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Robert S. Bridges - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Neuroendocrine Regulation of Maternal Behavior
Frontiers in neuroendocrinology, 2014Co-Authors: Robert S. BridgesAbstract:Maternal Behavior in mammals is controlled by a combination of biochemical, neural, and environmental factors. Understanding of the neuroendocrine events that regulate Maternal Behavior has increased significantly in recent years with the identification of roles for specific hormones and peptides and the partial elucidation of the neural network involved in regulating Maternal care. In addition, much is now known regarding the importance of sensory feedback from offspring and the role of experience on these Behaviors. The focus of this chapter concerns the neuroendocrine regulation of parental Behavior in the mammal with a focus on research in the rat. Specifically, the neural substrate underlying the expression of Maternal care will be reviewed together with the roles of various hormones and neurochemical agents within the context of normal development in the female. Sensory aspects of Maternal responsiveness as well as the effects of gene knockouts will be discussed. Finally, the effects of parental experience on the biochemical regulation of this evolutionarily critical Behavior is presented.
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Lactogenic hormone regulation of Maternal Behavior.
Progress in brain research, 2001Co-Authors: Phyllis E. Mann, Robert S. BridgesAbstract:Biological factors can profoundly affect a mother's response to her young. For example, it is well known that the hormones of pregnancy act on the Maternal brain to stimulate the spontaneous onset of Maternal Behavior at parturition. Studies in the rat have provided an excellent model to investigate Maternal Behavior in mammals, since Maternal Behavior in rats is easily observable and readily quantifiable and it is well-documented that the endocrine state of gestation helps to bring about the onset of Maternal Behavior around the time of birth. The same response in virgin animals requires a number of days of constant exposure to pups before Maternal-like Behaviors emerge. To date, research has established that the steroid hormones, estradiol and progesterone, and the lactogenic hormones, prolactin and the placental lactogens, act in concert to stimulate Maternal Behavior in the pregnant female. Treatment of adult, virgin rats with these hormones can stimulate a rapid onset of Maternal care. In the present chapter experiments are described that demonstrate key roles for prolactin and placental lactogens in the onset of Maternal Behavior. Central sites of action of prolactin and placental lactogens, including the medial preoptic area, appear to be involved in stimulating the onset of Maternal care. Other studies are discussed which support the involvement of the prolactin receptor in the endocrine regulation of Maternal Behavior using prolactin receptor antagonist and 'knock-out' models in rats and mice, respectively. Overall, these studies indicate that during pregnancy the endocrine system primes the mother's brain so that the new mother displays appropriate and successful Behaviors toward her newborn at parturition.
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Investigation into the role of cholecystokinin (CCK) in the induction and maintenance of Maternal Behavior in rats
Hormones and behavior, 1995Co-Authors: Phyllis E. Mann, Luciano Freitas Felício, Robert S. BridgesAbstract:Abstract The biochemical regulation of Maternal Behavior has been extensively studied. Cholecystokinin (CCK), a gut peptide that is also present in the brain, recently has been implicated in the onset of Maternal Behavior in estrogen-primed virgin rats. The objective of the present set of studies was to delineate the role of CCK in the onset (Experiments 1 - 3) and maintenance (Experiments 4 and 5) of Maternal Behavior in rats. In the first study intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of CCK was unable to stimulate the onset of Maternal Behavior in estrogen-primed virgin rats. Similarly, i.c.v. infusions of CCK into pregnant rats, starting on Day 17 of gestation (Experiment 2), did not advance the onset of Maternal Behavior. Moreover, when CCK-filled minipumps were implanted intraperitoneally in estrogen-primed virgin rats, the rate of onset of Maternal Behavior was unaffected (Experiment 3). In contrast, direct infusions of CCK into the MPOA blocked the disruptive effects of β-endorphin on the maintenance of Maternal Behavior in postpartum lactating rats (Experiment 4). In addition, proglumide, a CCK receptor antagonist, disrupted Maternal Behavior in postpartum lactating rats by increasing latencies to retrieve and crouch over the young (Experiment 5). These results support an involvement of CCK in the maintenance, but not the onset, of Maternal Behavior in rats.
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Prolactin-brain interactions in the induction of Maternal Behavior in rats
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 1994Co-Authors: Robert S. Bridges, Phyllis E. MannAbstract:Most adult female mammals display an immediate onset of Maternal care toward their offspring at parturition, whereas the responses of inexperienced, nulliparous females are often less intense or absent. The shift from being a slow or nonresponder in nulliparous females to a rapid responder at parturition in primiparous animals is induced in part by the endocrine changes of pregnancy. This report reviews recent evidence demonstrating a role for prolactin in the stimulation of Maternal Behavior in the rat. Moreover, new findings are presented that indicate that endogenous rat prolactin acts centrally to stimulate Maternal Behavior in steroid-primed, nulliparous rats and that the ventromedial hypothalamus in addition to the medial preoptic area are important neural substrates regulating the rapid induction of Maternal Behavior at parturition.
Michael Numan - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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The Parental Brain - Central Neural Circuits Regulating Maternal Behavior in Nonhuman Mammals
The Parental Brain, 2020Co-Authors: Michael NumanAbstract:Chapter 5 reviews the brain circuits that regulate Maternal Behavior in nonhuman mammals. The medial preoptic area (MPOA) is essential for both the onset and maintenance of Maternal Behavior. Hormones and oxytocin act on the MPOA to stimulate the onset of Maternal Behavior. The neurotransmitters contained within MPOA neurons that may regulate Maternal Behavior are described, as are several neural inputs to the MPOA that regulate its output. A defensive neural circuit that inhibits Maternal Behavior in most virgin female mammals is described. MPOA output stimulates Maternal Behavior by depressing the defensive circuit while also activating neural circuits that underpin Maternal motivation. MPOA output to the mesolimbic dopamine system is essential for appetitive Maternal responses, while its output to the periaqueductal gray regulates consummatory responses. Synaptic plasticity within the MPOA-to-mesolimbic DA circuit is involved in the development of an enduring mother–infant bond.
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functional anatomical and neurochemical differentiation of medial preoptic area subregions in relation to Maternal Behavior in the mouse
The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 2013Co-Authors: Yousuke Tsuneoka, Michael Numan, Teppo Maruyama, Sachine Yoshida, Katsuhiko Nishimori, Tadafumi Kato, Kumi O KurodaAbstract:In rodents, previous findings indicate critical involvement of the medial preoptic area (MPOA) in the neural control of Maternal Behavior. However, the specification of the particular MPOA subregions involved in Maternal Behavior and the identification of the neurochemical phenotype(s) of the essential neurons demands additional study. Therefore, we investigated the chemical neuroanatomy of the essential MPOA subregion for Maternal Behavior in C57BL/6J female mice. Using the oxytocinergic neurons in the dorsal MPOA as a primary regional marker, we first assessed the distribution of c-Fos-expressing neurons in the MPOA during Maternal Behavior using immunohistochemistry. Results showed that non-oxytocinergic neurons in the dorsal and ventral MPOA prominently expressed c-Fos during Maternal Behavior. Then using excitotoxic lesion studies, we determined the specific MPOA area that is necessary for Maternal Behavior. Bilateral lesions of the central MPOA, where c-Fos was expressed only moderately, effectively disrupted Maternal Behavior, although lesions to the dorsal and ventral MPOA regions were ineffective. These centrally lesioned females were highly infanticidal irrespective of their previous Maternal experience. Neurochemical investigations showed that more than 75% of the c-Fos-expressing neurons in central MPOA were GABAergic. Many of them also expressed galanin, neurotensin, and/or tachykinin2 mRNAs. Finally, the central MPOA was populated by numerous glutamatergic neurons, although only a small percentage of these neurons colocalized with c-Fos. To conclude, the central MPOA is the indispensable subregion for mouse Maternal Behavior, and GABAergic and/or peptidergic neurons in this area were transcriptionally activated during Maternal Behavior.
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Flexibility and adaptation of the neural substrate that supports Maternal Behavior in mammals
Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 2013Co-Authors: Daniel E. Olazábal, Joan I. Morrell, Frédéric Lévy, Alison S. Fleming, Mariana Pereira, Daniella Agrati, Annabel Ferreira, Gabriela González-mariscal, Aldo Bolten Lucion, Michael NumanAbstract:Maternal Behavior is species-specific and expressed under different physiological conditions, and contexts. It is the result of neural processes that support different forms (e.g. postpartum, cycling sensitized and spontaneous Maternal Behavior) and modalities of mother-offspring interaction (e.g. Maternal interaction with altricial/precocious young; selective/non-selective bond). To understand how the brain adapts to and regulates Maternal Behavior in different species, and physiological and social conditions we propose new neural models to explain different forms of Maternal expression (e.g. sensitized and spontaneous Maternal Behavior) and the Behavioral changes that occur across the postpartum period. We emphasize the changing role of the medial preoptic area in the neural circuitry that supports Maternal Behavior and the cortical regulation and adjustment of ongoing Behavioral performance. Finally, we discuss how our accumulated knowledge about the psychobiology of mothering in animal models supports the validity of animal studies to guide our understanding of human mothering and to improve human welfare and health.
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A neural circuitry analysis of Maternal Behavior in the rat.
Acta paediatrica (Oslo Norway : 1992). Supplement, 1994Co-Authors: Michael NumanAbstract:This article reviews work that shows that the medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus plays a crucial role in controlling the occurrence of Maternal Behavior in rats. A primary goal of this report is to fit the medial preoptic area into a larger neural circuitry, examining its critical inputs and outputs. Lesions of the medial preoptic area disrupt Maternal Behavior and estradiol and prolactin injections into this region activate Maternal Behavior. The medial amygdala, which is located in the limbic telencephalon, sends a neural projection to the preoptic region. Research indicates that this projection influences Maternal Behavior by relaying olfactory input to the medial preoptic area. The output of the preoptic area influences Maternal Behavior through descending projections to the brain stem. One of the influences of such projections might be to regulate neural circuits involved in controlling specific Maternal responses, such as retrieval (carrying of pups) Behavior.
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Preoptic-brainstem connections and Maternal Behavior in rats.
Behavioral neuroscience, 1991Co-Authors: Michael Numan, Marilyn J. NumanAbstract:This study presents evidence supporting the view that preoptic area (POA) projections through the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to lower brainstem regions are important for Maternal Behavior in postpartum rats. Experiment 1 demonstrated that bilateral coronal knife cuts posterior to the VTA disrupted Maternal Behavior, and Experiment 2 demonstrated a similar disruption when a unilateral knife cut that severed the lateral connections of the medial POA was paired with a contralateral knife cut posterior to the VTA. In a final anatomical experiment using horseradish peroxidase histochemistry, it was shown that knife cuts posterior to the VTA do sever POA efferents. However, such cuts severed other ascending and descending pathways as well, and these may also be involved in Maternal Behavior control.
Phyllis E. Mann - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Lactogenic hormone regulation of Maternal Behavior.
Progress in brain research, 2001Co-Authors: Phyllis E. Mann, Robert S. BridgesAbstract:Biological factors can profoundly affect a mother's response to her young. For example, it is well known that the hormones of pregnancy act on the Maternal brain to stimulate the spontaneous onset of Maternal Behavior at parturition. Studies in the rat have provided an excellent model to investigate Maternal Behavior in mammals, since Maternal Behavior in rats is easily observable and readily quantifiable and it is well-documented that the endocrine state of gestation helps to bring about the onset of Maternal Behavior around the time of birth. The same response in virgin animals requires a number of days of constant exposure to pups before Maternal-like Behaviors emerge. To date, research has established that the steroid hormones, estradiol and progesterone, and the lactogenic hormones, prolactin and the placental lactogens, act in concert to stimulate Maternal Behavior in the pregnant female. Treatment of adult, virgin rats with these hormones can stimulate a rapid onset of Maternal care. In the present chapter experiments are described that demonstrate key roles for prolactin and placental lactogens in the onset of Maternal Behavior. Central sites of action of prolactin and placental lactogens, including the medial preoptic area, appear to be involved in stimulating the onset of Maternal care. Other studies are discussed which support the involvement of the prolactin receptor in the endocrine regulation of Maternal Behavior using prolactin receptor antagonist and 'knock-out' models in rats and mice, respectively. Overall, these studies indicate that during pregnancy the endocrine system primes the mother's brain so that the new mother displays appropriate and successful Behaviors toward her newborn at parturition.
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Investigation into the role of cholecystokinin (CCK) in the induction and maintenance of Maternal Behavior in rats
Hormones and behavior, 1995Co-Authors: Phyllis E. Mann, Luciano Freitas Felício, Robert S. BridgesAbstract:Abstract The biochemical regulation of Maternal Behavior has been extensively studied. Cholecystokinin (CCK), a gut peptide that is also present in the brain, recently has been implicated in the onset of Maternal Behavior in estrogen-primed virgin rats. The objective of the present set of studies was to delineate the role of CCK in the onset (Experiments 1 - 3) and maintenance (Experiments 4 and 5) of Maternal Behavior in rats. In the first study intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of CCK was unable to stimulate the onset of Maternal Behavior in estrogen-primed virgin rats. Similarly, i.c.v. infusions of CCK into pregnant rats, starting on Day 17 of gestation (Experiment 2), did not advance the onset of Maternal Behavior. Moreover, when CCK-filled minipumps were implanted intraperitoneally in estrogen-primed virgin rats, the rate of onset of Maternal Behavior was unaffected (Experiment 3). In contrast, direct infusions of CCK into the MPOA blocked the disruptive effects of β-endorphin on the maintenance of Maternal Behavior in postpartum lactating rats (Experiment 4). In addition, proglumide, a CCK receptor antagonist, disrupted Maternal Behavior in postpartum lactating rats by increasing latencies to retrieve and crouch over the young (Experiment 5). These results support an involvement of CCK in the maintenance, but not the onset, of Maternal Behavior in rats.
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Prolactin-brain interactions in the induction of Maternal Behavior in rats
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 1994Co-Authors: Robert S. Bridges, Phyllis E. MannAbstract:Most adult female mammals display an immediate onset of Maternal care toward their offspring at parturition, whereas the responses of inexperienced, nulliparous females are often less intense or absent. The shift from being a slow or nonresponder in nulliparous females to a rapid responder at parturition in primiparous animals is induced in part by the endocrine changes of pregnancy. This report reviews recent evidence demonstrating a role for prolactin in the stimulation of Maternal Behavior in the rat. Moreover, new findings are presented that indicate that endogenous rat prolactin acts centrally to stimulate Maternal Behavior in steroid-primed, nulliparous rats and that the ventromedial hypothalamus in addition to the medial preoptic area are important neural substrates regulating the rapid induction of Maternal Behavior at parturition.
Alison S. Fleming - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Flexibility and adaptation of the neural substrate that supports Maternal Behavior in mammals
Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 2013Co-Authors: Daniel E. Olazábal, Joan I. Morrell, Frédéric Lévy, Alison S. Fleming, Mariana Pereira, Daniella Agrati, Annabel Ferreira, Gabriela González-mariscal, Aldo Bolten Lucion, Michael NumanAbstract:Maternal Behavior is species-specific and expressed under different physiological conditions, and contexts. It is the result of neural processes that support different forms (e.g. postpartum, cycling sensitized and spontaneous Maternal Behavior) and modalities of mother-offspring interaction (e.g. Maternal interaction with altricial/precocious young; selective/non-selective bond). To understand how the brain adapts to and regulates Maternal Behavior in different species, and physiological and social conditions we propose new neural models to explain different forms of Maternal expression (e.g. sensitized and spontaneous Maternal Behavior) and the Behavioral changes that occur across the postpartum period. We emphasize the changing role of the medial preoptic area in the neural circuitry that supports Maternal Behavior and the cortical regulation and adjustment of ongoing Behavioral performance. Finally, we discuss how our accumulated knowledge about the psychobiology of mothering in animal models supports the validity of animal studies to guide our understanding of human mothering and to improve human welfare and health.
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Motherless rats show deficits in Maternal Behavior towards fostered pups.
Developmental Psychobiology, 2010Co-Authors: Daniela J. Palombo, Michael Nowoslawski, Alison S. FlemingAbstract:Complete Maternal deprivation in rats, through artificial rearing (AR), produces deficits in subsequent Maternal Behavior of the offspring. These deficits are partially reversed when isolated pups are provided with additional tactile stimulation designed to simulate Maternal licking (e.g., Gonzalez et al. (2001) Developmental Psychobiology, 38, 11-32). These findings highlight the importance of the early Maternal environment in subsequent development. However, given the possibility that prenatal environments may differ between AR and Maternally reared (MR) offspring, the deficits in the Behavior of AR mothers may be driven by the characteristics of their pups derived from the effects of an altered prenatal environment. Hence differences in the neonatal pups of AR mothers may produce the alterations in the AR Maternal Behavior. To rule out this possibility, we employed a fostering paradigm where AR and MR mothers received cross-fostered mother-reared pups. AR mothers showed the same level of deficits in Maternal Behavior towards MR foster pups as they do with their own pups and these deficits were partially reversed with additional tactile stimulation. Hence, Maternal Behavior deficits reported in mothers who had been reared in isolation are due primarily to the direct effects of the earlier experience on mechanisms regulating their Maternal Behavior and not to the effects on their offspring. 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 52: 142-148, 2010.
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The effects of adrenalectomy and corticosterone replacement on Maternal Behavior in the postpartum rat
Hormones and behavior, 2004Co-Authors: Stephanie L. Rees, Sonia Panesar, Meir Steiner, Alison S. FlemingAbstract:It is well known that the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is activated during stress. Recent work suggests it is also implicated in the regulation of "normal" Behaviors. The present studies investigated the effects of adrenalectomy and of varying glucocorticoid concentrations on adult Maternal Behavior in primiparous rats. In two studies, rats in late pregnancy were adrenalectomized or given sham surgeries and were tested for Maternal Behavior. In the first study, primiparous rats were given 0, 25, 100, 300, or 500 microg/ml of corticosterone in their drinking water. In the second study, primiparous rats were given either control or corticosterone time-release pellets. Blood samples were taken to ensure that rats demonstrated levels of corticosterone in blood that were relative to doses received. In studies one and two, primiparous adrenalectomized rats showed slightly, but significantly, lower levels of some Maternal Behaviors, including licking and time in nest, than primiparous sham rats. Primiparous rats given higher doses of corticosterone replacement showed higher levels of these Maternal Behaviors than primiparous rats given lower doses of corticosterone. In conclusion, adrenalectomy decreases, but does not abolish, Maternal Behavior. Corticosterone replacement reverses these effects. Corticosterone is not necessary for the initiation or maintenance of Maternal Behavior but plays a role in the modulation of ongoing Maternal Behavior.
Gabriela González-mariscal - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Flexibility and adaptation of the neural substrate that supports Maternal Behavior in mammals
Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 2013Co-Authors: Daniel E. Olazábal, Joan I. Morrell, Frédéric Lévy, Alison S. Fleming, Mariana Pereira, Daniella Agrati, Annabel Ferreira, Gabriela González-mariscal, Aldo Bolten Lucion, Michael NumanAbstract:Maternal Behavior is species-specific and expressed under different physiological conditions, and contexts. It is the result of neural processes that support different forms (e.g. postpartum, cycling sensitized and spontaneous Maternal Behavior) and modalities of mother-offspring interaction (e.g. Maternal interaction with altricial/precocious young; selective/non-selective bond). To understand how the brain adapts to and regulates Maternal Behavior in different species, and physiological and social conditions we propose new neural models to explain different forms of Maternal expression (e.g. sensitized and spontaneous Maternal Behavior) and the Behavioral changes that occur across the postpartum period. We emphasize the changing role of the medial preoptic area in the neural circuitry that supports Maternal Behavior and the cortical regulation and adjustment of ongoing Behavioral performance. Finally, we discuss how our accumulated knowledge about the psychobiology of mothering in animal models supports the validity of animal studies to guide our understanding of human mothering and to improve human welfare and health.
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Neuroendocrinology of Maternal Behavior in the rabbit
Hormones and behavior, 2001Co-Authors: Gabriela González-mariscalAbstract:Rabbit Maternal Behavior consists of building an underground nest of straw and body hair during late pregnancy and displaying, with circadian periodicity, a single 3-min nursing bout/day across lactation. Estrogen, androgen, progesterone, and prolactin regulate specific aspects of nest-building and promote the onset of Maternal responsiveness. However, the maintenance of this Behavior relies on stimuli from the litter: by preventing mother/young contact at parturition or during early lactation Maternal responsiveness is altered or abolished. The brain areas controlling the expression of nest-building and nursing were investigated by implanting estradiol, locating the distribution of estrogen and prolactin receptors, quantifying the expression of immediate-early genes, and lesioning structures of the olfactory system. These studies revealed that: (a) estrogen receptor-alpha, alpha, present in the preoptic region, may mediate the stimulation of nest-building by estradiol; (b) prolactin binding sites, located mainly in periventricular structures, are more abundant in late pregnancy and early lactation; (c) the number of FOS-immunoreactive neurons increases in the lateral septum, but not in the mediobasal hypothalamus, following nursing; (d) the accessory olfactory bulb tonically inhibits the expression of Maternal Behavior because its removal promotes Maternal responsiveness in virgins, which are otherwise unresponsive to daily pup exposure. In summary, rabbits rely on the same hormonal and extrahormonal factors that stimulate Maternal Behavior in other mammals, yet the way in which such factors promote elaborate nest-building and the unfailing display of circadian nursing is unique to rabbits and warrants future investigation.