Incentive value of newborn pups relative to juveniles for mother rats raising overlapping litters

Ferreño, Marcela; Pose, Sabrina; Agrati, Daniella; Zuluaga, María José; Ferreira, Annabel; Uriarte, Natalia

doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2018.07.016

Cited by 4 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Accordingly, we previously determined that, although OL mothers direct more caretaking activities towards the newborns, 22 they do not prefer them over the juveniles in a preference task. 23 In line with this idea, we found that the NA, which represents a main projection of the mPOA/vBNST, was similarly activated when OL mothers were tested with newborns or juveniles.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

“…Under this framework, the fact that OL mothers presented a similar activation of mPOA, whereas their maternal response differed depending on the pup's developmental characteristics, supports the idea that the reduced maternal care of OL mothers to juveniles responds to a maternal adaptation to their needs rather than a lack of motivation to take care of them. Accordingly, we previously determined that, although OL mothers direct more caretaking activities towards the newborns, they do not prefer them over the juveniles in a preference task …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lactating females are also able to flexibly adapt their maternal behaviour to the physiological needs of pups according to litter composition. 22,23 Under natural conditions, successful mating during the postpartum oestrus results in the temporal overlapping of successive litters within the maternal burrow. 24,25 Thus, in this unique reproductive context, the mother will raise pups from different ages with different physiological demands and behavioural capabilities (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…22,23 However, they mostly direct their attention 22 and effort towards the newborns. 23 Hence, these dams show a unique behavioural profile, simultaneously taking care of pups in different developmental stages. As far as we are aware, there are no data currently available showing how their maternal neural circuitry activates when they interact with either the newborn or juvenile litters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lactating females are also able to flexibly adapt their maternal behaviour to the physiological needs of pups according to litter composition . Under natural conditions, successful mating during the postpartum oestrus results in the temporal overlapping of successive litters within the maternal burrow .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Raising overlapping litters: Differential activation of rat maternal neural circuitry after interacting with newborn or juvenile pups

Pose

Zuluaga

Ferreño

et al. 2019

J Neuroendocrinology

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The maternal behaviour of a rat dynamically changes during the postpartum period, adjusting to the characteristics and physiological needs of the pups. This adaptation has been attributed to functional modifications in the maternal circuitry. Maternal behaviour can also flexibly adapt according to different litter compositions. Thus, mothers with two overlapping litters can concurrently take care of neonate and juvenile pups, mostly directing their attention to the newborns. We hypothesised that the maternal circuitry of these mothers would show a differential activation pattern after interacting with pups depending on the developmental stage of their offspring. Thus, we evaluated the activation of several areas of the maternal circuitry in mothers of overlapping litters, using c‐Fos immunoreactivity as a marker of neuronal activation, after interacting with newborns or juveniles. The results showed that mothers with overlapping litters display different behavioural responses towards their newborn and their juvenile pups. Interestingly, these behavioural displays co‐occurred with specific patterns of activation of the maternal neural circuitry. Thus, a similar expression of c‐Fos was observed in some key brain areas of mothers that interacted with newborns or juveniles, such as the medial preoptic area and the nucleus accumbens, whereas a differential activation was quantified in the ventral region of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, the infralimbic and prelimbic subregions of the medial prefrontal cortex and the basolateral and medial nuclei of the amygdala. We posit that the specific profile of activation of the neural circuitry controlling maternal behaviour in mothers with overlapping litters enables dams to respond adequately to the newborn and the juvenile pups.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Raising overlapping litters: Differential activation of rat maternal neural circuitry after interacting with newborn or juvenile pups

Pose

Zuluaga

Ferreño

et al. 2019

J Neuroendocrinology

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Basic Protocols to Study Parental Behavior in Rats

et al. 2023

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What can challenging reproductive contexts tell us about the rat’s maternal behavior?

Agrati

Uriarte

2023

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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Maternal behavior in mammals encompasses a complex repertoire of activities that ensure the survival of the offspring and shape their neural and behavioral development. The laboratory rat has been employed as a classic model for investigating maternal behavior, and recently with the use of advanced techniques, the knowledge of its neural basis has been expanded significantly. However, the standard laboratory testing conditions in which rats take care of a single litter impose constraints on the study of maternal flexibility. Interestingly, the reproductive characteristics of this species, including the existence of a fertile postpartum estrus, allow us to study maternal behavior in more complex and ethologically relevant contexts, even in laboratory settings. Here we review how maternal and sexual motivations interact during the postpartum estrus, shaping the behavioral response of females according to the presence of the pups and males. Next, we describe how impregnation during the postpartum estrus creates a new reproductive context in which mothers simultaneously care for two successive litters, adapting their responses to different behavioral and physiological demands of pups. These findings illustrate the behavioral adaptability of maternal rats to pups’ needs and the presence of other reinforcers, as well as its dependence on the context. In our view, future perspectives in the field, by incorporating the use of cutting-edge techniques, should analyze maternal flexibility and its neural substrates in models that incorporate complex and challenging contexts. This approach would allow a more comprehensive understanding of brain circuits involved in the adaptive and flexible nature of parenting.

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Incentive value of newborn pups relative to juveniles for mother rats raising overlapping litters

Cited by 4 publications

References 37 publications

Raising overlapping litters: Differential activation of rat maternal neural circuitry after interacting with newborn or juvenile pups

Raising overlapping litters: Differential activation of rat maternal neural circuitry after interacting with newborn or juvenile pups

Basic Protocols to Study Parental Behavior in Rats

What can challenging reproductive contexts tell us about the rat’s maternal behavior?

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