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At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Number of arginine-vasopressin neurons in the suprachiasmatic nuclei is not related to level or circadian characteristics of wheel-running activity in house mice.

House mouse lines bidirectionally selected for nest-building behavior show a correlation between number of AVP cells in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), the master circadian clock in mammals, and level of nest-building behavior as well as a correlation between wheel-running activity and SCN AVP content. Similar genetic correlations between wheel-running activity and nest-building behavior have been reported in house mouse lines selected for increased voluntary wheel-running behavior. These similarities in genetic correlation structure in independently selected mouse lines allowed us to test whether AVP in the SCN and wheel running activity are truly correlated traits under identical testing procedures. In the mouse lines selected for voluntary wheel-running, no difference was found between the lines selected for high levels of voluntary wheel-running and randomly-bred control lines in the number of AVP immunoreactive neurons in the SCN ( F1,6 = 0.09, NS; replicate line effect: F1,22 = 0.05, NS). This finding was confirmed at the level of individual variation, which revealed no relationship between number of AVP neurons in the SCN and total daily activity ( R = -0.086, NS, n = 24), or circadian organization (i.e., the chi-squared periodogram waveform amplitude; R = -0.071, NS). Therefore our data do not support the hypothesis that differences in activity level and the circadian expression of activity in young adult mice are related to differences in the number of AVP-immunoreactive cells in the SCN.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Effects of prostaglandin F2alpha treatment of pseudopregnant pigs on nest building and interactions with newborn piglets.

Previous studies showed that prostaglandin (PG)F2alpha treatment stimulated nest building behaviors in prepartum and pseudopregnant pigs. This experiment studied behaviors of PGF2alpha-treated pseudopregnant nulliparous pigs (gilts) exposed to newborn piglets. Penned pseudopregnant gilts (days 46-53) were injected with either 10 mg PGF2alpha (n = 8) or saline (n = 8) im, and behavior was recorded for 2 h (period A). Between 2 and 6 h (period B), gilts were given two male piglets (< 12 h old) and a novelty object (house brick) and recordings continued. During period A, PGF2alpha animals showed greater frequencies of standing, pawing, rooting, lifting, and carrying straw (indices of nest building) and scratching than saline treated animals. During period B, one PGF2alpha- and two saline-treated gilts attacked piglets, which were removed from the pen and the gilts excluded from further analysis. There were no treatment differences in period B in gilt posture, nest building behavior, or interactions with piglets or novelty object, except for a reduced frequency to trap piglets beneath their bodies and an increased frequency to attempt to escape from the pen in PGF2alpha-treated animals. Piglet position relative to the gilts' head and udder was unaffected by treatment. Gilts in both groups approached and nosed piglets more within the first 30 min of period B than subsequently. PGF2alpha-induced nest building had only a weak impact upon subsequent interactions between gilts and piglets, suggesting that mechanisms controlling porcine nest building and maternal behavior in this model were not directly linked.

Aggression↗
PubMed2004

Consequences of elevating plasma testosterone in females of a socially monogamous songbird: evidence of constraints on male evolution?

To explore whether selection for testosterone-mediated traits in males might be constrained by costs of higher testosterone to females, we examined the effects of experimental elevation of plasma testosterone on physiological, reproductive, and behavioral parameters in a female songbird, the dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis). We used subcutaneous implants to elevate testosterone (T) in captive and free-living female juncos. In captive birds, we measured the effects of high T on body mass, feather molt, and brood patch formation. In the field, we monitored its effects on the timing of egg laying, clutch size, egg size, egg steroid levels, incubation, and nest-defense behavior. Females implanted with testosterone (T-females) had significantly higher circulating levels of testosterone than did control females (C-females). Captive T-females had lower body mass, were less likely to develop brood patches, and delayed feather molt relative to C-females. Among free-living females, the interval between nest completion and appearance of the first egg was longer for T-females than for C-females and egg yolk concentrations of testosterone were higher, but there were no significant differences in estradiol levels, clutch size, or egg size. Incubation and nest defense behavior were also similar between T- and C-females. Our results suggest that selection on males for higher testosterone might initially lead to a correlated response in females producing changes in body mass and feather molt, both of which could be detrimental. Other possible female responses would be delayed onset of reproduction, which might reduce reproductive success, and higher yolk testosterone, which might have either positive or negative effects on offspring development. We found no reason to expect reduced parental behavior by females as a negative fitness consequence of selection for higher testosterone in males.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Lesions to the medial preoptic nucleus differentially affect singing and nest box-directed behaviors within and outside of the breeding season in European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris).

Little is known about how the brain regulates context-appropriate communication. European starlings produce song in various social contexts. During the breeding season, males with nest sites sing high levels of sexually motivated song in response to a female. Outside of this context, song rates are not affected by female presence. The medial preoptic nucleus (POM) regulates male sexual behavior, and studies in songbirds implicate the POM in sexually motivated song. Recent data suggest that the role of the POM might extend to song produced in other contexts as well. To examine this possibility, effects of bilateral electrolytic lesions of the POM on singing and other behaviors in adult male starlings within sexually relevant and nonsexual contexts were studied. Lesions to the POM exclusively reduced song and nest box-directed behaviors within highly sexually relevant contexts. Unexpectedly, POM lesions increased song in a nonsexual context, suggesting an inhibitory role for the POM in this context. These data suggest that the POM interacts with the song control system so that song occurs in an appropriate social context in response to appropriate stimuli.

Animals↗
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↗
PubMed2002

Effects of testosterone on song, aggression, and nestling feeding behavior in male great tits, Parus major.

As outlined in the trade-off hypothesis of testosterone (T) secretion, fluctuations in T during the breeding season might reflect how males allocate their time and energy to competitive behaviors for mates and territories, associated with high T levels, and parental activities, associated with low T levels. In the present study, great tit, Parus major, males were implanted with T-filled or empty silastic capsules at the start of the breeding season and the behavior of these two male categories was compared during the entire breeding season. As a measure of competitive behavior we looked at song behavior and territorial responsiveness to a male decoy, during the three main stages of the breeding period (the egg-laying, incubation, and nestling stages). As a measure of parental care we looked at feeding behavior during the nestling stage. Our results only partly supported the trade-off hypothesis. T implants increased plasma androgen levels and enhanced spontaneous song activity and the production of aggressive vocalizations in response to a decoy. However, our results suggest that the degree of physical aggression might be less than fully coupled with T. First, approach to the decoy was not affected by the treatment. Second, although T levels are known to vary from high during egg laying to low while feeding young, control and T-treated males spent similar amounts of time close to the decoy in the three breeding stages. Our results thus suggest that vocal and physical aggression might be regulated differently in the great tit. Furthermore, in contrast with most other studies on temperate bird species but in agreement with a previous study on the great tit, T treatment did not affect male feeding rates. As the dose of T we used was lower than that typically used in other studies, we cannot at present completely exclude the possibility that the latter result reflects this lower dose of T rather than the species used.

Aggression↗
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↗