SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Maternal 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 829 records · Page 46Linked to original sources

PubMed2006

Maternal care associated with methylation of the estrogen receptor-alpha1b promoter and estrogen receptor-alpha expression in the medial preoptic area of female offspring.

Variations in maternal behavior are associated with differences in estrogen receptor (ER)-alpha expression in the medial preoptic area (MPOA) and are transmitted across generations such that, as adults, the female offspring of mothers that exhibit increased pup licking/grooming (LG) over the first week postpartum (i.e. high LG mothers) show increased ERalpha expression in the MPOA and are themselves high LG mothers. In the present studies, cross-fostering confirmed an association between maternal care and ERalpha expression in the MPOA; the biological offspring of low LG mothers fostered at birth to high LG dams show increased ERalpha expression in the MPOA. Cross-fostering the biological offspring of high LG mothers to low LG dams produces the opposite effect. We examined whether the maternal programing of ERalpha expression is associated with differences in methylation of the relevant ERalpha promoter. Levels of cytosine methylation across the ERalpha1b promoter were significantly elevated in the adult offspring of low, compared with high, LG mothers. Differentially methylated regions included a signal transducer and activator of transcription (Stat)5 binding site and the results of chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed decreased Stat5b binding to the ERalpha1b promoter in the adult offspring of low, compared with high, LG mothers. Finally, we found increased Stat5b levels in the MPOA of neonates reared by high, compared with low, LG mothers. These findings suggest that maternal care is associated with cytosine methylation of the ERalpha1b promoter, providing a potential mechanism for the programming of individual differences in ERalpha expression and maternal behavior in the female offspring.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Behavioral responses of juvenile rats (Rattus norvegicus) to neonates after infusion of maternal blood plasma.

Individual 18- or 30-day-old male and female Wistar rats (juveniles) were continuously exposed to 3-8-day-old pups for 5 days (sensitization) after intravenous (iv) infusion of maternal blood plasma (PL group) or 5% dextrose and water (IC group) through chronically implanted cannulas and were compared with nonhandled littermate controls (NHC group). The results showed complex interactions with sex and age of the animals tested, depending upon which maternal behaviors were examined. First, plasma from parturient females selectively increased retrieving behavior in 30-day-olds, and it was more powerful in females than in males. Second, on the first day, prior to sensitization, both PL and IC 30-day-olds showed higher frequencies of retrieving, crouching, anogenital licking, and contact than did nonhandled juveniles. Third, 30-day-olds that received maternal blood plasma continued to retrieve pups, with a latency peak for retrieving occurring at 72 hours, suggesting a long-term effect of plasma not seen in control animals. Fourth, 18-day-old subjects did not generally show effects of any of our manipulations, but they did show more nest building and contact behaviors than did 30-day-old subjects. Last, we found that the iv cannulation and infusion procedures led to a persistent dissociation of retrieving behavior from play in older animals and an integration of retrieving with crouching and licking regardless of whether maternal plasma or control infusion was administered. Retrieving behavior was associated with play behaviors (charge and pounce) in younger juveniles and in older, nonhandled control animals irrespective of treatment. For these animals, no integration of retrieving occurred with other maternal behaviors.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Diazepam facilitates acceptance of alien lambs by postparturient ewes.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of diazepam on the behavior of parturient ewes towards alien lambs. There is evidence that benzodiazepines cause behavioral changes during the lactation period in rats. In two independent experiments, it was found that the ewes acceptance of alien lambs significantly increased following a single injection of the benzodiazepine, diazepam, given either 1 or 12 h after parturition. In a third experiment, in which the alien lamb was not permitted to suckle during a period of 2 h after the injection, the diazepam treatment did not provoke significant differences in maternal behavior of the ewes, although in the ewes treated with diazepam, suckling clearly tended to increase. At the dose employed (20 mg), administered 1 h after birth, diazepam caused no signs of sedation as assessed in an open-field test carried out 3 h after parturition. This doesn't eliminate the possibility of diazepam having a sedative effect in the period of 2 h immediately after its administration and before the test and, in this way, facilitating suckling which could be responsible for the maternal behavior observed after this period. As diazepam gives rise to an enhanced GABAergic activity in the brain, these observations suggest that a GABAergic mechanism could also play a role in the process whereby ewes form a selective bond with their own offspring.

Aggression↗

PubMed1999

Fatal attraction: interest in infants and infant abuse in rhesus macaques.

This study investigated whether infant abuse by female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) is a phenomenon specific to their own offspring or reflects a general tendency to interact negatively with infants. Several aspects of the relationship between maternal behavior, infant handling, and infant harassment were also investigated. Study subjects were 20 group-living rhesus mothers with their infants observed during the first 12 weeks of lactation. The results of this study indicate that abusive mothers are highly attracted to infants in general but that infant abuse is a phenomenon specific to their own offspring. Infant harassment is not an accidental by-product of infant handling or the result of maternal inexperience but it is likely related to reproductive competition among lactating females. Maternal behavior and infant handling may be regulated by similar proximate mechanisms, but probably have different adaptive functions and evolutionary history across the Primate order. Am J Phys Anthropol 110:17-25.

Aggression↗

PubMed1993

Breastfeeding patterns: comparing the effects on infant behavior and maternal satisfaction of using one or two breasts.

In the Western world advice given by breastfeeding consultants about the use of one or two breasts at each feed has resulted in apparently arbitrary changes over time. This study compared 1-month-old breastfed infants' reactions to single- and two-breast feeds in terms of restlessness, crying, sleeping, and frequency of feeds, wet diapers, and loose stools. Eighty mothers were randomly assigned at the maternity ward, 44 to the single-breast group and 36 to the two-breast group. At one-month follow-up no differences between the groups were seen regarding any infant behavior variables, or in terms of maternal satisfaction, confidence, and mood throughout the full 24-hour observation period or during a 6-hour period in the evening. Compliance with the assigned feeding method was better in the two-breast than in the one-breast group. This may partly be due to tradition, since the two-breast practice has been recommended by child health nurses in Sweden for over 50 years. It seems reasonable that a baby should be allowed to finish the first breast and, if still hungary, be offered the second breast. The baby's appetite is the deciding factor.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Analysis of imprinted murine Peg3 locus in transgenic mice.

Peg3 is an imprinted gene exclusively expressed from the paternal allele. It encodes a C(2)H(2) type zinc-finger protein and is involved in maternal behavior. It is important for TNF-NFkB signaling and p53-mediated apoptosis. To investigate the imprinting mechanism and gene expression of Peg3 and its neighboring gene(s), we used a 120 kb Peg3-containing BAC clone to generate transgenic mice. The BAC clone contains 20 kb of 5' and 80 kb of 3' flanking DNA, and we obtained three transgenic lines. In one of the lines harboring one copy of the transgene, Peg3 was imprinted properly. In the other two lines, Peg3 was expressed upon both maternal and paternal transmission. Imprinted expression was linked to the differential methylation of a region (DMR) upstream of the Peg3 gene. A second, maternally expressed gene, Zim1, present on the transgene was expressed irrespective of parental inheritance in all lines. These data suggest that, similar to other imprinted genes within domains, Peg3 and Zim1 are regulated by one or more elements lying at a distance from the genes. The imprinting of Peg3 seen in one line may reflect the presence of a responder sequence. Concerning the expression of the Peg3 transgene, we detected appropriate expression in the adult brain. However, this was not sufficient to rescue the maternal behavior phenotype seen in Peg3 deficient animals.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Adoption reverses the long-term impairment in glucocorticoid feedback induced by prenatal stress.

The development of the organism is subjected to critical and complex influences during the perinatal period. Prenatal and postnatal stresses can have different long-term behavioral effects, and appropriate postnatal manipulations can counteract the behavioral effects of prenatal stress. In the present study, we investigated the involvement of changes in the activity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in the long-term effects of prenatal and postnatal events and of interactions between them. We investigated stress-induced corticosterone secretion and hippocampal corticosteroid receptors in male adult rats submitted to prenatal and/or postnatal manipulations. Repeated restraint during the last week of pregnancy was used as prenatal stressor, and adoption at birth was used to change the postnatal environment. We found that (1) prenatal stress prolongs stress-induced corticosterone secretion in adult rats, which was attributed to the observed decrease in central corticosteroid receptors; (2) adoption, irrespective of the stress experience of the foster mother, reverses the effects of prenatal stress; and (3) adoption per se increases maternal behavior and decreases the stress-induced corticosterone secretion peak in the adult offspring. In conclusion, certain prenatal and postnatal manipulations appear to have opposite long-term effects on the activity of the HPA axis, and adoption, probably by modifying maternal behavior, can protect against the effects of prenatal stress. Thus, changes in the activity of the HPA axis may be one of the biological substrates of the long-term effects of certain perinatal events.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

[Influence of acute and chronic administrations of beta-casomorphins on the maternal motivation in albino rats].

The influence of food-derived opioid peptides beta-casomorphines on the manifestation of nursing albino rats maternal behavior was investigated. It was shown that both acute and chronic (during the postnatal period) administration of beta-casomorphin-7 (Tyr-Pro-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro), the typical representative of this group of peptides, decreases the level of the parental motivation. The effects of beta-casomorphin-7 were naloxone-dependent; N-terminal-reduced analogues had a significantly lesser activity. The obtained results testify in favor of the probable role of casein opioid fragments which were formed in mammary glands of a nursing female, in the development of maternal behavior abnormalities. At the same time, beta-casomorphins could be considered as the limiting factors to the excessive manifestation of the parental motivation.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Dorsolateral columns of the spinal cord are necessary for both suckling-induced neuroendocrine reflexes and the kyphotic nursing posture in lactating rats.

Maternal behavior in rats consists of active behaviors, such as retrieval and licking of pups, and quiescent nursing, including the suckling-induced kyphotic (upright, dorsally-arched) posture. Because lesions of the dorsolateral, but not of the dorsal, columns are known to prevent the suckling-induced milk-ejection reflex, we asked whether the same is true for kyphosis as well. Bilateral lesions of the dorsolateral funiculus (DLF) or dorsal columns (DC) at spinal segments C(4-6) were made on day 5-8 postpartum; controls (CON) were subjected to a sham procedure. All aspects of maternal behavior and lactation were present in CON and DC dams soon after treatment. Among DLF dams, two had poor postural, ambulatory, and ingestive recovery that was associated with large lesions extending to the ventrolateral columns, while one with very small lesions continued to lactate. Of the remaining eight DLF dams, milk ejection was lost while recovery of retrieval and licking of pups occurred in all (between 1 and 4 days after surgery). All eight were quiescent for long periods in response to suckling but they did not display sustained kyphosis; rather, they nursed while prone or hunched over the pups, with little or no leg support, or while supine. Ventral trunk cutaneous sensitivity was present in all subjects. These data suggest that the dorsolateral funiculus relays both suckling-induced neuroendocrine and postural nursing reflexes that are mediated by separate supraspinal regions, hypothalamus and the ventrolateral sectors of the caudal periaqueductal gray, respectively.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

The temporal course of expression of c-Fos and Fos B within the medial preoptic area and other brain regions of postpartum female rats during prolonged mother--young interactions.

Maternal behavior is associated with an increase in the expression of c-Fos and Fos B within neurons of the medial preoptic area (MPOA) and ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (vBST). Whether this increase wanes as the duration of mother-young interaction increases is unknown. By varying the length of mother-young interactions in postpartum rats, the authors found that within the MPOA/vBST, the levels of both c-Fos and Fos B, once elevated, remained significantly above control levels through 47 hr of pup exposure. The persistence of c-Fos and Fos B within the MPOA/vBST of females that remained with pups was almost unique in that only one other neural area, the anterior magnocellular part of the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus, showed such a response. Because MPOA/vBST neurons are essential for maternal behavior, the results suggest that c-Fos and Fos B expression within these regions may be necessary to maintain their normal functional activity.

Animals↗

PubMed1980

Social interactions of orphans observed in a free-ranging troop of Japanese monkeys.

During 4 years of observations of a troop of free-ranging Japanese monkeys, more than 40 'orphans', young monkeys who lost their mothers, were found. Most infants who lost their mothers before the weaning period could not survive, while young animals over 1 year old could survive their mothers' deaths. Adult males of the troop and immature close relatives were observed to become the caretaker of these orphans. With a few exceptions, adult females were indifferent to orphans. Grooming behavior, rank, solitariness of males, and maternal behavior of females are compared between orphans and non-orphans.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Gene array profiling of large hypothalamic CNS regions in lactating and randomly cycling virgin mice.

A dramatic example of neuronal and physiological plasticity in adult mammals occurs during the transition from a non-maternal to a maternal, lactating state. In this study, we compared gene expression within a large continuous region of the CNS involved in maternal behaviors (hypothalamus, preoptic regions, and nucleus accumbens) between lactating (L) (postpartum Day 7) and randomly cycling virgin (V) outbred mice. Using high-density oligonucleotide arrays representing 11,904 genes, two statistical algorithms were used to identify significant differences in gene expression: robust multiarray (P < 0.001) (n = 92 genes) and significance analysis of microarrays using a 10% false discover rate (n = 114 genes). 27 common genes were identified as significant using both techniques. A subset of genes (n = 5) were selected and examined by real-time PCR. Our findings were consistent with previous published work. For example, neuropeptide Y (NPY) and proenkephalin were elevated in L mice, whereas POMC was decreased. Increased levels of NPY Y2 receptor and polo-like kinase and decreased levels of endothelin receptor type b in L mice are examples of novel gene expression changes not previously identified. Expression differences occurred in broad classes. Together, our findings provide possible new material on gene expression changes that may support maternal behaviors. The advantages and drawbacks of sampling large CNS regions using arrays are discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Guidance and differentiation of maternally directed orienting behaviors: probing the origins of filial attachment.

Newborn rats seek and attain contact with their mothers by orienting and primitive locomotor behaviors called maternally-directed orienting behaviors (MDOBs). By 2 days of age MDOBs are elicited specifically by maternal features and are heightened by a period of acute separation from the mother. This behavioral regulation by the mother's presence suggests an early form of filial attachment. To probe for other evidence of filial attachment, two aspects of the controls of MDOBs were investigated: (1) whether MDOBs are goal-corrected in relation to the dam's position and (2) whether the performance of MDOBs can be separated from that of suckling. It was found that, during the first 2 days after birth, MDOBs maintained the pup's ventrum-to-ventrum contact with the dam regardless of her position, suggesting that they are goal-corrected. Evidence was not found for independent controls of nipple grasping (NG), the behavior that initiates suckling, and MDOBs during the first two postnatal days.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Links between community violence and the family system: evidence from children's feelings of relatedness and perceptions of parent behavior.

In this study, we examined some of the ways in which broader ecological systems may influence the organization of behavior within the family system. Specifically, links between exposure to community violence and children's relationships with maternal caregivers were investigated in a sample of 127 urban children between the ages of 7 and 13 years. Children were asked to indicate whether they had been exposed to a wide variety of violent events. In addition, their feelings of relatedness and separation anxiety, and their perceptions of maternal behavior were assessed. It was expected that exposure to community violence would be associated with feeling less secure with caregivers. Consistent with predictions from ecological-transactional theory, data supported this hypothesis. Children who reported that they had been exposed to high levels of community violence also indicated that they felt less positive affect when with their caregiver, were dissatisfied with how close they felt to her, felt more separation anxiety, and reported more negative maternal behavior than children exposed to less violence. Findings are discussed in terms of how violence may affect the family system and the protective function of human attachment.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Maternal smoking behavior, background and neonatal health in Finnish children subsequently placed in foster care.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate retrospectively neonatal health and maternal background among a sample of children taken into custody and placed in foster care and to investigate the relation between medical and social risk in the neonatal period. METHOD: The data-linkage study combined two registries: the Finnish Medical Birth Registry (MBR), from January 1, 1987 to December 31, 1989, and the Finnish Child Welfare Registry (CWR) from January 1, 1987 to December 31, 1997 using personal identification numbers (n=1,668). As controls all Finnish children born in 1987 were chosen (n=59,727). Infant neonatal health was estimated using the following indicators: birth-weight and birth-length, birth-weight by gestational age, 1-minute Apgar scores, and discharge age from the nursery. Maternal background characteristics included maternal age, parity, marital status, number of antenatal visits at maternity clinics and smoking during pregnancy. RESULTS: We found that the 1,668 children in the study had a lower birth-weight and birth-length, shorter gestational age, lower 1-minute Apgar scores and later discharge from the nursery than the population-based controls. The proportion of teen-age mothers was about four times higher and the proportion of unmarried women was twice as high. A majority of the women (56%) reported smoking during pregnancy, compared with only 15% of the population-based comparisons. Children subsequently taken into custody had poorer health at the time of birth than other children and these differences could only partly be explained by the differences in smoking habits during pregnancy. The women in the study made use of the free health controls at maternity clinics as much as the population-based comparisons. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that social and medical risks are related in the neonatal period. Since almost all mothers visit maternity clinics, there are possibilities for early intervention.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Neuronal and behavioral differences between Mus musculus domesticus (C57BL/6JBy) and Mus musculus castaneus (CAST/Ei).

Previous studies have demonstrated that classical inbred strains of laboratory mice do not exhibit large genetic distances when simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are used to test for their polymorphisms whereas mice from wild origin exhibit high polymorphisms (more than 90%) for these sequence when compared with classical inbred strains of laboratory mice. The difference between Mus musculus castaneus and C57BL/6J reaches 98% and F1s male and female are fertile. These two properties pave the way for gene mapping derivating segregating generations between these strains. The phenotypical characteristics of Mus musculus castaneus have not been investigated, unfortunately. The first screening of Mus musculus castaneus and C57BL/6By was carried out for sensorial and motor development, spontaneous behavior in new environment, paw preference, maternal behavior, aggression in two different situations and time to learn escape in a water maze. Morphometry of hippocampus and weight of the male reproductive organs for measures that have been reported to be correlated with several of the examined behavior are also reported. The authors tested also reactivity to one drug (beta-CCM) revealing seizure proneness. The two strains differ for 69% of the reported measures. Comparison to other strains for the same measures obtained in the laboratory for identical tests with mice reared in identical situations provided the mean to compare Mus musculus castaneus with a large set of more or less traditional mice. This strain has the most extreme position for 80% of the comparisons.

Aggression↗

PubMed1994

Children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors and maternal health problems.

Examined the impact of a range of health related constructs reflecting maternal physical symptomatology, health services utilization, subjective health status, depressed mood, medical-psychological complaints, and marital adjustment on children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in a community sample (N = 145). Physical symptomatology predicted a general second-order latent factor of children's behavior problems. Depressed mood predicted a primary latent factor of internalizing child behavior problems. Seizure symptoms, and more health problems in the last 4 years specifically predicted child psychosomatic complaints/anxiety. Thus, general physical symptoms predicted a broad spectrum of problem behaviors, whereas specific mental or physical health problems predicted similar distinct problem behavior syndromes. Implications of these results for identifying children at risk for psychopathology, and the relevance of social learning theory and a broader based family systems approach are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1983

Reproductive functioning in the prenatally stressed female rat.

The reproductive behavior and physiology of female offspring of rats stressed during pregnancy were assessed. Mothers were restrained and placed under bright, hot lights from Day 14 through 21 of gestation. This treatment, which is known to disrupt the sexual behavior of male offspring, did not alter reproductive functioning in the female offspring. The females showed evidence of normal cyclicity, sexual behavior, pregnancy, parturition, pup survival, and maternal behavior when tested beginning at 70 or at 140 days of age.

Animals↗