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PubMed1987

Ascending vocalization pathways in the female ring dove: projections of the nucleus intercollicularis.

Nest-coo (courtship) vocalization is an estrogen-dependent component of a sequence of behaviors leading to egg-laying in the ring dove (Streptopelia risoria). Implantation of estrogen in the nucleus intercollicularis of ovariectomized females restores the ability to produce nest-coos. Lesion of n. intercollicularis specifically disrupts nest-cooing and inhibits follicular development. We used anterograde transport of tritiated leucine to identify regions that receive input from n. intercollicularis. As a control, isotope was injected in an auditory nucleus (nucleus mesencephalicus lateralis, pars dorsalis) neighboring the n. intercollicularis. A strong projection to the nucleus was observed, demonstrating a potential interaction between auditory and vocalization systems at the level of the midbrain. Local projections of n. intercollicularis were observed in midbrain and hind brain nuclei including the nucleus tegmenti pedunculo-pontinus, pars compacta and nucleus papillioformis. A conspicuous projection ascended centrally via the mesencephalic central gray. Proceeding rostrally, this pathway was traced to the nucleus periventricularis magnocellularis and tissue surrounding it. At its rostral extent, the pathway was found to project to the nucleus preopticus medialis, the anterior medial hypothalamus, and the lateral hypothalamus. These results are consistent with the possibility of a nucleus intercollicularis projection to regions that regulate reproductive function.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Glucocorticoids, the hippocampus, and behavioral inhibition in the preweanling rat.

Endogenous corticosteroids influence brain development and behavioral expression. In rat pups, a corticosteroid-dependent developmental response is behavioral inhibition, which occurs in situations involving threat. Behavioral inhibition consists of freezing and a reduction in ongoing behavior. It is presently unknown which brain region(s) that bind corticosterone (CORT) is involved in the development of freezing. The hippocampus (HC), however, is the principal target site of CORT that regulates the postnatal development of HC dentate granule cells. Therefore, this study examined whether the HC, and in particular, the dentate granule cells, plays a major role in the early appearance of behavioral inhibition. On postnatal day 9, rat pups received bilateral HC electrolytic lesions, or bilateral HC infusions of colchicine, a neurotoxin selective for dentate granule cells, or bilateral HC infusions of kainic acid, a neurotoxin selective for pyramidal cells in the CA3 field. Control rats received sham operations. After the operations, all rats were adrenalectomized (ADX) and injected daily with 3.0 mg/kg CORT, except on the day of the behavioral test. On day 14, all pups were tested for behavioral inhibition, which consisted of removing the pup from the nest box and placing it in a temperature-controlled enclosure subdivided into two compartments by a wire-mesh partition. The pup was placed in one compartment and an unfamiliar anesthetized adult male rat was placed in the adjacent compartment. Results indicated that preweanling rats with electrolytic lesions ranging from the dorsal to the ventral HC exhibited significant deficits in freezing. Importantly, similar deficits in freezing were present in pups treated with colchicine but not KA. Hence, administration of exogenous CORT is not effective in facilitating the occurrence of freezing in preweanling pups lacking dentate granule cells. To determine whether the dorsal HC dentate gyrus is an essential target site of CORT in facilitating freezing, 9-d-old rats were implanted bilaterally with 30 gauge cannula filled with either CORT or cholesterol. After the operation, all rats were ADX and tested for behavioral inhibition on day 14. During testing, ADX pups with CORT-filled cannulae showed significantly higher levels of freezing than ADX control pups. Taken together, results suggest that during the early postnatal period, the action of endogenous CORT in the HC influences the development of dentate granule cells that play an essential role in mediating the appearance of behavioral inhibition.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Adolescent peer crowd affiliation: linkages with health-risk behaviors and close friendships.

OBJECTIVE: To examine adolescents' peer crowd affiliation and its linkages with health-risk behaviors, their friends' health-risk behaviors, the presence of close friends in the same peer crowd, and adolescents' social acceptance. METHODS: We interviewed 250 high school students and identified six categories: popular, jocks, brains, burnouts, nonconformists, or average/other. Adolescents also reported on their health-risk behaviors (including use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and other drugs; risky sexual behaviors; and other risk-taking behaviors), the health-risk behaviors of their friends, the peer crowd affiliation of their closest friends, and their perceived social acceptance. RESULTS: Burnouts and nonconformists had the highest levels of health-risk behaviors across the areas assessed, the greatest proportions of close friends who engaged in similar behaviors, and relatively low social acceptance from peers. Brains and their friends engaged in extremely low levels of health-risk behaviors. Jocks and populars also showed evidence of selected areas of health risk; these teens also were more socially accepted than others. In general, adolescents' closest friends were highly nested within the same peer crowds. CONCLUSIONS: The findings further our understanding of adolescent behaviors that put them at risk for serious adult onset conditions associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. We discuss the implications of the findings for developing health promotion efforts for adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Breeding experience modulating androgen dependent courtship behavior in male ring doves (Streptopelia risoria).

Courtship behavior of reproductively experienced males was compared with that of age-matched inexperienced males before and after castration and during treatments with hormones (testosterone propionate and estradiol benzoate). Inexperienced males displayed significantly lower levels of nest-oriented courtship, the nest-cooing (nest-soliciting) and wingflippings; however, agonistic courtship, the bow-cooing, was not affected by breeding experience. The lower level of nest-cooing display in the inexperienced males persisted even when their circulating level of androgen as measured by RIA was no different from that of experienced males. Estrogen treatments, however, produced no group difference in levels of nest-coo display. These results were discussed in the context of hormone-behavior relationships.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Temporal and sequential structure of behavior and facility usage of laying hens in an enriched environment.

Improved housing for laying hens may start from the translation of their behavioral needs into welfare-based design parameters for laying hen houses. The objective of our research was to gain insights into the facility usage and behavioral needs of the hen over 24 h when there are no obvious restraints. Twenty ISA Brown commercial laying hens (Gallus domesticus) that were 18 wk old and not beak trimmed, were accommodated in a pen (4 x 6 m) at 19 + 2 degrees C on a light-dark cycle of 10L:14D. The pen providing nest boxes, drinkers, feeders, perches, sand, and wood shaving was designed to accommodate the hens for the experimental period. Video recordings were made for 10 d. Behavioral analyses were conducted on 5 birds for 5 d. Time spent on each behavior, log survivor analysis of events and inter-event intervals, bout analysis, diurnal pattern in events and bouts, occurrence of behavior in different segments and the corridor of the pen, and sequence analysis were performed to gain insights into the temporal and sequential structures of behavior. Hens spent 97% of the day on nest use, preening, drinking, feeding, still, walking, perching, and resting; 43% on commodity-dependent behavior; and 57% not on commodity-oriented behaviors. Behavioral events were short (around 70% event <2 min) and frequent (around 70% inter-event intervals <40s). The pen corridor was the preferred place for attack, escape, flying, resting, walking, and wing flapping. Feeding-drinking-feeding, preening-resting-preening, scratching-resting-scratching, dust bathing-resting-preening, or dust bathing-resting-wing stretching-dust bathing were the preferred sequences of behavior. Although hens interrupted ongoing behaviors and changed behaviors frequently, they nonetheless clustered behavioral events.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Postnatal undernutrition in rats: attempts to develop alternative methods to food deprive pups without maternal behavioral alteration.

Two methods were investigated as attempts to undernourish rat pups without the disturbances in maternal behavior that accompany the procedures used to date for this purpose. In the 1st method, a litter of 12 pups was raised by both a lactating mother and a "sensitized" female. The sensitized female was provided under the assumption that she could correct for the deficit in maternal care when 1 mother raises a large litter. The results showed that the pups raised by the 2 females were constantly removed by the females from each other's nests; the females engaged in constant fighting and showed altered maternal behavior. As a consequence the pups lost more weight than control underfed young. The 2nd method consisted of removing 6-8 nipples from virgin females which were mated 10 days later. After delivery these females raised litters of 6 pups. Their maternal behavior was equal to that of unoperated controls, and at weaning the pups had 20-50% less body weight. This method could be useful to study undernutrition effects on behavior, without confounding experimental variables.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Hypolocomotion, anxiety and serotonin syndrome-like behavior contribute to the complex phenotype of serotonin transporter knockout mice.

Although mice with a targeted disruption of the serotonin transporter (SERT) have been studied extensively using various tests, their complex behavioral phenotype is not yet fully understood. Here we assess in detail the behavior of adult female SERT wild type (+/+), heterozygous (+/-) and knockout (-/-) mice on an isogenic C57BL/6J background subjected to a battery of behavioral paradigms. Overall, there were no differences in the ability to find food or a novel object, nest-building, self-grooming and its sequencing, and horizontal rod balancing, indicating unimpaired sensory functions, motor co-ordination and behavioral sequencing. In contrast, there were striking reductions in exploration and activity in novelty-based tests (novel object, sticky label and open field tests), accompanied by pronounced thigmotaxis, suggesting that combined hypolocomotion and anxiety (rather than purely anxiety) influence the SERT -/- behavioral phenotype. Social interaction behaviors were also markedly reduced. In addition, SERT -/- mice tended to move close to the ground, frequently displayed spontaneous Straub tail, tics, tremor and backward gait - a phenotype generally consistent with 'serotonin syndrome'-like behavior. In line with replicated evidence of much enhanced serotonin availability in SERT -/- mice, this serotonin syndrome-like state may represent a third factor contributing to their behavioral profile. An understanding of the emerging complexity of SERT -/- mouse behavior is crucial for a detailed dissection of their phenotype and for developing further neurobehavioral models using these mice.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Environmental ambiance as a new window on wandering.

This cross-sectional study explored relations between environmental ambiance and locomotion behaviors of elders with dementia (EWD), addressing the larger goal of developing theory explaining how environment affects wandering and other behaviors, thereby illuminating a pathway to intervention. A sample of 47 EWD (older than age 65, Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE] < or =23) from nursing homes and assisted-living facilities were studied through a random, cluster, sampling strategy. Participants were measured once for stable characteristics and videotaped for 12, randomly chosen, 20-minute periods over 2 separate days at least 48 hours apart. Hierarchical liner modeling was used to analyze data that focused on the observation as the unit of analysis, with repeated observations nested within participants. Results validated an influence of ambiance on locomoting behaviors, highlighting the importance of addressing the emotional valence of social and physical environments in care of EWD.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1997

Postsuckling behavioral arousal in weanling rats (Rattus norvegicus).

Twenty-day-old litters and their dams were observed in seminatural habitats consisting of a nest compartment and adjacent open field that contained powdered rat chow. It was found that pups displayed marked bursts of activity after suckling. Independent feeding reliably followed nursing bout termination (Experiment 1). Nipple withdrawal, with or without milk transfer, induced behavioral arousal whereas withdrawal of thermotactile and conspecific odor cues did not (Experiments 2-3). Increased thermogenesis was observed following milk transfer (Experiment 4). Finally, preweanling pups (10- to 12-day-olds) also displayed postsuckling arousal within the confines of the nest; full locomotor expression of this arousal was not evident until weaning age (Experiment 5). It was concluded that postsuckling arousal in weanlings functions to stimulate activities performed away from the nest and suckling, propelling pups into the field where feeding begins.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Shifting strategies for behavioral thermoregulation in developing golden hamsters.

Developmental changes in the golden hamster pup's capacity for behavioral temperature regulation were studied. Groups of three pups aged 4-14 days were tested at room temperature (22 degrees C), on a strong gradient (34-22 degrees C), and on a mild gradient (30-22 degrees C). The proportion of time engaged in the following behaviors was recorded: contact with the warm edge (thermotaxis), active huddling, and quiet huddling. Pups tested at 22 degrees C engaged in active huddling, and their temperature dropped rapidly. Only on Day 14 were they able to maintain their temperature constant with a combination of vigorous exploration and quiet huddling. On the strong gradient, by contrast, pups were able to regulate their temperature at all ages. Young pups (4-5 days) depended on thermotaxis rather than huddling, separating when their temperature started to rise. With age, quiet huddling replaced thermotaxis as a dominant behavior. On the mild gradient, pups combined active and quiet huddling with thermotaxis, so that their temperature dropped at al slow steady rate (.1 degrees C/min). It is concluded that hamster pups have a well-developed capacity for behavioral temperature regulation. Whether they attempt to keep their temperature constant or tolerate a slow rate of drop depends on the amount of exogenous heat available, which under natural conditions would be supplied predominantly by the mother. These results suggest that the pups as well as the mother may participate in thermal regulation in the nest.

Aging↗
PubMed2004

Seasonal variation of steroid hormone levels in an intertidal-nesting fish, the vocal plainfin midshipman.

This study characterized the seasonal variation of the steroid hormones testosterone (T), 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT), 17beta-estradiol (E2), and cortisol (F) as they relate to the gonadal development and reproductive behavior of the plainfin midshipman fish, Porichthys notatus. The plainfin midshipman is a deep-water teleost that seasonally migrates into the shallow intertidal zone where type I, or "singing," males build nests, acoustically court and spawn with females. The gonadosomatic index and plasma steroid levels were measured from adult type I males and females collected over four time periods (non-reproductive, pre-nesting, nesting, and post-nesting) that corresponded to seasonal fluctuations in midshipman reproductive biology and behavior. Among type I males, plasma levels of T and 11-KT were low during the winter non-reproductive period, gradually increased during seasonal recrudescence of the testes in the spring pre-nesting period, and then peaked at the beginning of the summer nesting period. In the latter half of the nesting period and during the fall post-nesting period, plasma levels of T and 11-KT were low or non-detectable. Low, detectable levels of E2 were also found in the plasma of 50% or more type I males during every seasonal period except the winter non-reproductive period. Among females, plasma levels of T and E2 were low throughout the year but briefly peaked in April during the spring pre-nesting period when ovaries underwent seasonal recrudescence. Plasma F levels were correlated with collection depth and were lower in males than females when fish were collected deeper than 120 m. The sex-specific peaks of steroid hormone levels in male and female midshipman may serve differential functions related to the physiology, reproductive behavior, and vocal communication of this species.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Maternal behavior in females of the laboratory rat selected for high and low activity and defecation rates.

Laboratory rats of the Wistar strain were selectively bred for a high or a low level of short-term activity (+A, -A) and defecation (+D, -D) in a novel environment. In lactating females of groups +A-D, +A+D, -A+D and -A-D maternal behavior was tested in situations, differing in complexity and demands of the ability of the females to adapt themselves to a new environment. Most intergroup differences were dependent on the characteristics of their activity, while defecation manifested itself less markedly in maternal behavior. In all tests +A groups showed a higher number of active contacts with the young, and the duration of maternal activities was higher in them when compared with -A females. The results indicated difference in the structure of maternal behavior and in the strategy with which they coped with a new situation. Females -A arranged the scattered pups into a nest more rapidly but they manipulated less with them and retrieved them minimally. In -A more often than in the +A the cycle of maternal behavior was interrupted by the elements of other than maternal programs. On the other hand, females +A gave more attention to each pup, they carried it from place to place for a long time, they tended to rearrange the newly formed nest, maternal program being interrupted less often. The most marked difference appeared between groups +A-D and -A+D.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Learning and memory in the honeybee.

Insects are favorable subjects for neuroethological studies. Their nervous systems are relatively small and contain many individually identifiable cells. The CNS is highly compartmentalized with clear separations between multisensory higher order neuropiles in the brain and neuropiles serving sensory-motor routines in the ventral cord (Huber, 1974). The rich behavior of insects includes orientation in space and time, visual, chemical, and mechanical communication, and complex motor routines for flying, walking, swimming, nest building, defense, and attack. Learning and memory, though, are not usually considered to be a strong point of insects. Rather, insect behavior is often regarded as highly stereotyped and under tight control of genetically programmed neural circuits. This view, however, does not do justice to the insect order of Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants). Most Hymenopteran species care for their brood either as individual females or as a social group of females. Consequently, they regularly return to their nest site to feed, protect, and nurse the larvae, store food, and hide from adverse environmental conditions. Since they search for food (prey; nectar and pollen on flowers) at unpredictable sites, they have to learn the celestial and terrestrial cues that guide their foraging trips over long distances and allow them to find their nest sites (central place foraging; von Frisch, 1967; Seeley, 1985). They learn to relate the sun's position and sky pattern of polarized light to the time of the day (Lindauer, 1959), and landmarks are learned in relationship to the nest site within the framework of the time-compensated sun compass. The honeybee communicates direction and distance of a feeding place to hive mates by performing a ritualized body movement, the waggle dance (von Frisch, 1967). Associative learning is an essential component of the bee's central place foraging behavior and dance communication. Hive mates attending a dance performance learn the odor emanating from the dancing bee and seek it at the indicated food site. The odor, color, and shape of flowers are learned when the bee experiences these stimuli shortly before it finds food (nectar, pollen). This appetitive learning in bees has many characteristics of associative learning well known from mammalian learning studies (Menzel, 1985, 1990; Bitterman, 1988). It follows the rules of classical and operant conditioning, respectively, so that stimuli or behavioral acts are associated with evaluating stimuli. Since associative learning, especially of the classical type, is well described at the phenomenological and operational level (Rescorla, 1988), it provides a favorable approach in the search for the neural substrate underlying learning and memory.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Reproductive diseases of pet bird species.

Avian reproductive disorders are reviewed in this article. They are a result of a complex combination of hormonal, physiologic and behavioral actions reacting to photoperiods, food availability and availability of nest sites. Some of the common reproductive disorders seen in companion birds, and methods applicable to their diagnosis, treatment and prevention are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Toxicological investigations of pollutant-related effects in Great Lakes gulls.

Reproductive failure of a number of fish-eating birds was observed on the Great Lakes in the mid-1960s to mid-1970s. The herring gull (Larus argentatus) has been used as the primary monitoring species. The low hatching success observed in this species on Lake Ontario in the mid-1970s was due to loss of eggs and failure of eggs to hatch. Egg exchange experiments demonstrated that this was due both to the incubation behavior of adults and to direct embryotoxic effects. Decrease of nest attentiveness was demonstrated using telemetered eggs, but attempts to reproduce the embryonic effects by injection of pollutant mixtures into eggs were not successful. Reproductive success improved rapidly during the late 1970s and was normal by the end of the decade. Recent studies have focused on cytogenetic and biochemical changes and detailed analytical chemistry of residues. No changes in the rate of sister chromatid exchange over values determined in coastal colonies were observed. Elevation of hepatic aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity, levels of highly carboxylated porphyrins, and changes of thyroid function have been found. The geographic pattern of these changes indicates that they are caused by xenobiotics, but it has not been possible to relate the changes to a specific chemical.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Report on the collection of nests of Biomphalaria spp in the laboratory].

A simple method for counting, observing and collecting eggs of three Biomphalaria species kept under culture is reported. The advantages of the method in statistical studies and in the case the nest is to be isolated in order to follow its behavior according to age, etc., are exposed.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Female circumcision among Egyptian women.

Although a remarkable degree of consensus has been reached among international agencies, policymakers, and women's health advocates that the practice of female circumcision should be eliminated, such consensus is not necessarily shared by those who perform the operation or the families responsible for having girls excised. The surgical procedure is nested in a complex set of beliefs about identity, moral behavior, and the working of the female body. This article describes the dominant themes produced in 85 extensive interviews with mother and operators representing the broad spectrum of Egyptian society. The interviews detailed the operation itself, women's emotional response to the operation, and the rationales put forth in support of the practice. Although institutional efforts to eliminate the practice will meet with resistance, significant demographic shifts already taking place are producing changes in family systems and the opportunity structure that coincide with the abandonment of excision in key sectors of the urban population.

Adolescent↗