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Results for “Maternal Behavior”

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PubMed1990

Effects of exposure to a pyrethroid insecticide during lactation on the behavior of infant and adult rats.

Cyhalothrin, a pyrethroid insecticide, was administered to female Wistar rats as a 0.02% solution plus 0.04% sucrose (w/v) in drinking water from whelping to pup weaning after 21 days of lactation. The pesticide did not change the maternal behavior of the dams as measured by the scoring system of Soderstein and Eneroth. The body weight of pups exposed to the pesticide and at age 90 days was not different from that of controls, and the motor activity of the pups measured in a simple photocell activity cage was not affected by pesticide treatment. Furthermore, no overt signs of neural toxicity were observed in the offspring. However, the treatment disrupted rat behavior in adulthood when assessed by using an inhibitory avoidance learning task. Thus, inhibitory avoidance tests carried out on rats at 90 days of age were capable of demonstrating neural toxicity of Cyhalothrin (0.02%) present only in the drinking water of dams during 21 days of lactation.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Lactation and weaning effects on physiological and behavioral response to stressors.

Two experiments tested the effects of lactation and weaning on heart rate (HR), corticosterone, and behavioral responses to stress in Wistar rats. In Experiment 1, HRs in lactating, weaning, and control animals were recorded for 10-min periods before, during, and after immobilization stress. Compared with control animals, lactating and weaning animals showed a diminished initial HR response. In addition, HRs of weaning animals failed to habituate and showed a delayed decline after stress termination. In Experiment 2, behaviors, HRs, and corticosterone levels in the elevated plus maze (EPM) were compared among lactating, weaning, and control animals. Compared with control animals, weaning animals exhibited more anxiety behaviors. Contrary to expectation, compared to the other two groups, lactating animals exhibited more closed-arm entries, although they may have been motivated by maternal behavior, rather than anxiety. Initial HR responses to the plus maze were attenuated in lactating animals. Corticosterone levels after the plus maze were lowest in the lactating dams and highest in the control animals. The results from these two experiments are consistent with effects of breast-feeding and weaning observed in humans. In general, lactation is associated with an attenuated initial HR response to stress, while weaning is associated with exacerbated response to stressors.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Differential effects of lipopolysaccharide on pup retrieving and nest building in lactating mice.

Behavioral symptoms of sickness that develop in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and proinflammatory cytokines include depressed locomotion, anorexia, and reduced social activities. The way maternal behavior is affected in response to cytokines has, however, not yet been investigated. We checked that lactating mice are sensitive to LPS by showing that LPS- (400 microg/kg, ip) injected mice ate and drank less than saline-injected mothers and displayed a decreased rectal temperature. At an ambient temperature of 22 degrees C, nest building was significantly decreased in LPS-treated mothers compared to saline-treated animals, whereas pup retrieving, while slower, was still present and globally as efficient as for saline-treated mice. In a second experiment, dams were either injected with physiological saline or LPS but were also exposed to a cold ambient temperature (6 degrees C) or kept in standard external condition (22 degrees C). LPS-treated mice exposed to cold expressed not only pup-retrieving but also nest-building activity. These differential results indicate that the behavioral expression of LPS-induced sickness depends on the priority of the behavior under consideration.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Effects of dopamine receptor antagonism with haloperidol on nurturing behavior in the biparental prairie vole.

Dopamine (DA) receptor activity in lactating rats is critical for retrieval and licking of pups, whereas its inactivity facilitates quiescent nursing. The role of DA in the maternal behavior of other species and its role in paternal behavior are unknown. This experiment examined the effects of the DA antagonist haloperidol (HAL) on parental behavior in the biparental prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster). Three days after birth of pups, parental behavior of male and female voles was observed for 30 min beginning 1 h after intraperitoneal injection of 0.1, 0.5, or 2.5 mg/kg of HAL. Controls received the propylene glycol vehicle. Control males were slower to contact pups, licked them more, and quiescently huddled/nursed less than control females. Even at the lowest dose of HAL that had no effect on general activity, pup licking was decreased in both sexes and the latency to contact pups increased in males. The latency to contact pups was most increased in females by the highest HAL dose. Retrieval of pups was not often displayed by any group. HAL dose-dependently decreased the latency and increased the duration of huddling/nursing in both sexes, but did not affect litter weight gains. These data indicate some subtle species differences in the dopaminergic regulation of parenting, as well as sex differences in the sensitivity of some vole parental behaviors to HAL.

Animals↗

PubMed2007

The three faces of Jay S. Rosenblatt.

This essay provides an account of the development of Jay S. Rosenblatt's approach and contributions to the study of maternal behavior and the mother-young relationship, focusing on the role in that development of his life as painter, analyst, and scientist. It is personal perspective.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Modification of mother-child interaction processes in families with children at-risk for mental retardation.

An intervention study designed to investigate the effects of maternal behavior on children's cognitive and language functioning was conducted with 40 disadvantaged preschool children at risk for mental retardation and 20 control children. Intervention was based in part upon Sigel's distancing theory, with 20 mothers encouraged to increase inductive, responsive, and complex behavior and the other 20, only inductive and responsive behavior. Results indicated that both procedures were effective in increasing targeted maternal and child behavior; control measures remained stable over sessions. Posttest results suggested that training procedures significantly increased treated children's cognitive skills compared to the control children; the treated children who were encouraged to increase the complexity of behavior outperformed the others. Training generalized to the home environment. Implications of the results for early intervention were discussed.

Child Rearing↗

PubMed1984

Relationship between the home environment and sensorimotor development of Down syndrome and nonretarded infants.

Thirteen Down syndrome and 19 nonretarded infants participated in a prospective, longitudinal study designed to investigate the effect of the home environment on sensorimotor development as assessed by infant tests and direct observation of behavior. The present paper is concerned with the age span from 6.5 to 24 months. The two groups did not differ on measures of the social environment obtained at 6.5 months but differed on such measures at 17 months. At 6.5 months, the amount of tactile stimulation, encouragement of postural control, and level of social stimulation were all related to concurrent test performance in both groups; characteristics of the inanimate environment were of longer-term predictive significance among the Down syndrome babies. At 17 months, mothers' referential speech was related to the developmental pattern from 6.5 to 24 months for the Down syndrome children. The Down syndrome children tended to explore objects as a solitary activity, whereas exploration was done within the interactional situation by the nonretarded subjects. An attempt at multiple prediction demonstrated the usefulness of an interactional approach, showing the joint predictive value of language behavior and mothers' referential speech. Of special concern was how slowness of development among Down syndrome children may be a factor producing changes in maternal behavior.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Examining the role of parental frightened/frightening subtypes in predicting disorganized attachment within a brief observational procedure.

Following Main and Hesse's hypothesis, several investigators have affirmed that frightened/frightening (FR) as well as particular atypical maternal behaviors are associated with infant disorganized and adult unresolved attachment. Here, for the first time, FR behavior was observed in (a) middle-class father-infant (n = 25) and independent mother-infant dyads (n = 50) and (b) a brief laboratory play session. In addition, relations between disorganization, unresolved attachment, and the six FR system subscales were explored. Paternal and maternal overall FR behavior was related to infant disorganization (n = 75, phi = .61, p < .001), and for a subsample where Adult Attachment Interviews were available (n = 32), to unresolved adult attachment (phi = .59, p < .001). At the subscale level, disorganized-FR behaviors were related to infant disorganization, but only for mother-infant dyads. Across the whole sample, both dissociative-FR and threatening-FR subscales were associated with infant disorganization. The dissociative-FR subscale emerged as the central predictor of infant disorganization and was the only subscale significantly related to unresolved attachment. The appearance of FR behavior in this 18-min play procedure suggests that FR probably occurs more frequently than previously suspected. The possible role of dissociative processes in unresolved adult attachment, disorganized attachment, and FR parental behavior is discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

Pheromonal emission by pregnant rats protects against infanticide by nulliparous conspecifics.

The present studies of experiments focuses on infanticide in the nulliparous rat and asks two questions. First, what do infanticidal nulliparae gain from killing unrelated young? And second, does the recently parturient female have an effective strategy to counter female infanticide? With regard to the first question, we show two benefits from killing unrelated young, namely, that the killer utilizes the young as a food resource and that she occupies the nest site of the mother whose young she has destroyed. With regard to the second question, we show that an extended period of cohabitation with a pregnant female reduces the incidence of infanticidal behavior in nulliparae. Additionally, we demonstrate that the mother emits a pheromone during pregnancy which in itself reduces the incidence of infanticide and, in fact, often makes potentially infanticidal females maternal. The possible endocrine basis of this induced maternal behavior is discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed1971

Social recovery by isolation-reared monkeys.

Total social isolation of macaque monkeys for at least the first 6 months of life consistently produces severe deficits in virtually every aspect of social behavior. Experiments designed to rehabilitate monkeys reared in isolation are described. While young isolates exposed to equal-age normal peers achieved only limited recovery of simple social responses, some mothers reared in isolation eventually exhibited acceptable maternal behavior when forced to accept infant contact over a period of months, but showed no further recovery; isolate infants exposed to surrogates were able to develop crude interactive patterns among themselves. In contrast to the above results, 6-month-old social isolates exposed to 3-month-old normal monkeys achieved essentially complete social recovery for all situations tested. It is postulated that social stimulation that both permits subjects to achieve contact acceptability and provides an interactive medium conducive to gradual development of sophisticated social behaviors will result in almost complete recovery of social capabilities previously obliterated by rearing in isolation.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2006

Unresolved states of mind, disorganized attachment relationships, and disrupted interactions of adolescent mothers and their infants.

The links between unresolved maternal attachment status, disrupted maternal interaction in play situations, and disorganized attachment relationships were examined in a study of 82 adolescent mother-infant dyads. Maternal interactive behavior was measured using the Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification coding system. Additional rating scales were developed to correspond to the 5 dimensions of disrupted maternal behavior outlined by E. Bronfman, E. Parsons, and K. Lyons-Ruth (1999). A robust association was observed between disrupted maternal behavior and disorganized attachment. Ratings of disrupted maternal behavior revealed that disorganized attachment relationships were strongly related to ratings of fearful/disoriented behavior. Moreover, mothers who were unresolved were more likely than not-unresolved mothers to show disrupted patterns of interaction with their infants. Regression analyses suggested that disrupted behavior statistically mediated the association between unresolved status and disorganized attachment relationships.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1988

Maternal interaction and language development in children with and without speech-related anomalies.

This study explores relationships among maternal behavior, child language, and location of congenital structural anomaly in three groups of 24-month-old children: 21 with speech-related anomalies (SRA), 13 with non-speech-related anomalies (NSRA), and 45 normal controls. In addition to standardized assessment of intelligence and language, children and mothers were observed in a half-hour videotaped play session, later coded for maternal and child interactive behavior. SRA children showed significantly poorer performance than controls on standardized tests. Mothers of SRA children showed significantly more Physical Teaching and Initiating relative to controls. Mothers of both SRA and NSRA children used significantly more Attention Management than did controls. The pattern of poorer child performance and maternal interactive compensations is largely confined to children whose structural disabilities are speech-related. Maternal interactive behavior is not global in its response to child disability; rather, it varies with the particular pattern of child disabilities found.

Child, Preschool↗

PubMed1993

Noradrenergic involvement in the consolidation of maternal experience in postpartum rats.

If postpartum rats are separated from pups following cesarean delivery, their maternal responsiveness declines such that in tests on day 10 they show maternal onset latencies that do not differ from those shown by virgin rats. If, however, dams are permitted a 1-h experience with pups within 36 h of cesarean delivery, rats exhibit a high level of responsiveness to foster pups on day 10 after c-section. The present research investigates the effect of the noradrenergic system in the long-term consolidation of a brief maternal experience in new mother rats. Groups of dams were cesarean delivered and were either given pups for a brief period 36 h after section (experienced) or received no experience (inexperienced). Immediately following the experience phase, dams were injected with different concentrations of the beta-adrenergic antagonist, propranolol (0, 0.5, 1.0, 5.0 mg/kg), or the adrenergic agonist, isoproterenol (0, 0.25 or 0.5 mg/kg). Ten days after cesarean delivery rats were given maternal induction tests. Rats receiving 60 min of experience and injected with propranolol exhibited significantly longer maternal onset latencies than did saline-injected rats, although their latencies were not as long as shown by the maternally inexperienced groups. In contrast, rats receiving 15 min of experience and injected with isoproterenol exhibited significantly shorter onset latencies than did saline-injected rats, whether or not they exhibited maternal behavior during the initial 15 min exposure period. These results suggest that the noradrenergic system is involved in the consolidation of a maternal experience.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Grouping in auditory temporal perception and vocal production is mutually adapted: the case of wriggling calls of mice.

Auditory Gestalt perception by grouping of species-specific vocalizations to a perceptual stream with a defined meaning is typical for human speech perception but has not been studied in non-human mammals so far. Here we use synthesized models of vocalizations (series of wriggling calls) of mouse pups (Mus domesticus) and show that their mothers perceive the call series as a meaningful Gestalt for the release of instinctive maternal behavior, if the inter-call intervals have durations of 100-400 ms. Shorter or longer inter-call intervals significantly reduce the maternal responsiveness. We also show that series of natural wriggling calls have inter-call intervals mainly in the range of 100-400 ms. Thus, series of natural wriggling calls of pups match the time-domain auditory filters of their mothers in order to be optimally perceived and recognized. A similar time window exists for the production of human speech and the perception of series of sounds by humans. Neural mechanisms for setting the boundaries of the time window are discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

MK801, an NMDA antagonist, blocks acquisition of a spatial task but does not block maternal experience effects.

Two studies were conducted to determine the effect on learning and memory of MK801, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist that acts through noncompetitive blockade of the ion channel associated with the NMDA receptor. In the first study we found a dose-dependent impairment in the acquisition of a modified radial-arm maze task, resulting from injections (IP) of MK801 10 minutes prior to training. The retention of that learning, as measured by the amount of training required for reacquisition on the following day, was unaffected by the drug. In contrast, in the second study, MK801 did not block the experience-based facilitation of maternal responding seen 8 days after one hour of exposure to pups: experienced dams showed facilitated onset of maternal behavior, relative to inexperienced dams, regardless of the drug they received. However, injections of MK-801, either just before or just after the maternal experience, did lead to some deficits in maternal responding on the first day of testing. We have previously shown that these maternal experience effects are blocked by injections (ICV, SC) of cycloheximide, a protein synthesis inhibitor. These results suggest that the NMDA system does not mediate all, if any, of cycloheximide's effects on maternal experience and, furthermore, that the NMDA system may mediate some but not all forms of learning.

Animals↗

PubMed1975

Psychosocial development and behavior of mothers of failure-to-thrive children.

The social development, emotional adaptation, and functioning of mothers of failure-to-thrive children, and of a group of matched controls were studied. Results show that maternal behavior of the mothers of the failure-to-thrive groups, while showing no overt psychopathology, did differ substantially from that of the control group.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1978

Effects of differential early experience upon parental behavior in Mus musculus.

Infant mice, reared with both parents were subjected to 1 of 4 different early experience contingencies at 3, 6, 9, and 12 days of age. Observation of parental behaviors following return of the pups to the nest revealed that mothers attended more to pups subjected to intermediate levels of stress, with the differences in maternal behavior persisting across the age span without change. Fathers exhibited marked changes in responsiveness to young across the ages observed, with their attention to young correlating directly with rate of ultrasonic calling by the young.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2001

Gene targeting: technical confounds and potential solutions in behavioral brain research.

Gene targeting allows one to create null mutations in mice and to analyze how the mutant organism responds to the lack of a single gene product. This has facilitated the molecular dissection of such complex characteristics as mammalian brain function and behavior, including learning, memory, aggression, and maternal behavior to mention a few. However, the interpretation of the phenotypical changes that arise in null mutant mice has been questioned. The possibility that genes other than the targeted one may contribute to phenotypical alterations has been raised and the importance of compensatory mechanisms has been brought to attention. This review focuses on recent advances in the literature that illustrate the caveats associated with gene targeting and also presents an overview of potential solutions for the discussed problems.

Animals↗