pups ranged from 10-15 in number. Heterozygote dams equally bred wild-type, heterozygote, or homozygote pups. The amount of milk secreted from dams, as calculated by the increase in pup body weight through suckling, was lower in Clock-mutant mothers vs. wild-type mice. When Clock-mutant dams gave birth to more than 10 pups, survival was poor for offspring until the time of weaning. The present results demonstrate that Clock mutation disrupts daily maternal behavior and the growth and survival rate of pups, especially with the breeding of more than 10 pups.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Placentophagia: a biobehavioral enigma (or De gustibus non disputandum est).

Although ingestion of the afterbirth during delivery is a reliable component of parturitional behavior of mothers in most mammalian species, we know almost nothing of the direct causes or consequences of the act. Traditional explanations of placentophagia, such as general or specific hunger, are discussed and evaluated in light of recent experimental results. Next, research is reviewed which has attempted to distinguish between placentophagia as a maternal behavior and placentophagia as an ingestive behavior. Finally, consequences of the behavior, which may also be viewed as ultimate causes in an evolutionary sense, are considered, such as the possibility of beneficial effects on maternal behavior or reproductive competence, on protection against predators, and on immunological protection afforded either the mother or the young.

Alleles↗
PubMed2001

Oxytocin: who needs it?

The neuropeptide oxytocin has been implicated in the initiation of maternal behavior, based on studies in rats and sheep. Females in both of these species naturally avoid infants until parturition when they begin to show an intense interest in maternal care. Oxytocin pathways in the brain appear to be important for this transition from avoidance to approach of the young. Recent studies in mice with a null mutation of the oxytocin gene suggest a different scenario. These mice, which completely lack oxytocin, exhibit full maternal and reproductive behavior, except for a deficit in milk ejection. Apparently, oxytocin is not essential for maternal behavior in this species. Consistent with the role of oxytocin for the transition from avoidance to approach in rats and sheep, nulliparous mice show full maternal behavior and therefore do not require the peptide for the initiation of maternal care. The species differences in the behavioral effects of oxytocin are associated with profound species differences in the location of oxytocin receptors in the brain. Recent transgenic studies suggest that these species differences in the neuroanatomical distribution of oxytocin receptors may be a function of inter-species variation in the flanking region of the oxytocin receptor gene. So, who needs oxytocin? For maternal care, not mice and (possibly) other species, like primates, with promiscuous parental care. Most important, in considering the behavioral or cognitive functions of oxytocin, one cannot accurately extrapolate across species unless one knows the species have the same neuroanatomical location of oxytocin receptors.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of prenatal aluminum exposure on neuromotor maturation in the rat.

The oral treatment of pregnant rats with AlCl3 was realized from 8th day of gestation to parturition to determine its influence on the neuromotor development of the young rats with a bank of assessment tests. As the quality of the maternal care has an influence on young rat development, the maternal behavior had also been quantified with different parameters. The results indicated that aluminum, at the two doses (160 and 200 mg/kg), had no effect on food intake, the weight of females and their maternal behavior. On the other hand, pre-weaning mortality was significantly increased in the treated dams' young. Surviving pups showed a delay in their neuromotor development as well as a weight delay during the first postnatal week. Different explicative hypotheses have been considered.

Aluminum↗
PubMed1983

The depressed mother as a source of stimulation for her infant.

Compared a group of 25 postpartum depressed mothers and 25 control mothers with respect to the level and quality of stimulation they provided for their newborn infants during a feeding session. Observer measures of maternal behavior included visual, auditory and kinesthetic stimulation and levels of unconditional positive regard. Results did not indicate any differences between the two groups in levels of stimulation. However, depressed mothers provided significantly lower levels of unconditional positive regard and exhibited less continuity of rocking behavior with their infants. A post hoc analysis that compared the extremes of the two S groups (N = 22) revealed significant differences in gazing behavior, with more depressed mothers gazing less at their infant's faces. Depressed mothers exhibited significantly lower levels of marital adjustment and had more extensive postpartum concerns. Contrary to expectations, no relationship was demonstrated between level of marital adjustment and maternal behavior toward the infant.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2007

Can knowledge of developmental processes illuminate the evolution of parental care?

There are two levels of investigation for elucidating the evolution of parental behavior. The macro level focuses on how parental behavior can evolve as an aspect of reproduction. The micro level focuses on how species variations in parental behavior evolve. Recently, modern evolutionary biology has turned to developmental biology as a source for information about how trait variability (the substrate upon which natural selection and other evolutionary mechanisms can operate) can emerge during development (called "evo-devo"). Application of this evo-devo approach to the phenomenon of parental behavior requires identification of those mechanisms that produce variations in developmental pathways leading to parental behavior. It is these variations that provide the phenotypes for the potential evolution of different parental behavior systems. Variations in rodent maternal behavior affect the development of the HPA and HPG axes in their offspring. These mechanisms are examined to reveal how such developmental variations could underlie the evolution of biparental behavior. Knowledge of the developmental mechanisms responsible for species variations in mammalian parental behavior systems may provide insight into those mechanisms that may have been involved in the evolution of parental behavior itself.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Sucking behaviors of normal 3-day-old female neonates during a 24-hr period.

Feeding behaviors were measured during six feeding sessions distributed throughout a 24-hr period in 10 normal 3-day-old female infants. Infants were individually videotaped during feeding sessions at 13:00, 17:00, 21:00, 01:00, 05:00, and 09:00 hours. Total mealtime, nutritive sucking time, pause time, number of nutritive sucks, and amount of nutrient consumed were measured. None of these feeding variables were affected by the time of day an infant was fed. Maternal interactions with their infants such as auditory stimulation, caretaking touches or tender touches were unaffected by the time of a feed. These maternal behaviors did not correlate with any of the feeding variables. These findings suggest that 3-day-old infants experiencing routine nursery care do not express specific day-night feeding differences and that certain maternal behaviors do not influence the infants' feeding pattern.

Feeding Behavior↗
PubMed1987

Inhibition of lactation in the Beagle bitch with the prolactin inhibitor cabergoline (FCE 21336): Dose response and aspects of long-term safety.

Sixteen healthy, lactating Beagle bitches with litters of three to six pups were assigned to four treatment groups for one daily oral treatment of cabergoline in an oily solution (0, 1.25, 2.50 or 5.0 mcg/kg body weight (BW) for 5 d, commencing on Day 8 of lactation. Bitches and all their puppies were weighed daily for 2 d before treatments started, and for 10 d thereafter. Technicians rated daily treatment effects on maternal health, maternal behavior and mammary glands, using a scoring system. Treatments had no effect on maternal health, maternal body weight, and maternal behavior. Treatments with the two higher doses caused a reaction and a regression of the mammary glands in a dose-related fashion, resulting in cessation of lactation with 5 mcg/kg BW. Maternal treatment did not adversely affect the puppies' health, and no puppy was lost during the trial. However, average daily weight gains of puppies declined with increasing levels of cabergoline, causing significant weight losses in the 2.5 and 5 mcg/kg treatment group. This became evident after 2 d of treatment. To save the puppies in the highest dosage group, hand-feeding, and later, crossfostering, had to be used with all litters, starting on Day 3 or 4 of treatment. Weight losses were dose-related with an ED(50) of 1.5 mcg/kg/d and persisted for at least 24 h after treatment had ceased. Since puppies were left with their mothers to provide a continued suckling stimulus, lactation rebounded in all bitches treated with 2.5 mcg/kg, but only in two of four bitches treated with 5 mcg/kg. All bitches returned to estrus at their normal intervals. Fertility and fecundity at the next breeding were undisturbed.

Journal Article↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sexual dimorphism in the vomeronasal pathway and sex differences in reproductive behaviors.

Several years ago we hypothesized that the vomeronasal system (VNS), a complex neural network involved in the control of reproductive behavior, might be sexually dimorphic. This hypothesis sprung from several facts; (a) the existence of steroid receptors in the VNS; (b) sexual dimorphism was already described in some structures that receive vomeronasal input, such as the medial preoptic area, the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus, the ventral region of the premammillary nucleus and the medial amygdaloid nucleus; and (c) the vomeronasal organ, which is the receptor organ of the VNS, was also sexually dimorphic. After that point, the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB), the bed nucleus of the accessory olfactory tract (BAOT) and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis were found to be sexually dimorphic. The aim of the present review is to show the experimental facts that confirm our earlier hypothesis and, consequently, to present the existence of a sexually dimorphic multisynaptic pathway for the first time in mammals. Sexual dimorphism in the VNS might provide a comprehensive approach to understanding the neural bases of sexually dimorphic reproductive behavior and it is suggested here that the greater number of neurons which male rats present in relation to females in most VNS structures might contribute to the inhibition of the expression of feminine copulatory behavior (lordosis) and maternal behavior in males. In addition, the mechanisms that control the development of sexual dimorphism in the VNS are discussed. The discussion takes into account the two patterns of sexual dimorphism found in the rat brain. Estrogens seem to promote the development of sexual dimorphism in both male and female rats. However, an inhibitory role of androgens might be necessary to hypothesize when males or females present a lower number of neurons and/or volume than the opposite sex. There are experimental data supporting this hypothesis in the female, since dihydrotestosterone seems to facilitate neuronal death in VNS structures, such as the AOB and the BAOT, in which females present a lower number of neurons and volume than male rats. Finally, since the lateral division of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, which belongs to the main olfactory system (MOS), is sexually dimorphic and presents anatomical relationships with some VNS structures the MOS might be sexually dimorphic.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prenatal interactions between ethanol and the industrial solvent 2-ethoxyethanol in rats: maternal and behavioral teratogenic effects.

Behavioral and neurochemical deviations in the offspring of rats exposed to 100 ppm ethoxyethanol during gestation have been reported previously. Since this compound is likely metabolized in the same manner as ethanol, the present study investigated the interactive effects of ethanol and ethoxyethanol on prenatal development. Groups of 15-20 pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were given 10% ethanol in the drinking water with or without concomitant inhalation exposure to 100 ppm ethoxyethanol during gestation days 7-13 or 14-20. Another group was exposed to 200 ppm ethoxyethanol on gestation days 7-13, and sham-exposed controls were included for both gestation periods. Ethanol alone on days 14-20 and 200 ppm ethoxyethanol reduced overall weight gain during pregnancy. As in the previous research, pregnancy duration was extended in the groups given ethoxyethanol, but not in groups given ethanol alone. Neuromotor ability, as assessed by an ascent test and by a rotorod, was reduced by 200 ppm ethoxyethanol and by ethanol alone on gestation days 7-13. The group given ethanol plus ethoxyethanol on days 14-20 spent significantly longer in the start area of an open field, and this group as well as that given 200 ppm ethoxyethanol were less active than controls in the open field and in the shuttle box. When compared with previous research, it appears that ethanol early in gestation may reduce the effects, but later in gestation may enhance the effects of prenatal ethoxyethanol.

Animals↗
PubMed2007

Mother rabbits and their offspring: timing is everything.

Mother rabbits nurse once every 24 hr for ca. 3 min. The contribution of pup stimulation to the regulation of this process was investigated by: reducing litter size to one pup, covering all the mother's nipples, or taping the mouths of an eight-pup litter. Time inside the nest box with the young significantly increased under all these conditions. Yet, eight pups sucking on a single nipple allowed a normal time in the nest box. Bringing the litter to the mother earlier than usual promoted maternal behavior expression twice in 24 hr; the proportion of responsive females and the time at which they responded depended on the size of the litter suckled. These findings indicate that: (a) suckling determines the time inside the nest box and prevents mothers from responding to further pup stimulation for a variable time; (b) pup exposure promotes maternal behavior, even "out of phase" with circadian rhythmicity.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Assessing the feeding/eating interaction as a context for the development of social competence in toddlers.

Social competence likely develops through the reciprocal nature of mother-child interactions. Interactions around food provide the young child with consistent and predictable social experiences with the mother, which may establish templates for interactive patterns with others. The Toddler Snack Scale (TSS) assesses the pattern of toddler social behaviors in relation to maternal behaviors during an eating episode. Scale reliability was examined with a sample of 126 dyads at the child's ages of 12, 24, and 36 months. Significant associations were found between TSS classifications and concurrent measures assessed with the Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS), the Control-Autonomy Balance Scale (CABS), and the Adaptive Social Behavioral Inventory (ASBI). Child temperament contributed to child expressions of social competence, but not to the assignment of maternal or child interaction styles. The scale identifies salient areas for parent-child assessment and intervention throughout infancy and toddlerhood.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Exposure to common anesthetic agents alters pup-retrieval response in lactating rats.

This study investigated the lactating stage of rats to determine the effect on maternal behavior of a single exposure to general anesthetic. Lactating Wistar rats were treated with anesthetic doses of pentobarbital (PENT) or ketamine (KET) on day 3 or 9 of lactation, and their behavioral responses were evaluated during a 50-min nursing period, after a 4-h mother-pup separation, on day 12. Exposure to KET on day 9 led to a significantly longer latency to pup-retrieval than that of the control. Duration of pup-retrieval in mothers treated with KET on day 3 and 9 was significantly longer than in the control. Other components of maternal behavior did not differ between the groups. The present findings suggested that general anesthetics have an impact upon pup-retrieval activities, which indirectly represent maternal motivation.

Adjuvants, Anesthesia↗
PubMed1993

Enhancing maternal interactive behavior and child social competence in low birth weight, premature infants.

Effects of a comprehensive early intervention program for low birth weight, premature infants--the Infant Health and Development Program--on mother-child interaction were examined at 30 months (N = 683). Small significant positive effects were found: Intervention mothers had higher ratings on quality of assistance; intervention children had higher ratings on persistence and enthusiasm and on an overall child rating of competence and involvement and lower ratings on percentage of time off-task; intervention dyads were rated as more synchronous. Of a set of initial status variables indexing biological and environmental risk, only 2 treatment interactions were found. Intervention group black children had higher ratings on enthusiasm and lower percentage of time off-task. Independent of treatment, maternal ethnicity and education were significant predictors of maternal and dyadic ratings, while ethnicity and birth weight predicted child ratings. Implications for early intervention and center-based care are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Opiate involvement in postpartum aggression in rats.

Opiates and the endogenous opioids mediate maternal behavior and various forms of aggression. The present study sought to investigate the role of opiates in postpartum aggression (PPA), an intense form of agonistic behavior displayed by lactating females. Primiparous rats were screened for their PPA against adult males on day seven postpartum. They were then randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups [morphine, 5.0 mg/kg; naloxone alone, 0.5 mg/kg; morphine (5.0 mg/kg) plus naloxone (0.5 mg/kg); and saline] and tested for PPA on postpartum days eight and nine following the respective treatments. Morphine significantly lowered PPA, and naloxone antagonized the effect. Whereas the morphine plus naloxone, naloxone alone, and saline groups exhibited higher levels of PPA than that shown by the morphine group, there were no differences in PPA found among the morphine plus naloxone, naloxone alone, or saline groups. These results, in conjunction with evidence describing the state of the endogenous opioid system in the postpartum rat, suggest that some aspect of the endogenous opioid system may be involved in another form of maternal behavior, postpartum aggression.

Aggression↗
PubMed1991

Long-term support and personal adjustment of adolescent and older mothers.

Adolescent and older mothers reported the size and quality of social networks and perceptions of family support at 1, 6, and 12 months postpartum. Maternal behavior, general life satisfaction, and parental satisfaction were assessed at 12 months. No significant differences were found in the size of social networks and quality of interactions within those networks, though older mothers had significantly higher scores on perceived family support than did adolescent mothers. Perceived family support and quality of interactions within the social network generally were associated positively with maternal behavior, life satisfaction, and parental satisfaction. This was true in more cases for the adolescent than for older mothers.

Adaptation, Psychological↗