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The influence of piglet birth weight on physical and behavioural development in early life.

The objective of this study was to determine whether body weight at birth influences the physical and behavioural development of the neonatal pig. Sixteen sows and their litters were randomly allocated into four treatment groups. From the normal distribution curve of their birth weight, piglets were sub-divided into three groups: (1) low (<10th percentile) (2) normal (10-90th percentile) and (3) high (>90th percentile). To assess behavioural development, each litter was exposed to a ball placed in the creep area for a period of 1,800 s, and evaluated once over a 3-day period starting on either 5, 7, 14 or 21 days of postnatal life. Their response to, and interaction with, an object was used to calculate a numerical index of piglet behavioural development. Teat order was calculated following observations during consecutive suckling on days 11, 13 and 15 of life, and dominance hierarchy was assessed on day 12, 14 and 16. Individual body weight was recorded on days 0, 5, 7, 14 and 21 of postnatal life. Statistical differences between groups were analysed using general linear model, analysis of variance. Regression analyses were used to determine relationships between physical and behavioural development with teat order and dominance. There was a significant (p < 0.001) relationship between birth weight, growth performance and behavioural development. Behavioural developmental index (BDI) significantly improved (p < 0.001) with age and was also influenced by the day on which the ball was introduced (p < 0.01). Body weight on day 1 of the test was significantly (p < 0.001) correlated to BDI and age at test. Piglets demonstrating compensatory growth were more dominant and exhibited an improved behavioural developmental score than their slower growing littermates. In conclusion, compromised growth in utero can have a detrimental effect on the physical and behavioural development of the neonate. Animals with an enhanced developmental index in conjunction with a higher dominance value exhibited a improved neonatal growth performance.

Animals↗

Cup feeding: problems created by incorrect use.

This case describes an infant who was fully fed breast milk by cup, because of poor attachment and breast refusal. Faulty method of cup feeding caused the infant to aspirate breast milk and hindered, rather than assisted, the retention of oral skills required for attachment at the breast. Withdrawal of the cup and use of other feeding techniques produced good mouth closure and deep swallowing.

Breast Feeding↗

Induction by young of prolonged dioestrus in virgin rats behaving maternally.

The present investigation examined, by study of daily vaginal smears, whether the interaction of virgin female rats with young affected the oestrous cycle. Virgins behaving non-maternally or maternally were continuously exposed to young for extended periods. (1) All non-maternal virgins continued to cycle while 87% of maternal virgins ceased to cycle when exposed to young, and entered a series of prolonged dioestrous phases, each lasting about 14 days. Likewise, all maternal parous non-lactating controls exposed to young entered prolonged dioestrus. (2) The dioestrous phase induced by young in virgins was characterized by the decidual response. (3) Young aged 4-9 days were as effective as 10-15-day-old young for inducing and maintaining the dioestrus. (4) Confinement of young in a wire-mesh basket showed that body contact with young was essential to establish dioestrus. (5) Body contact with young was sufficient to induce dioestrus in maternal virgins with excised nipples. (6) Once established, the dioestrus could be maintained for about 12 days after removal of young as early as Day 4 of dioestrus in virgin and parous non-lactating females, but removal of young on Day 6 from post-partum lactating females resulted in a rapid resumption of cyclicity. (7) Prolonged suckling during a series of dioestrous phases induced lactation in 61% of maternal virgins, as well as in all parous control females.

Age Factors↗

Risk factors for the emergence of childhood eating disturbances: a five-year prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: Research suggests that eating problems are often present by preadolescence, yet little is known about the age of emergence of these early eating disturbances or risk factors for these behaviors. Thus, we investigated the timing of onset of disturbed eating during childhood and the predictors of these behaviors. METHOD: These aims were addressed by following a sample of children and their parents (N = 216) for the first 5 years of the children's lives. RESULTS: Data suggested that the risk for emergence of inhibited eating, secretive eating, overeating, and vomiting increased annually through age 5. Maternal body dissatisfaction, internalization of the thin-ideal, dieting, bulimic symptoms, and maternal and paternal body mass prospectively predicted the emergence of childhood eating disturbances. Infant feeding behavior and body mass during the first month of life also predicted the emergence of these behaviors. DISCUSSION: Results suggest that eating disturbances emerge during childhood and may be a function of certain parental and child characteristics.

Adult↗

Effects of unilateral suckling on nursing behavior and c-fos activity in the caudal periaqueductal gray in rats.

In rats, suckling elicits kyphosis-the bilaterally symmetrical, upright, humpbacked nursing posture-and maximal expression of the immediate early gene c-fos in a region of the caudal periaqueductal gray (cPAG) that mediates the sensorimotor integration of kyphosis. We determined the effects of prepartum unilateral nipple removal on nursing behavior and c-fos expression during a 60-min mother-litter interaction on Day 7 postpartum. Compared with dams suckled by 6 pups bilaterally, dams suckled unilaterally displayed essentially normal maternal behaviors, including kyphosis. Unilaterally suckled dams, however, showed an increase in the abnormal prone nursing posture, a decrease in proportion of kyphotic nursing of total time over pups, and a 20% higher contralateral/ipsilateral ratio of cPAG neurons expressing c-fos. These results are consistent with an incompletely lateralized neural pathway conveying suckling stimulation to the cPAG and provide a mechanism whereby kyphosis is elicited by unilateral suckling when pups initiate nursing from their supine dam.

Animals↗

Guidance and differentiation of maternally directed orienting behaviors: probing the origins of filial attachment.

Newborn rats seek and attain contact with their mothers by orienting and primitive locomotor behaviors called maternally-directed orienting behaviors (MDOBs). By 2 days of age MDOBs are elicited specifically by maternal features and are heightened by a period of acute separation from the mother. This behavioral regulation by the mother's presence suggests an early form of filial attachment. To probe for other evidence of filial attachment, two aspects of the controls of MDOBs were investigated: (1) whether MDOBs are goal-corrected in relation to the dam's position and (2) whether the performance of MDOBs can be separated from that of suckling. It was found that, during the first 2 days after birth, MDOBs maintained the pup's ventrum-to-ventrum contact with the dam regardless of her position, suggesting that they are goal-corrected. Evidence was not found for independent controls of nipple grasping (NG), the behavior that initiates suckling, and MDOBs during the first two postnatal days.

Animals↗

Taste differentiation in the context of suckling and independent, adultlike ingestive behavior.

The present study compared intake of sweet (saccharin), bitter (quinine), and neutral (water) tastants available either in the context of suckling behavior through a surrogate nipple or independent adultlike feeding through an intraoral cheek cannula in 3-hr-old newborn rats lacking any suckling experience and 24-hr-old rats with regular experience with the dam's nipple. The new technique of online monitoring of fluid flow was applied for assessment of the temporal patterns of ingestion. Newborn and 1-day-old rats tested in the context of suckling behavior showed extremely low intake of quinine, moderate intake of water, and high intake of saccharin. In the same way, they demonstrated low intake of quinine and high intake of saccharin in the context of independent feeding, but intake of water was also high and comparable to that of saccharin. Suckling rats attained higher efficacy of fluid extraction from nipple than pups drinking from cannula. The differential responsiveness to quinine, saccharin, and water in suckling rats was also manifested through attachment behavior, with pups spending less time on the nipple providing quinine and more time on the nipple with saccharin than on the nipple providing water. These results suggest that neonates show taste differentiation as early as 3 hr after birth, and that this taste differentiation is more pronounced in the context of suckling behavior than in the context of adultlike, independent ingestion.

Age Factors↗

A specialization of taste aversion learning during suckling and its weaning-associated transformation.

During ontogenesis, altricial mammals advance through different ecological niches which require correspondingly different adaptive strategies. We view learning as an important feature of ontogenetic adaptations and consider the acquisition and expression of taste aversion learning during nursing within this framework. Fifteen-day-old preweanling rat pups fail to acquire conditioned taste aversions while nursing, whereas 20-day-old weanlings readily learn flavor aversions while suckling (Martin & Alberts, 1979). The developmental emergence of taste aversion learning while nursing coincides with reduction in maternal milk supply and the rat pup's transition to a solid food diet. We considered the ontogenetic transformation of learning while nursing as a feeding-related adaptive strategy of the weanling rat and tested two predictions derived from this view: (1) delayed weaning might postpone acquisition or expression of suckling-related taste aversions and (2) conditions that permit weaning (e.g., access to alternate food sources) might induce acquisition or expression of such taste aversions. Both predictions were confirmed.

Animals↗