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PubMed1991

Nuclear estrogen receptor binding in microdissected brain regions of female rats during pregnancy: implications for maternal and sexual behavior.

Previously, we showed that changes in nuclear estrogen receptor (NER) concentrations within large dissections of the preoptic area and hypothalamus of pregnant rats might underlie changes in both maternal and sexual behaviors. To more precisely localize these biochemical changes, NER concentrations were measured in microdissected nuclei within the preoptic area and hypothalamus of pregnant rats on days 8, 16 and 22. Results indicated that NER levels changed significantly throughout pregnancy and that the magnitude and direction of change was site specific. Although a different pattern of change was found in each nucleus, NER levels in most preoptic area nuclei were significantly higher by the 16th day of pregnancy compared to those on day 8, while receptor levels in most hypothalamic nuclei did not increase until day 22 of pregnancy. The higher NER levels found in preoptic area nuclei of female rats as pregnancy advances can be correlated with growing maternal responsiveness during pregnancy, while elevated concentrations of NER in hypothalamic nuclei at the end of pregnancy may indicate preparation for postpartum estrus.

Amygdala↗
PubMed2005

Dopamine agonist treatment before and after the birth reduces prolactin concentration but does not impair paternal responsiveness in Djungarian hamsters, Phodopus campbelli.

Male Djungarian hamsters, Phodopus campbelli, are highly parental and experience a late-afternoon prolactin surge before the birth that is not seen in a closely related species, P. sungorus, which lacks paternal care. At the same stage, female prolactin is needed for later maternal behavior. Male prolactin was suppressed in first-time fathers before the birth of the litter using two different dopamine agonists, bromocriptine mesylate and cabergoline. Plasma prolactin concentration confirmed the efficacy of each treatment. Paternal responsiveness was quantified using three variations on a pup-displacement paradigm. No adverse effects of either treatment were seen. Across four experiments, there was no decrease in paternal retrieval or in retrieval latency in response to male prolactin suppression. In addition, there was no decrease in litter growth or survival, nor was there an increase in maternal investment to compensate for a deficit in paternal care. As cabergoline suppression of prolactin persisted after the birth without behavioral deficits, prolactin after the birth was also not required for the expression of paternal behavior. In spite of an extensive literature supporting an association between prolactin and natural paternal behavior, we conclude that dopamine-mediated prolactin release into peripheral plasma is not essential for paternal responsiveness in P. campbelli.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Dopamine receptor blockade in the nucleus accumbens inhibits maternal retrieval and licking, but enhances nursing behavior in lactating rats.

Maternal behaviors were recorded in rats after a 4-h dam-litter separation and intracranial microinfusion of saline on Day 6 postpartum or cis-flupenthixol (FLU), a dopamine (DA) receptor antagonist, on Days 7-9, within the nucleus accumbens (NA) or dorsomedial striatum (DMS) bilaterally (5, 10, or 20 micro/microL/side), or the lateral ventricle (LV) unilaterally (20 or 40 micro/microL). The number of pups retrieved was inhibited in a dosage-dependent manner by FLU within the NA, but not in other sites. Pup retrieval did not occur within 5 min after 20 microg FLU in five out of nine NA dams; only in these dams did infusions include the shell region of the NA. Duration of pup licking was dose dependently decreased by FLU, the most within the NA, and to a lesser extent within the DMS. Nursing behavior in the kyphotic (upright, dorsally arched) posture, initiated in the absence of pup retrieval by placing the dam over the gathered pups, was not inhibited by intracranial FLU in any site assessed, but rather lasted longer after FLU in NA dams. These various effects of FLU, especially in NA, may be related to modest increases in catalepsy.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Receiving severe aggression correlates with fetal gender in pregnant pigtailed monkeys.

Pregnant females were severely bitten in 220 of 2,822 conceptions among pigtail macaques living in harem groups. These pregnancies yielded 58.6% female offspring compared with 48.5% for nonbitten pregnant animals. The fetal gender difference occurred only after midterm, reaching a peak of 70% female fetuses in the 4th gestational month. Fetal gender thus appeared to influence maternal behavior, appearance, or physiology in some way detectable to other monkeys with the consequence of altering risk for receiving severe aggression.

Aggression↗
PubMed1979

Behavioral effects of fetal and neonatal exposure to methadone in the rat.

Twenty-two pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were maintained on methadone hydrochloride solution (14 mg/kg/day, PO, ad lib) throughout gestation, or served as prenatal controls with equal intake of tap water. Within 48 hr of birth 129 pups were cross-fostered to dams of postnatal control or methadone (27 mg/kg/day, PO, ad lib) status. A significant increase in stillbirths occurred among prenatal methadone litters. Disturbed maternal behavior sometimes developed when a dam was switched from prenatal control to postnatal methadone or vice versa. Foster pups of such females showed long-lasting growth retardation and less emotionality in Open Field trials as adults. They were less active on Day 28 in a circular path test, but when tested after Day 65, they were more active. Pups exposed to methadone both pre- and post-natally were lest active in initial Open Field tests (both on Day 28 and after Day 65) of all treatment groups. No severe withdrawal symptoms were noted in pups at birth or weaning. The effect of methadone on growth, emotionality and activity level was mild compared to the effects of drug-induced maternal disorganization.

Aging↗
PubMed2005

Perinatal exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds alters behavior and brain in the female pine vole.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are synthetic chemicals that arise from sources such as pesticides and have the ability to mimic or inhibit gonadal steroid hormones. The objective of this research was to examine the effects of EDCs on the behaviors associated with monogamy and the expression of related neuropeptide receptors. Pine voles, a novel experimental mammal, were chosen because they display strong monogamous pair bonding. Female pine voles were orally administered estrogenic diethylstilbestrol (DES) and methoxychlor (MXC) or oil control throughout gestation and lactation of pups. Exposed pups were tested as adults. Preference for the mate and maternal behaviors were assessed. While the ability to form partner preferences was intact, DES-exposed females showed increased aggression toward a stranger, while MXC exposed females showed a strong trend toward spending more time alone. Oxytocin (OT) receptor binding in the brain was assessed for possible effects on this behaviorally important neuropeptide signaling system. The cingulate cortex showed a reduction in OT binding in the MXC group. These findings demonstrate that exposure to EDCs during pre- and neonatal development can alter female adult neural phenotype and behavior related to monogamous behavior traits.

Aggression↗
PubMed1990

Minor parenting stresses with young children.

The importance of major life stress and minor daily hassles associated with parenting was studied in 74 mothers and their 5-year-old children. Of interest were the relative and absolute contributions of the stress factors to indices of parental, child, and family functioning. Mothers completed questionnaires regarding stressors, aspects of parenting and individual psychological status, social support, family functioning, and child behavioral status. Mother-child pairs were also observed in interactions in a laboratory setting. Analyses indicated that life stress and parenting daily hassles significantly predicted aspects of child, parent, and family status. Hassles, however, proved to be a more powerful stress construct. Further analyses indicated that mothers' social support moderated the influence of hassles on indices of maternal behavior. The results are discussed in relation to the potential for minor parenting stresses to influence microsocial processes within parent-child relationships and contribute to dysfunction in children and families.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1982

Relationship of maternal language to language development and language delay of children.

Maternal language characteristics associated with language-delayed children were examined. Two age groups of Down syndrome children were matched on mean length of utterance (MLU) with two groups of nonretarded, language-delayed children and two groups of "normal" children, mostly from middle-class families. Twenty-minute audio tapes were recorded for each dyad in the home during free play, and the first 10 minutes were transcribed and coded into functional types of maternal language. Mothers of nonretarded, language-delayed children used more language irrelevant to the interaction than did mothers of Down syndrome children, who, in turn, used more irrelevant language than did mothers of "normal" children. Mothers of nonretarded, language-delayed children focused less on their children's utterances than did other mothers and more on their physical behavior. Maternal language patterns appeared to be related more to language problems for nonretarded, language-delayed children than for Down syndrome children.

Child Language↗
PubMed2001

Multiple lifestyle and psychosocial risks and delivery of small for gestational age infants.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the occurrence of multiple risk behaviors during pregnancy among women who delivered a live birth and to examine the risk of delivering small for gestational age (SGA) infants for women with multiple risks. METHODS: We used data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System to conduct the research. Pregnancy Risk Assessment System is a population-based, mixed-mode surveillance system that collects information on maternal behaviors and experiences. We used data for 1997 from 13 (n = 19,331) states that had response rates of over 70%. We considered ten self-reported individual risk behaviors or exposures (eg, smoking, unintended pregnancy) and several demographic variables. The main outcome was SGA. RESULTS: Pregnant women engage in or are exposed to multiple risks and often these risks are inter-related. The occurrence of multiple risks appears to be associated with an increased likelihood of delivering an SGA infant. Compared with women with no reported risks or exposures, the adjusted odds ratios for delivering an SGA infant were as follows: 1.29 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.69, 2.43) for one, 1.86 (95% CI 1.00, 3.44) for two, 1.67 (95% CI 0.90, 3.10) for three, 2.06 (95% CI 1.10, 3.89) for four, 3.53 (95% CI 1.71, 7.30) for five, and 3.82 (95% CI 1.97, 7.41) for six or more risks or exposures. CONCLUSION: A large proportion of pregnant women engage in or are exposed to multiple risks. Women with a larger number of risks are at greater risk for delivering an SGA infant than women with fewer or no risks.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

HOME inventory and NCATS: relation to mother and child behaviors during naturalistic observations. Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment. Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships among the Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS), the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) inventory, and interactive behaviors observed in the home for fifty-three 3-year-old, prematurely born children and their mothers. The total HOME score showed high internal consistency, with moderate subscale levels. NCATS total score showed high internal consistency, but low to moderate subscale consistency. Combining NCATS subscales into a mother subscale and child subscale improved internal consistency. The HOME and the NCATS mother subscale correlated with observed maternal behaviors, but the NCATS child subscale was unrelated to child behaviors. Relationships between observed behaviors and HOME scores did not differ for high- and low-education mothers or for Caucasians and African Americans, but only low-education mothers and African Americans exhibited correlations between NCATS scores and observed behaviors. These results show the HOME, NCATS, and naturalistic observations measure related, but not overlapping, aspects of the mother's contribution to her relationship with her child, but the NCATS child subscale should be used with caution with 3-year-olds.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Social interaction shapes babbling: testing parallels between birdsong and speech.

Birdsong is considered a model of human speech development at behavioral and neural levels. Few direct tests of the proposed analogs exist, however. Here we test a mechanism of phonological development in human infants that is based on social shaping, a selective learning process first documented in songbirds. By manipulating mothers' reactions to their 8-month-old infants' vocalizations, we demonstrate that phonological features of babbling are sensitive to nonimitative social stimulation. Contingent, but not noncontingent, maternal behavior facilitates more complex and mature vocal behavior. Changes in vocalizations persist after the manipulation. The data show that human infants use social feedback, facilitating immediate transitions in vocal behavior. Social interaction creates rapid shifts to developmentally more advanced sounds. These transitions mirror the normal development of speech, supporting the predictions of the avian social shaping model. These data provide strong support for a parallel in function between vocal precursors of songbirds and infants. Because imitation is usually considered the mechanism for vocal learning in both taxa, the findings introduce social shaping as a general process underlying the development of speech and song.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Contribution of maternal smoking during pregnancy and lead exposure to early child behavior problems.

Maternal smoking during pregnancy elevates risk for later child behavior problems. Because prior studies considered only Western settings, where smoking co-occurs with social disadvantage, we examined this association in Yugoslavia, a different cultural setting. Mothers enrolled in pregnancy as the low-exposure group in a prospective study of lead exposure were interviewed about health, including smoking history. A total of 199 children were assessed on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at ages 4, 4 1/2, and 5 years. Average cumulative blood lead (BPb) was determined from serial samples taken biannually since delivery. Longitudinal analyses were derived from 191 children with available data on behavior and covariates. Smoking was unrelated to social adversity. Controlling for age, gender, birthweight, ethnicity, maternal education, and Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Acceptance, smoking was associated with worse scores on almost all subscales; BPb concentration was related to small increases in the Delinquency subscale. Daughters of smokers received significantly higher scores on Somatic Complaints compared to daughters of nonsmokers, consistent with other work relating biological factors and internalizing problems in young girls. Because the present smoking/child behavior associations persist after control for individual and social factors also related to behavior problems, possible biological mediators are considered.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Maternal predictors of behavioral disturbance in preschool children: a research note.

The effects of maternal mental health and familial stress on child behavior were evaluated in a community sample of 691 preschoolers. Presence of behavior problems was determined using the Behavior Screening Questionnaire (BSQ) at age 3, and using the Conners Parent Rating Scale at age 4. In multivariate analyses, the development of disturbance was predicted by higher BSQ score, maternal role competition and maternal hostility assessed at both interviews; persistence was predicted by initial BSQ score and initial maternal hostility only. These results underscore the complexity of the relationships among maternal, familial and childhood variables.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Behavioral and neuroendocrine responses in shy children.

Previous research has shown that infants who display a high frequency of motor activity and negative affect at 4 months of age are likely to be behaviorally inhibited toddlers. We examined social behaviors, maternal report of temperament, salivary cortisol, and baseline startle responses at age 4 in a sample of children, some of whom displayed a high frequency of motor activity and negative affect at 4 months of age. Infants who displayed this temperamental profile were reported by their mothers as more shy at age 4 compared with other children. We also found that 4-year-olds who displayed a high frequency of wary behavior during peer play exhibited relatively high morning salivary cortisol, were reported as contemporaneously shy by their mothers, and were behaviorally inhibited at 14 months of age. There were no significant relations found between baseline startle and morning salivary cortisol and measures of shyness at age 4. We speculate that high levels of cortisol in shy children may induce changes in the amygdala, exacerbating their fearfulness.

Affect↗