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PubMed1977

The dynamics and treatment of child abuse: can primate research provide the answers?

Practitioners in the mental health professions presently are faced with the tasks of understanding the dynamics involved in the problem of child abuse and devising efficacious treatment and rehabilitation programs for both the abusive parent and the abused child. The present paper reviews research done by comparative psychologists more than a decade ago that should be considered by those practitioners involved in the treatment of the family in which child abuse has occurred. Seay, Alexander and Harlow (1964) reported on a study that not only points out an etiological factor in abusive mother monkeys, but suggests treatment approaches for both the mother and her battered infant.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Parent-training programmes for improving maternal psychosocial health.

BACKGROUND: Mental health problems are common and there is evidence to suggest that the origins of such problems lie in infancy and childhood. In particular, there is evidence from a range of studies to suggest that maternal psychosocial health can have a significant effect on the mother-infant relationship, and that this in turn can have consequences for both the short and long-term psychological health of the child. The use of parenting programmes is increasing in the UK and elsewhere and evidence of their effectiveness in improving outcomes for children has been provided. Evidence is now required of their effectiveness in improving outcomes for mothers. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this review is to address whether group-based parenting programmes are effective in improving maternal psychosocial health including anxiety, depression, and self-esteem. SEARCH STRATEGY: A range of biomedical, social science, educational and general reference electronic databases were searched including MEDLINE, EMBASE CINAHL, PsychLIT, ERIC, ASSIA, Sociofile and the Social Science Citation Index. Other sources of information included the Cochrane Library (SPECTR, CENTRAL), and the National Research Register (NRR). SELECTION CRITERIA: Only randomised controlled trials were included in which participants had been randomly allocated to an experimental and a control group, the latter being a waiting-list, no-treatment or a placebo control group. Studies had to include at least one group-based parenting programme, and one standardised instrument measuring maternal psychosocial health. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: A systematic critical appraisal of all included studies was undertaken using a modified version of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published criteria. The treatment effect for each outcome in each study was standardised by dividing the mean difference in post-intervention scores for the intervention and treatment group, by the pooled standard deviation, to produce an effect size. Where appropriate the results were then combined in a meta-analysis using a fixed-effect model, and 95% confidence intervals were used to assess the significance of the findings. MAIN RESULTS: A total of 23 studies were included in the original review which was increased to 26 at the first udate (2003). Of these 20 provided sufficient data to calculate effect sizes. The 20 studies provided a total of 64 assessments of outcome on a range of aspects of psychosocial functioning including depression, anxiety, stress, self-esteem, social competence, social support, guilt, mood, automatic thoughts, dyadic adjustment, psychiatric morbidity, irrationality, anger and aggression, mood, attitude, personality, and beliefs. Data sufficient to combine in a meta-analysis existed for only five outcomes (depression; anxiety/stress; self-esteem; social support; and relationship with spouse/marital adjustment). The results of the meta-analyses show statistically significant results favouring the intervention group for depression; anxiety/stress; self-esteem; and relationship with spouse/marital adjustment. The meta-analysis of the social support data showed no evidence of effectiveness. Of the remaining data that it was not possible to combine in a meta-analysis, approximately 22% of the outcomes measured, showed significant differences between the intervention group and the control group. A further 40% showed non-significant differences favouring the intervention group. Approximately one-third of outcomes showed no evidence of effectiveness.A meta-analysis of the follow-up data on three outcomes was also conducted - depression, self-esteem and relationship with spouse/marital adjustment. The results show that there was a continued improvement in self-esteem, depression, and marital adjustment at follow-up, although the latter two findings were not statistically significant. This review has been updated (2003) with the addition of 3 new included studies. A number of additional excluded studies have also been added. There is one additional study awaiting 03) with the addition of 3 new included studies. A number of additional excluded studies have also been added. There is one additional study awaiting assessment and 2 ongoing studies listed for inclusion at a future update of this review. The size of effect for the main outcomes has not been substantially altered by this update. Additional sensitivity analyses to assess the impact of quasi randomised studies on the result have also been added. Where the quasi randomised studies are excluded from the analysis, the result was found to be slightly more conservative. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: It is suggested that parenting programmes can make a significant contribution to the short-term psychosocial health of mothers. However, there is currently a paucity of evidence concerning whether these results are maintained over time, and the limited follow-up data which are available show equivocal results. This points to the need for further evidence concerning the long-term effectiveness of parenting programmes on maternal mental health. Whilst the results of this review are positive overall, some studies showed no effect. Further research is needed to assess which factors contribute to successful outcomes in these programmes with particular attention being paid to the quality of delivery.These results suggest that parenting programmes have a potential role to play in the promotion of mental health.

Anxiety↗
PubMed2026

Trade-offs in avian parental care: a review of theory and meta-analysis of brood size manipulations.

The selective forces shaping parental care have been studied for over 50 years. While theoretical and experimental work has yielded qualitative progress, the large body of empirical work testing predictions about parental investment based on life-history trade-offs has yet to be synthesized. We first provide an overview of the core life-history theory exploring how selection might shape parental care. We then conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis on studies that experimentally manipulated brood size in birds, a widely used experimental approach to manipulate parental investment. We extracted 313 estimates from 62 studies representing 31 species of birds from 19 different families and tested key predictions on trade-offs in parental care derived from theory. Our analysis provides strong support for some predictions about life-history trade-offs in parental care, but weak or equivocal support for others. Specifically, we found that overall, avian parents respond to brood size manipulations as predicted by life-history theory: they increased care in response to brood enlargement, and decreased care in response to brood reductions. Furthermore, for the same relative manipulation size, responses to brood reductions were greater than responses to brood enlargements. This finding is consistent with predictions derived from life-history theory based on some types of non-linear utility curves. However, many predictions derived from theory are not well supported by our comparative analysis. Species' life-history traits such as clutch size (a measure of current reproduction), adult survival, and broods per year (two measures of future reproduction), explained little, if any, among-species variation in response to brood size manipulations. Several factors may explain this. We highlight that brood size manipulations may affect more than just perception of the value of current reproduction, such as altering parents' perception of predation risk. Importantly, these unintended consequences could lead to asymmetric responses like those we observed. Other common experimental approaches - such as hormone manipulations, altering a partner's effort, and food supplementation - often affect multiple traits or fitness components simultaneously, or may involve cues that poorly match the evolved mechanisms guiding parental behaviour. Our review of both theory and experimental approaches suggests that there are multiple opportunities for more precise experiments. We offer several recommendations for effective designs. One is improved understanding of the biology underlying the functions relating to costs and benefits, with careful consideration of not only how the manipulation will affect only one of those, but also the mechanisms that might alter how parents perceive the manipulation. We also emphasize general principles, such as assessing alternative hypotheses and devising multiple independent tests. Armed with these recommendations, we believe there are new opportunities to increase the strength of inference achieved from studies aimed at understanding the trade-offs affecting the evolution of parental care.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Social, thermal, and temporal influences on isolation-induced and maternally potentiated ultrasonic vocalizations of rat pups.

Sensory and temporal factors have been demonstrated to be involved in the regulation of isolation-induced ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) of young rats. Sensory cues include thermal, olfactory, and tactile modalities. Temporal factors include the time spent in isolation. The goal of the present research was to examine the interaction of these factors in both isolation-induced and maternally potentiated USV. Maternal potentiation of USV occurs when a brief interaction with the dam, even a passive (anesthetized) dam, elicits an augmented vocal response to a subsequent isolation, with rates of USV in rat pups well above those emitted in standard isolation tests. We found that passive maternal potentiation of USV did occur under all conditions tested. Neither a 30-min prior isolation nor high ambient temperature prevented an increase in USV rate over the rate of the original isolation. After 30-min isolation at warm temperatures when the rate of USV had fallen to zero, the pups increased vocalization in the presence of the dam as well as in the subsequent isolation. Temporal and thermal factors also interacted significantly in regulating the level of the USV emitted by the pups during the first isolation, in the presence of the anesthetized dam, and during the second isolation.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Postnatal stress in mice: does "stressing" the mother have the same effect as "stressing" the pups?

Short- and long-term effects of brief maternal separation, maternal exposure to novel male odor, and standard rearing were compared in NMRI mice. The first condition consisted of 15 min of daily exposure of pups to clean bedding (CB), and the second condition consisted of 15 min of mothers' exposure to the odor of strange males (SM), for 14 days after birth starting from postnatal Day 1. Thus, both conditions entailed the same period of maternal separation. A control mother-offspring group was left undisturbed (nonhandled, N-H). Corticosterone levels of mothers and pups were measured at the end of the last manipulation session. Corticosterone levels were higher in SM mothers, differing from both those of CB and of control dams; CB pups showed the highest corticosterone levels in comparison with the pups belonging to the other groups. Maternal behavior observed as furthest as possible from the daily separation session did not differ among the three groups. The behavioral response to 0.5 mg/kg of apomorphine in 15-day-old pups was enhanced in both CB and SM animals, which suggests an alteration of dopaminergic functioning. Finally, adult CB and SM male mice showed an increase in the percentage of time and entries into the open arms of the plus-maze in comparison to nonhandled males. This study indicates that exposure to ecologically relevant stimuli elicited a stress response in lactating dams. This "social stress" brings about short- and long-term effects in the offspring, even in the absence of any direct manipulation of the pups.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Comparative studies of the ultrasonic calls of infant murid rodents.

The ultrasonic calls of 10 species of murid rodents including 3 strains of house mice are described and the significance of interspecific similarities and differences is discussed. The calls of newborn murid rodents may be characterized by their gradual onset and cessation, their comparative lack of amplitude and frequency modulation, and, often, by the presence of only 1 frequency component. These common acoustic characteristics may be important in eliciting and/or maintaining various aspects of maternal behavior, both in and out of the nest.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Mother-infant interaction and the modulation of pituitary-adrenal activity in rat pups after early stimulation.

In Experiment I, handling or electric shock of 2-day-old rat pups triggered pituitary-adrenocortical activity. Interaction between mother and litter after pup treatment affected the magnitude and the time course of the pups' adrenocortical response. Mother-infant interactions following pup treatment on Day 2 were found to affect the responsiveness of pups to later stimulation. In Experiment II handled or shocked pups that were returned to a mother-absent nest were subsequently found to be less responsive to ACTH injection than were pups returned to a mother-present next following treatment. These data are discussed in terms of the reciprocity and synchrony in mother-infant interactions and the Maternal Mediation hypothesis of early experience.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Loss of calcineurin from the medial preoptic area of primiparous rats.

Western blot analyses reveal that calcineurin A (CNA), which is present in the hippocampus, basolateral amygdala, parietal cortex, and MPOA of virgin males and females, is undetectable only in the MPOA of primiparous females regardless of whether they had postpartum pup contact or not. In contrast, CNB was expressed at unchanging levels in the PC and MPOA. Similarly, G(alphao) and PKA(RI) were expressed at high levels in all of the brain regions of virgin males, virgin females, and primiparous females, supporting the concept that this loss of CNA is a specific event. Understanding how and why the expression of CNA, the sole neuronal Ca2+/CaM-dependent protein phosphatase, is down-regulated specifically in the MPOA of primiparous females may yield some insight into the signal transduction events that mediate the onset of mammalian maternal behavior.

Amygdala↗
PubMed1989

Changes in immunostaining for oxytocin in the forebrain of the female rat during late pregnancy, parturition and early lactation.

Serial brain sections of female rats at late pregnancy, parturition or early lactation were immunostained for oxytocin. Immunoreactive perikarya were visible in the magnocellular nuclei in all experimental animals as well as in ovariectomized, nulliparous controls. During late pregnancy and at parturition additional immunostaining appeared in groups of perivascular neurons in the preoptic region, the lateral subcommissural nucleus, the perifornical region and scattered throughout the ventral portion of the hypothalamus. Immunostaining of almost all of these perivascular neurons disappeared by day two postpartum, while another population of oxytocin neurons, without association with blood vessels, appeared in these brain regions after parturition. Immunostaining of processes from oxytocinergic neurons in the periventricular nucleus increased markedly near parturition. Many of these processes projected toward the third ventricle. Oxytocinergic neuronal systems that are activated in late pregnancy and early postpartum may contribute to several physiological changes associated with parturition and lactation including the onset of maternal behavior.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Vocalizations in newborn mice: genetic analysis.

Two kinds of vocalizations are produced by newborn mice: whistles (between 50 and 150 ms in length), having a narrow bandwidth in each strain that ranges from 30 to 90 kHz; and clicks, which are shorter (about 1 ms) and have a larger bandwidth. These vocalizations were individually recorded in 1-day-old pups from seven inbred strains of laboratory mice, at two temperatures (23 +/- 0.5 and 15 +/- 0.5 degrees C). The numbers of clicks and whistles were counted under these two conditions. Moreover, the length and frequencies at the beginning, apex, and end of the whistles were measured during the 15 degrees C condition. Correlations, including several components-additivity, epistasis (between homozygous loci), and maternal environment-were calculated between the characteristics of the whistles during the 15 degrees C condition. Clicks and whistles were also counted from 1 to 8 days of age during the 15 degrees C condition. The numbers of clicks and whistles were age dependent, with a decrease from day 1 to day 8 for the clicks and a consistent production of whistles. A quantitative genetic analysis was also performed on the 1-day-old pups from the Mendelian generations produced by the inbred strains most contrasting for the number of whistles produced in the cold condition: NZB/BINJ and CBA/H. The heterozygous genotype of the mother induced an increment of the number of whistles. Moreover, a significant part of the additive variance was suspected from the first design, and found with the second one, for this variable. Quantitative genetic analysis showed significant dominance and epistasis between homozygous loci and homozygous and heterozygous loci. This points to multigenic correlates for the number of whistles in this population. The significant additive values for all the variables recorded during the 15 +/- 0.5 degrees C condition and for the number of whistles produced during the 23 +/- 0.5 degrees C condition are compatible with an effect that indicates neither directional nor stabilizing selection. This result is examined in the light of the multichannel sensorial process implicated in maternal behavior in mice.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Crowding and mental health.

An epidemiologic investigation of the mental needs and services of 1645 respondents, aged 17 to 92 years and living in a representative southeastern county in Florida, revealed that 7.8% of the sample lived in crowded conditions. The crowded respondents scored significantly higher than did the uncrowded on both a depression scale and on the Health Opinion Survey. Associations between crowding and high scores on both scales were strongest among: respondents in the childrearing and middle years of life, blacks at all income levels, whites in the intermediate annual family income range of $6000 to $9999, and especially, females rather than males. Consistently, the crowded black population, and particularly, crowded white women, had much higher scores than did the uncrowded women. A multiple regression analysis showed that three variables--being a female, having a lower income, and crowding--accounted for 16.5% of the variance. The discussion emphasizes that the relationship between crowding and higher scores on indices of emotional distress is quite complicated. In crowded situations, depression may be a costly, semi-adaptive reaction to excessive interpersonal stimulation. Women living in crowded situations appear to be at high risk for depressive illness; their plight brings to mind the classic animal experiments which showed that the maternal behavior of females deteriorated in crowded situations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Threat of predation negates density effects in larval gray treefrogs.

While density-dependence is central to most theory regarding population regulation and community structure, specific mechanisms that modify its effects in the absence of changes in consumer-resources ratios (e.g., thinning) are not well understood. To determine if the threat of predation alters effects of density, we investigated the interaction between density of larval treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis) and the non-lethal presence of a predatory fish (Enneacanthus obesus). A significant density by fish interaction was consistent for all response variables (e.g., larval survivorship, mass, and time to metamorphosis) driven by a complete lack of density effects in the presence of predators, while predator-free tanks showed classic density-dependent responses. Given that female H. chrysoscelis strongly avoid ovipositing in ponds containing fish, certain larval adaptations are apparently not constrained by maternal behavior and suggest redundancy in response to predators. Our data suggest that non-lethal effects of predators can determine larval performance irrespective of larval density, and that the non-lethal effects of predators can be strong whether lethal effects are strong or weak.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Activation of excitatory amino acid inputs to supraoptic neurons. I. Induced increases in dye-coupling in lactating, but not virgin or male rats.

Mitral cells of the main and accessory olfactory bulbs have been shown to project monosynaptically to the supraoptic nucleus (SON) via the lateral olfactory tract (LOT) which uses excitatory amino acid transmitters. Data collected during characterization of these projections suggested that synaptic activation of SON neurons via LOT stimulation in slices influenced the incidence of dye-coupling. The present study pursued this suggestion using horizontally cut slices from male, virgin female and lactating rats. Neurons were confirmed to be excited by electrical stimulation of the tract, injected with Lucifer yellow, and synaptically activated for 10 min at 10 Hz (n = 92). Another 94 neurons were similarly confirmed and injected, but received no further stimulation. In an additional 8 slices, injected neurons were antidromically activated for 10 min at 10 Hz. Analyses done on 194 injected neurons from the 3 groups showed that synaptic activation resulted in a significant (P less than 0.01) increase in the incidence of coupling only in tissue from lactating rats. This increase was entirely due to larger numbers of cells being coupled dendrodendritically to the injected cells in the stimulated slices. Antidromic activation did not influence coupling. Increased coupling occurred among both oxytocin and vasopressin cell types. This is the first report of increased coupling resulting from synaptic activation in mammalian CNS. Changes seen only in lactating rats may be related to their altered SON ultrastructural morphology (i.e. dendritic bundling). Strong olfactory and vomeronasal input associated with some maternal behaviors may increase neuronal coupling and enhance hormone release in response to other incoming stimuli (e.g. suckling, dehydration).

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1996

Oxytocin and vasopressin immunoreactivity in rabbit hypothalamus during estrus, late pregnancy, and postpartum.

Mother rabbits construct an elaborate maternal nest before parturition and display a single, brief, daily nursing bout throughout lactation. These features present a unique model for investigating the relevance of changes in neuroendocrine secretion associated with pregnancy and parturition for the regulation of maternal behavior. In the present study we analyzed changes in the location, somal size, and number of oxytocin (OT)- and arginine vasopressin (AVP)-immunoreactive (IR) neurons in the hypothalamus of rabbits in estrus, late pregnancy (day 29), and postpartum day 1. From estrus to late pregnancy, the number of OT-IR neurons increased in the scattered cell groups located in the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA), but not in the magnocellular nuclei, i.e., paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and supraoptic nucleus (SON). On postpartum day 1 the increase in the number of OT-IR neurons was sustained in the LHA and became apparent also in the main body of the PVN, in which the number of OT-IR neurons doubled. Increases in the somal size of OT-IR cells were seen in all three nuclei only on postpartum day 1. No OT-IR cells were found in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). From late pregnancy and into postpartum day 1 increases in the somal size of AVP-IR neurons were detected in the PVN, SON, and LHA but not in the SCN. The number of AVP-IR neurons increased between late pregnancy and postpartum day 1 in the SON only. The changes observed in OT and AVP expression in specific hypothalamic nuclei may be related to specific somatic and behavioral events occurring around the time of parturition, e.g., nest-building, maintenance of homeothermy, elevation of blood volume, and nursing in mother rabbits.

Animals↗