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At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

An observational study of caretaking behavior of male and female mice housed together.

A time-sampling procedure was employed to examine the caretaking behavior of male mice housed with lactating females and their litters, and to investigate the effects of the male's presence on the behavior of the female. The incidences of 14 categories of behavior were recorded over 20 hr distributed throughout the period of lactation. The development of litters was monitored by regular weighing. The results show, contrary to earlier findings, that males display just as much caretaking behavior as females. Differences in other forms of behavior can be related to the increased nutritional needs of the nursing mothers. The presence of the male seems to have very little influence on the behavior of the female and no effect at all upon the physical development of the litter.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Method of estimating preference of the female rat for various sound stimuli while searching for pups.

A rat was placed without her pups in an open T-shaped maze and maternal behavior stimulated by the presentation of pups. The pups were then removed and tone pulses (7 kHz, 14 kHz) and a tape recording of the pup's pain signal were simultaneously presented from different alleys of the maze. Preference was estimated by the predominate direction of sorties during random alternation of the sound sources. Preference for the pup's pain signal was found in eight rats.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Effects of ethanol consumption on maternal behavior in the female rat.

Female rats consuming 30% ethanol (v/v) for 30 days prior to and during gestation, and during the post-partum period were tested for maternal behavior with either their own pups or pups provided by normal foster mothers. When tested with their own pups, ethanol consuming females displayed significant deficits in maternal behavior. However, when a second group of ethanol consuming females were tested with normal pups, the females displayed maternal behavior comparable to that of control females. These data suggest that gestational ethanol consumption per se does not produce a deficit in the ability to display maternal behavior. Possibly, due to ethanol related changes in the pup's own characteristics, they became a less attractive stimulus in eliciting the display of maternal behaviors from their mothers.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1995

Thermoregulatory and maternal nestbuilding in Syrian hamsters: interaction of ovarian steroids and energy demand.

To investigate the relationship between energy demand, ovarian hormones and behavioral thermoregulation, we measured nestbuilding of female Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) under conditions where energy demand and circulating ovarian hormone levels varied. Hamsters increased nestbuilding under conditions of chronically elevated estradiol and progesterone levels (late gestation; ovariectomized animals treated with estradiol +/- progesterone) and increased energy demand (late gestation or cold exposure). When hormone treatments were withdrawn, hamsters gained weight and reduced nestbuilding activity. Nestbuilding was not affected by lactation (characterized by low ovarian steroid levels and high energy demand) or by estrous cycle phase (characterized by relatively transient changes in ovarian steroid levels and subtle changes in energy demand). Thus, nestbuilding in Syrian hamsters was responsive to increased energy demand from cold exposure, late gestation, and to ovarian hormones. However, during lactation and estrous cycles, nestbuilding did not always change predictably according to known changes in energy expenditure and steroid hormone levels. Thus, levels of nestbuilding are influenced by factors in addition to ovarian hormones and energy expenditure under some circumstances.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Effects of chlordiazepoxide on maternal aggression in mice depend on experience of resident and sex of intruder.

Lactating mice respond differentially to intruders of differing sex, displaying defensive attack against the male and offensive attack against the female. Such a phenotypic dichotomy appears to have adaptive value in that unfamiliar males pose a much greater threat to the offspring than do females. The present study examined the effects of the benzodiazepine anxiolytic chlordiazepoxide (CDP) (2.5-10.0 mg/kg) on this differential response pattern in aggression-naive (nonscreened) (NS) and aggression-experienced (screened) (S) lactating female mice (Mus musculus domesticus) confronting intruders of either sex in a 10-min test. This procedure was used to evaluate the influence of both the type of opponent and previous aggressive experience on basal behavioural profiles and drug action. Results showed that both intruder sex and prior screening for attack modulated the behaviour of lactating females toward intruders. In turn, both variables strongly influenced CDP effects on maternal aggression. In particular, in S dams, CDP dose-dependently increased maternal attack against males but decreased attack against female intruders. Conversely, in NS dams, CDP decreased attack (and fear) against males but did not affect it against females. In both S and NS conditions, CDP modified the attack strategy of lactating females against the male, switching it from a defensive to an offensive pattern. Exploration, social investigation, eating, and immobility were differentially affected by the drug treatment, depending on screening and/or intruder sex condition. These differential effects of CDP between S and NS conditions, toward either male or female intruders, cannot be fully explained by differences in the baseline levels of these behaviours. Alternative hypotheses are discussed. These findings demonstrate that the effects of CDP on maternal attack behaviour depend on not only the drug but also the object of attack, and hence the function of attack and the prior experience of the attacker.

Aggression↗
PubMed1993

Neurons in the lateral subdivision of the habenular complex mediate the hormonal onset of maternal behavior in rats.

Expanding on research showing that radio-frequency-induced lesions of the habenular complex disrupt the hormonal onset of maternal behavior in rats, we explored the importance of neurons in the lateral (Lhb) subdivision of the habenular complex for the onset of maternal behavior. On Day 12 of pregnancy, bilateral cytotoxic lesions were produced in the Lhb with kainic acid or, as a control, just dorsal in the medial hippocampus. A 3rd group had radio-frequency-induced Lhb and medial (Mhb) lesions. On Day 16 of pregnancy, Ss were hysterectomized-ovariectomized, given estradiol, and tested 48 hr later for 10 days. Neuroanatomical tracing with fluoro-gold was then used to directly quantify the extent and location of Lhb neuron loss and to verify that Mhb neurons were intact. Cytotoxic lesions of the entire Lhb prevented the onset of all components of maternal behavior compared with controls. Results show that neurons in the Lhb, not the Mhb, are important for onset of maternal behavior in rats.

Amygdala↗
PubMed1976

Induction of parental behavior in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).

The Japanese quail is a precocial species, and because of its relatively rapid development, sexual maturation in about 40 days after hatching, and prolific breeding capacity, it promises to become an organism well suited for avian research. One stumbling block has been the inability to induce, with any consistency, parental behavior in laboratory stocks. The study reported herein demonstrates a method for establishing a self-perpetuating population under seminaturalistic conditions. In addition, given the limitions of finite space, chick mortality appears to have been mostly density dependent, thus indicating that the increase in the size of the population is circumscribed in part by population density.

Aggression↗
PubMed1994

Effects of haloperidol and propranolol on rats' transport response to maternal stimuli.

Presentation of maternal stimuli to mother- or littermate-deprived 16-day-old rat pups strengthens the transport response. Administration of varying doses of haloperidol failed to attenuate this response potentiation. In contrast, administration of varying doses of propranolol blocked response potentiation. It is proposed that under high levels of stress the potentiation of transport response is primarily under the control of beta-noradrenergic systems.

Animals↗