Mother rabbits nurse once daily with circadian periodicity. The authors investigated brain structures involved in regulating this activity by quantifying c-FOS-immunoreactive (IR) cells in the forebrain of: (1) mothers killed on postpartum Day 1 (PPD 1) after nursing (Group 1) or not given pups (Group 2); (2) mothers killed on PPD 7 after nursing (Group 3) or not given pups on such day (Group 4); (3) unmated virgins (Group 5). Groups 1 through 4 showed similar numbers of c-FOS-IR cells in the preoptic area, an amount around three to fourfold larger than that found in virgins. Nursing increased, on PPD 1 and 7, c-FOS-IR cell number in the lateral septum and paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei. No differences were seen among Groups 1 through 5 in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. In the ventromedial hypothalamus virgins had more c-FOS-IR cells compared with Groups 1 and 2. Results suggest that specific forebrain structures participate in regulating particular aspects of rabbit maternal behavior: the POA and LS seem associated with the establishment of motherhood and the magnocellular nuclei with the occurrence of milk letdown.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.