Effects of Acute Stress on Parental Behavior in Reproductively Naïve Male California Mice

Abstract

She returned to Southern California neural and physiological consequences of parenthood and neuroendocrineIn many biparental mammalian species, such as California mice (Peromyscus calireproductively naïve males show highly variable behavioral responses to infants. The sources of this variation are unknown. We investigated the effects of acute stress on pup-directed behavior in reproductively naïve male California mice. Each mouse underwent three 10-minute tests with an unfamiliar pup at 48-hour intervals. Males in the stressed group (N=22) were stressed using subcutaneous oil injections, a common experimental stressor used in rodents, immediateto avoid any experimentally induced stress. Compared to controls, stressed suggest that acute stress experienced by reproductively naïve males might contribute to both short-term and long-term differences in pup-directed behavior.ior; subcutaneous injections; behavioral tests; experimental pups.