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PubMed2002

Androgen and behavior in the male three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus I.--changes in 11-ketotestosterone levels during the nesting cycle.

Circulating 11-ketotestosterone (11KT) levels are higher during the courtship phase than during the later parental phase in a number of male teleosts. The present study describes the temporal changes in 11KT levels and their relationships to changes in courtship behavior, after different number of spawnings, over the nesting cycle of the male three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, a small teleost showing pronounced paternal behavior. Plasma 11KT levels, measured by radioimmunoassay, were approximately 34 times higher during the initial courtship phase than at the end of the following parental phase in spawned males. In addition, males that spawned with three or more females on a single day showed an earlier decline in 11KT levels and in courtship behavior compared to males that were only allowed to spawn with a single female. Plasma 11KT levels remained high in males not allowed to spawn.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The nested variant of urothelial carcinoma: a rare but important bladder neoplasm with aggressive behavior. Three case reports and a review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: To describe our experience with the nested variant of urothelial carcinoma (UC-NV) of the bladder, by characterization of the clinical picture and the prognostic implications of this rare form of bladder neoplasm. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three cases of UC-NV of the bladder treated in our institutions were revised and data compared with previously published case-reports. RESULTS: Three patients presented with advanced muscle-invasive UC-NV, of which two had lymph node metastasis at cystoprostatectomy. The histopathology in the latter two cases showed the same picture in the lymph node metastasis as in the primary tumor with nests of tumor cells with mild-moderate atypia. In all three cases the tumor involved a ureteric orifice or the bladder neck. CONCLUSION: UC-NV is a rare but important histopathologic entity. It has a poor prognosis. At early stage, tumors might be difficult to differentiate from benign conditions and awareness of the condition is of outermost importance.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Maternal behavior, milk ejection, and plasma hormones in Hatano high- and low-avoidance rats.

Hatano high- and low-avoidance (in a two-way active avoidance task) animals (HAA and LAA, respectively) were successfully selected from a Sprague-Dawley rat population. Pup growth of both strains was dependent on the maternal strain in a cross-fostering study. To determine whether there are strain-specific differences between HAA and LAA in maternal care, both strains of dams were subjected to a test battery as measured by nest building, home cage behavior, pup retrieval, and milk ejection tests. In addition, changes in plasma concentrations of lactotropic and corticotropic hormones such as prolactin, ACTH, and corticosterone were examined during lactation. The test battery indicated that the dams of both strains built good nests and spent an identical amount of time with their offspring. However, LAA dams showed a prolonged latency time for pup retrieval and often left pups outside the nest until the end of the test period. LAA dams also showed a decreased amount of milk ejection, whereas no strain differences were observed in milk ejection after oxytocin treatment. During lactation, a lesser increase in plasma concentrations of prolactin and a greater increase in ACTH were found in LAA dams. There were no differences between the two strains in plasma concentrations of corticosterone. These results clearly demonstrated decreases in maternal behavior and milk ejection in LAA as compared to HAA dams. The present results also suggest that maternal motivation and mechanisms responsible for maternal hormones related to suckling are involved in the degree of pup growth.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Maternal androgens in eggs of communally breeding guira cuckoos (Guira guira).

Variation of maternal androgens in avian eggs may be a mechanism of maternal influence on offspring development, growth, and/or behavior. We studied yolk androgen concentrations in eggs of guira cuckoos (Guira guira) to understand how females might enhance the success of offspring in a complex communal breeding system. We measured concentrations of androstenedione, 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone, and testosterone in yolks and identified eggs and clutches of individuals in joint nests by yolk protein electrophoresis. Androstenedione had the highest yolk concentration, at least 10 times higher than that of testosterone and 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone. The first eggs of individual females that laid two or three eggs in a joint nest had lower androstenedione concentrations than their second and third eggs, the latter having a lower probability of being ejected from the nest. This implies that guira cuckoo females may influence offspring survival and competitiveness in communal nests by means of differential allocation of androstenedione and laying tactics. There was significant variation in yolk androstenedione among females, but the order in which females entered laying in the communal clutch had no effect on the concentrations. Androstenedione yolk concentrations increased with communal clutch size, which may indicate that higher levels of competition in larger groups lead to higher yolk androgen concentrations. Finally, androstenedione concentrations were higher in clutches in the later wetter periods of the rainy season than during the earlier drier period. This may be explained by the high frequency of large clutches in the later periods, with more females contributing to a joint clutch.

Androgens↗
PubMed1988

Intrauterine repair of a lesion resembling cleft lip and its effect on maternal behavior in rats.

Two studies were done to determine the ideal day to perform an intrauterine procedure and to explore maternal behavior toward repaired cleft lip offspring rats. The first study showed that the best time to create a surgical cleft lesion was on the 19th day of pregnancy. Thus, for the second study rat fetuses were operated in utero on the 19th day of gestation, and the pups were delivered by cesarean section. One group was obtained with a lesion resembling cleft lip and a second group with repair of such lesion. Nonoperated litter mates were used as a control group. Two animals of each type were placed inside a cage, and the order in which the mother retrieved them and carried them to the nest was noted. Statistical analysis showed that retrieving them was not at random. All controls and 14 out of 18 treated animals were retrieved, but only 4 out of 18 of the clefted group were retrieved.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Androgen and behavior in the male three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus. II. Castration and 11-ketoandrostenedione effects on courtship and parental care during the nesting cycle.

Courtship declines and ceases while parental care increases in the presence of developing eggs during the nesting cycle of the male three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus. Furthermore, circulating 11-ketotestosterone (11KT) levels are higher during the initial "courtship phase" than during the later "parental phase," similar to that found in other paternal fishes. This study aimed to investigate a possible functional relationship between changes in 11KT levels and changes in reproductive behavior during the nesting cycle. To this end, groups of nonspawned and spawned male sticklebacks were sham-operated, castrated, or castrated and treated with 11-ketoandrostenedione (11KA), and the effects of the treatments on courtship and parental care were studied. Castration removed circulating 11KT, while 11KA replacement prevented the natural decline in 11KT during the parental phase (11KA converts to 11KT extratesticularly), as assessed by radioimmunoassay. Regardless of treatment, parental care remained low and courtship was present in all nonspawned males, even at the end of the experiment. However, courtship did eventually decline in castrated nonspawned males compared to the other two nonspawned groups. In all treatments of spawned males there was a drastic decline in courtship and an increase in parental care. In castrated spawned males, however, the decline in courtship came earlier than in the other two spawned groups. 11KA treatment did not prevent the natural decline in courtship/increase in parental care in spawned males, indicating that the natural decline in 11KT is not responsible for the main portion of the rapid changes in these behaviors over the stickleback's nesting cycle. The limited effects of castration also exclude other gonadal hormones from being responsible for most of these changes.

Androgens↗
PubMed1985

Influence of early beta-endorphin treatment on the behavior and reaction to beta-endorphin in the adult male rat.

A study was made of the influence of early exposure to beta-endorphin (beta-END) on the adult behavior and response to beta-END in male rats. beta-END was given during a neonatal period, at 1-5 days of age (1 microgram/animal/day s.c.). Recordings of the development of home-nest-orientation ability, body weights, and sex-specific approach behavior showed that the early beta-END treatment did not have debilitating or other non-specific effects. The early beta-END treatment did cause significant changes in the establishment of the adult pattern of sex-specific approach behavior. Copulatory behavior was not apparently influenced. Intracerebroventricular injection of beta-END (1 microgram) at an adult age induced changes in exploratory and copulatory behaviors and in the pattern of sex-specific approach behavior. The reaction to this treatment with respect to components of socio-sexual behavior differed significantly between males treated early with beta-END and their corresponding controls. No differences were observed in behaviors in the exploratory test situation. It is concluded that early beta-END treatment in rats influences components of socio-sexual behavior and the response to exogenous beta-END in adulthood.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Repeated morphine administration during pregnancy attenuates maternal behavior.

The present study tested the hypothesis that repeated administration of morphine on days 11-18 of pregnancy alters maternal behavior. Saline- and morphine-treated mothers were observed with their pups in two experiments. Rats were always tested twice a day during the light and dark phases of the reverse light/dark cycle. In Experiment 1, 12 types of activities and three types of nursing positions of mothers were recorded ten times during each 50-minute session for the 23-day lactation period. A decrease in nursing and active maternal behavior, and an increase in self-care, rearing and sniffing was found in morphine-treated mothers. Additionally, both saline- and morphine-treated mothers exhibited significantly more maternal behavior during the light, and non-maternal activities during the dark sessions of each day. Moreover, both saline- and morphine-treated mothers displayed significantly less maternal behavior and more non-maternal activities as postpartum time progressed. In Experiment 2, a different group of mothers was tested for pup retrieval from postnatal days 1 through 12. Morphine-treated mothers were slower than saline-treated mothers in retrieving all pups into the nest. However, there were no differences in latency to carry the first pup and return him/her to the nest. No unusual maternal behaviors were observed during the retrieval tests. Thus, the present study suggests that morphine administration during the second half of pregnancy attenuates some components of maternal behavior and increases non-maternal activities of mothers.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Behaviour and hormone concentrations in nest deprived and renesting hens.

1. Nest and egg deprivation is a procedure traditionally used to disrupt incubation behaviour expression in commercial flocks. The aim of this study was to establish how nest deprivation affects the subsequent changes in behaviour and hormone secretion and whether readiness to renest is related to hormone concentration before and during nest deprivation. 2. Incubating broiler breeder hens were deprived of their nest either in their familiar environment, by blocking the nest entrance in the home cage or in an unfamiliar environment, by transfer in a different cage. After 3 days of nest deprivation, next access was allowed and readiness to incubate tested. 3. Both methods of nest deprivation resulted in the expression of similar behaviours associated with the disruption of incubation, and similar increases in plasma LH and oestradiol and decreases in plasma prolactin. The percentage (approximately 70%) of hens which renested after either method of nest deprivation did not differ significantly. 4. Readiness to renest was not related to the concentrations of plasma prolactin measured before or during the 3 days of nest deprivation. However, hens which would later renest could be identified by using behavioural criteria. They emitted more avoidance trills before, and sat on the wire floor for longer periods during, the nest deprivation period than the others.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Female preference for nest size in the stream goby Rhinogobius sp DA.

Females of the stream goby Rhinogobius sp. DA with paternal care favor males courting in fast water currents, whereby they mate males of high parental ability. Here we examined female choice of male nest size of this goby in laboratory. The dichotomous choice experiment clearly indicated that females prefer large nests. Spawning at large nests seems to improve egg survival rates in natural habitats in this goby. We discuss the possibility of multiple criteria in mate choice of this goby.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

A longitudinal-experimental approach to testing theories of antisocial behavior development.

A longitudinal study with a nested preventive intervention was used to test five hypotheses generated from developmental theories of antisocial behavior. The longitudinal study followed 909 boys from their kindergarten year up to 17 years of age. The randomized multimodal preventive intervention targeted a subsample of boys who were rated disruptive by their kindergarten teacher. Semiparametric analyses of developmental trajectories for self-reported physical aggression, vandalism, and theft identified more types of trajectories than expected from recent theoretical models. Also, these trajectories did not confirm theoretical models, which suggest a general increase of antisocial behavior during adolescence. The majority of boys were on either a low-level antisocial behavior trajectory or a declining trajectory. Less than 6% appeared to follow a trajectory of chronic antisocial behavior. Comparisons between disruptive and nondisruptive kindergarten boys confirmed the hypothesis that disruptive preschool children are at higher risk of following trajectories of frequent antisocial behavior. Comparisons between treated and untreated disruptive boys confirmed that an intensive preventive intervention between 7 and 9 years of age, which included parent training and social skills training, could change the long-term developmental trajectories of physical aggression, vandalism, and theft for disruptive kindergarten boys in low socioeconomic areas. The results suggest that trajectories of violent behavior can be deflected by interventions that do not specifically target the physiological deficits that are often hypothesized to be a causal factor. The value of longitudinal-experimental studies from early childhood onward is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Patterns of lipid storage and mobilisation in the female green sea turtle ( Chelonia mydas).

Reproductive data from southern Queensland indicate that vitellogenesis in female Chelonia mydas takes approximately 8 months and is followed by a migration to a breeding area. At Heron Island, females lay multiple clutches over approximately 3 months. To investigate how females mobilise and store lipid during the breeding season we collected plasma, yolk, and fat tissue samples from females at a variety of stages during the nesting season. In breeding females, concentrations of plasma triglyceride increased seasonally. They reached peak concentrations during vitellogenesis and courtship, remained high throughout the nesting season, and then declined to a nadir after the last clutch. Plasma protein concentration increased throughout the breeding season, peaking following the last clutch for the season. Yolk lipids were highest during courtship and were similar throughout the nesting season, suggesting that uptake of lipid by ovarian follicles is completed prior to the beginning of the nesting season. Plasma triglyceride decreases in females with prolonged periods of unsuccessful nesting, and total lipid levels in adipose tissue and follicle yolks were significantly lower in atretic females. It appears that: (1) endogenous energy reserves can be reduced by stochastic environmental events (such as those reducing nesting success), and (2) a metabolic shift signalling the end of the nesting season is characterised by a drop in plasma triglycerides and slight increase in total plasma protein.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1982

Preferential nesting in lemon-scented environment in rats reared on lemon-scented bedding from birth to weaning.

Newborn rats (males and females) were reared on lemon scented shavings from birth to weaning. The experienced rats (111 animals) and their controls (135 animals) were tested for lemon odor preference at 21, 51, 81, 111 and 141 days of age. The test box consisted of two preference chambers, containing wood shavings, interconnected by a starting compartment. Shavings of one of the preference chambers were sprinkled with natural lemon juice. The preference ratio was obtained on the basis of the chamber selected for nesting. The results clearly show that (1) sex differences occur in both experienced and control groups of rats and (2) rats reared on lemon scented bedding from birth to weaning acquire a permanent preference for nesting in the lemon scented chamber. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that an imprinting-like process takes place.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Lesions of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus disrupt the initiation of maternal behavior.

Electrolytic lesions of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus were found to disrupt the initiation but not the maintenance of maternal behavior in primiparous Sprague-Dawley rats. Following lesions performed on Day 15 of gestation, measures of maternal behavior (grouping, crouching, and nest building), pup retrieval, and pup weight gain were all impaired, but only if the lesion included the most rostral and medial aspects of the PVN. Lesions sparing these regions and sham surgery were generally ineffective. In a separate experiment, PVN lesions performed on Day 4 postpartum had relatively little effect on maternal behavior. As females lesioned prepartum showed changes in open-field behavior as well as maternal behavior, the PVN may be important for modulating responses not only to pups but to several kinds of novel stimuli. These results may also further implicate oxytocin, which is synthesized in the PVN, in the initiation of maternal behavior.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Genetic control of incubation behavior in the domestic hen.

The genetic control of incubation behavior was investigated in the domestic hen by analysis of the incidence of the behavior in reciprocal crosses between nonbroody White Leghorn (WL) and broody Bantam (B) lines and in a backcross of F1 males (WL male x B female) and WL females. The hypothesis tested was that a sex-linked gene (or genes) plays a dominant role in the expression of incubation behavior. The incidence of incubation behavior was tested in hens held in floor pens with access to nests containing hard-boiled eggs during a 28-wk photoinduced laying cycle. The cycle was repeated if the behavior was not observed during the first cycle. The incidence of incubation behavior in B and WL hens was 78.6% (n = 28) and 0% (n = 28), respectively. Contrary to prediction, the incidence of incubation behavior in the WL male x B female and the B male x WL female crosses were not significantly different (61.6%, n = 73; and 56.8%, n = 37, respectively). The incidence of incubation behavior in the F1 backcross was 5.8% (n = 103), which was significantly less (P < 0.001) than predicted (39.3%). It was concluded that incubation behavior was not controlled by major genes on the Z chromosome. It was hypothesized that at least two dominant autosomal genes are involved, one causing and the other inhibiting the behavior with equal influence.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

Evidence of parental care as a newly identified reproductive isolating barrier.

Variation in behavior can contribute to reproductive isolation by preventing gene flow among populations. Here, we tested the novel hypothesis that parental care, when dysregulated, can function as a reproductive isolating mechanism in three-spined stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus). In the typical "common" stickleback ecotype, males provide care to their offspring by fanning with their pectoral fins and defending their nest. In contrast, a divergent "white" stickleback ecotype has evolutionarily lost care and disperses embryos into the surrounding environment. We examined how paternal care from common, white, and F1 hybrid fathers influenced offspring survival. We detected no intrinsic incompatibilities in embryos, but F1 hybrid fathers exhibited dysregulated parental care that coincided with decreased survival of parented offspring. The increased offspring mortality may be explained by further dysregulation of feeding and parenting circuitry, as F2 hybrids exhibited significantly higher rates of post-fertilization filial cannibalism than common or white fathers. Additionally, despite strong divergence in nesting-building and courtship behavior, F1 hybrids achieved mating success at a similar rate as male commons and whites, suggesting that prezygotic barriers against hybrids may be weak. The observed postzygotic isolation, and potentially weak prezygotic isolation in lab-based studies, suggest that hybridization is likely occurring at low rates in the wild. Population genetic analysis supported this, as low proportions of putative hybrids were detected in sympatric sites. Together, these results may help explain why genetic divergence between these phenotypically distinct ecotypes is low and provide evidence that dysregulated parental behavior can act as a newly discovered postzygotic reproductive isolating barrier.

Reproductive isolation↗
PubMed2006

Behavioral changes in fish exposed to phytoestrogens.

We investigated the behavioral effects of exposure to waterborne phytoestrogens in male fighting fish, Betta splendens. Adult fish were exposed to a range of concentrations of genistein, equol, beta-sitosterol, and the positive control 17beta-estradiol. The following behaviors were measured: spontaneous swimming activity, latency to respond to a perceived intruder (mirror reflection), intensity of aggressive response toward a perceived intruder, probability of constructing a nest in the presence of a female, and the size of the nest constructed. We found few changes in spontaneous swimming activity, the latency to respond to the mirror, and nest size, and modest changes in the probability of constructing a nest. There were significant decreases, however, in the intensity of aggressive behavior toward the mirror following exposure to several concentrations, including environmentally relevant ones, of 17beta-estradiol, genistein, and equol. This suggests that phytoestrogen contamination has the potential to significantly affect the behavior of free-living fishes.

Aggression↗