Importance of pup-related sensory inputs and maternal performance for the expression of Fos-like immunoreactivity in the preoptic area and ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of postpartum rats.

Numan, Michael

doi:10.1037/0735-7044.109.1.135

Cited by 112 publications

(118 citation statements)

References 60 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

107

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…On the other hand, electrical stimulation of the POA leads to shorter onset to maternal behaviors (30). Neuronal activation within the preoptic region, as measured by expression of the immediate early gene c-Fos, is significantly increased in animals exhibiting maternal behaviors (31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39). Importantly, estradiol implants within the preoptic region enhance the expression of maternal behaviors or decrease the latency to displaying maternal behaviors (2, 23, 29, 40, 41).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

siRNA silencing of estrogen receptor-α expression specifically in medial preoptic area neurons abolishes maternal care in female mice

Ribeiro

Musatov

Shteyler

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The medial preoptic area has been shown to be intricately involved in many behaviors, including locomotion, sexual behavior, maternal care, and aggression. The gene encoding estrogen receptor-α (ERα) protein is expressed in preoptic area neurons, and a very dense immunoreactive field of ERα is found in the preoptic region. ERα knockout animals show deficits in maternal care and sexual behavior and fail to exhibit increases in these behaviors in response to systemic estradiol treatment. In the present study, we used viralvector mediated RNA interference to silence ERα expression specifically in the preoptic area of female mice and measured a variety of behaviors, including social and sexual aggression, maternal care, and arousal activity. Suppression of ERα in the preoptic area almost completely abolished maternal care, significantly increasing the latency to pup retrieval and significantly reducing the time the moms spent nursing and licking the pups. Strikingly, maternal aggression toward a male intruder was not different between control and preoptic ERα-silenced mice, demonstrating the remarkably specific role of ERα in these neurons. Reduction of ERα expression in preoptic neurons significantly decreased sexual behavior in female mice and increased aggression toward both sexual partners and male intruders in a seminatural environment. Estrogen-dependent increases in arousal, measured by home cage activity, were not mediated by ERα expression in the preoptic neurons we targeted, as ERα-suppressed mice had increases similar to control mice. Thus, we have established that a specific gene in a specific group of neurons is required for a crucially important natural behavior.ating back to the 1970s, the preoptic region has been implicated in a variety of complex, natural, biologically crucial behaviors, ranging from sexual behavior to locomotion to maternal care. These roles for the preoptic region were first demonstrated using lesion studies; for instance, radiofrequency, electrolytic, and cytotoxic lesions of the medial preoptic area (MPA) were shown to disrupt many components of maternal care (1-6). Likewise, electrolytic lesions (7-9), chemical lesions (9-11), or knife-cuts disrupting preoptic afferents (12,13) all severely impair or abolish male sexual behavior, whereas electrical stimulation of this region enhances male copulatory behaviors (14). Additionally, c-Fos expression, a marker of neuronal activation, is significantly increased in the preoptic region following copulatory behaviors (15). With respect to locomotor activity, there is ample evidence demonstrating that electrical or chemical stimulation of preoptic neurons enhances locomotor activity in rats (16)(17)(18)(19).Given the importance of the preoptic region in mediating these complex biologically relevant hormone-dependent behaviors, the next step was to establish the cytochemical make-up of these populations of neurons. Before immunocytochemical techniques were routinely used, placement of hormone extracts was used to delineate the hormone and...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

siRNA silencing of estrogen receptor-α expression specifically in medial preoptic area neurons abolishes maternal care in female mice

Ribeiro

Musatov

Shteyler

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Recent studies revealed a contribution to this activation from trigeminal stimuli-necessary for retrieval and licking of pups Kolunie, 1989, 1991;Stern, 1996a,b)-but not rooting on the ventrum ; however, the reduced trigeminal contribution to Fos activation in the cPAG (Blomqvist and Craig, 1991) attributable to perioral anesthesia of the dam is compensated by prolonged kyphosis . Similar to expression of Fos in the medial amygdala or medial preoptic area (mPOA) after sex-or pup-related inputs from olfactory and somatosensory modalities (Baum and Everitt, 1992;Numan and Numan, 1995), the single elimination of one effective source of tactile contact with the litter, from snout or nipples, does not reduce Fos expression in the cPAG l,vl to the low levels seen in dams without physical access to pups.…”

Section: Effects Of Sk or Nsk Contact On Fos-ir Expression In The Pagmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of the Midbrain Periaqueductal Gray in Maternal Nurturance and Aggression:c-fosand Electrolytic Lesion Studies in Lactating Rats

1997

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The upright crouched, or kyphotic, nursing posture of lactating rats is dependent on suckling stimulation from pups. Because of the neuroanatomical connections of the periaqueductal gray (PAG) and its sensorimotor integration of the analogous lordosis posture displayed by sexually receptive female rats, the possible role of the PAG in kyphosis was investigated using c-fos immunocytochemistry and electrolytic lesions. Lactating rats interacting with and nursing a litter of suckling pups showed greater Fos-immunoreactive nuclei in the lateral and ventrolateral caudal PAG (cPAG l,vl ) compared with dams receiving nonsuckling somatosensory, distal, or no stimulation from pups. In contrast, this pattern was not evident in the rostral PAG, where the highest Fos levels occurred in nonsuckled dams, or in five other brainstem sites with either no group differences (peripeduncular, dorsal raphe, and pontine nuclei) or negligible Fos (ventral tegmental area, spinal trigeminal nuclei). After bilateral electrolytic lesions of the cPAG l,vl during gestation or on day 7 postpartum, active maternal behaviors, such as retrieval and licking of pups, and total nursing time were essentially normal. Kyphotic nursing, however, was reduced by 85%, nursing in prone and supine postures increased substantially, and 24 hr litter weight gains were reduced, particularly early in lactation (by 26%). Furthermore, lesioned rats attacked a strange male twice as often as controls did, which is suggestive of reduced fearfulness. These results extend the known roles of the PAG in reproductive and defensive behaviors to the postural control of suckling-induced kyphotic nursing and the modulation of maternal aggression.

show abstract

“…It has been noted, however, that many sites that contain Fos- and FosB-expressing cells in maternally behaving rats also express ERα [24, 30]. This is true when maternal behavior is tested soon after parturition at a time when the dams’ behavior has recently been under the influence of estradiol [20, 21]as well as many days later when the behavior is no longer hormone-dependent [13, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27]. The presence of ERα in sites with elevated Fos-ir suggests the possibility that many of these neurons co-express Fos and ERα.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In most cases, direct physical contact with pups and receipt of tactile stimulation from them is necessary for this increase in immediate early gene activity [13, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27]. Moreover, the genomic cascade initiated by activation of these immediate-early genes may be functionally significant for maternal behavior [28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many neural populations are stimulated during maternal behavior in lactating rats, and this activity can be visualized by immunocytochemical detection of the immediate early gene products Fos and FosB as a marker for neuronal modulation [13, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27]. In most cases, direct physical contact with pups and receipt of tactile stimulation from them is necessary for this increase in immediate early gene activity [13, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Maternal Behavior Stimulates <i>c-fos</i> Activity within Estrogen Receptor Alpha-Containing Neurons in Lactating Rats

et al. 2000

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Estradiol and other hormones are thought to be critical for the onset, but not maintenance, of maternal behavior in rats. Maternal behavior is instead maintained postpartum by tactile stimulation that dams receive during interactions with pups, and many neural sites implicated in the control of maternal behavior show elevated c-fos activity in response to this stimulation. Many of these sites also contain neurons that express the alpha subtype of the estrogen receptor (ERα). Because of possible interactions between tactile stimulation from pups, c-fos, and ERα in the lactating rat brain, we determined if populations of cells that show increased c-fos activity after maternal behavior in lactating rats also contain ERα. Dams were separated from their pups for 48 h beginning on day 5 postpartum. On day 7 postpartum, experimental dams were reunited with pups and mother-litter interactions were observed for 60 min. Control dams received no pup stimulation. Subjects were sacrificed 60 min later and brain sections were double immunolabeled for the Fos and ERα proteins. As expected, the number of ERα-immunoreactive (ERα-ir) neurons did not differ between the two groups in the eight areas analyzed (lateral region of the lateral septum, posterodorsal medial amygdala, dorsal and ventral medial preoptic area, dorsal and ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, lateral habenula, and ventrolateral caudal periaqueductal gray). Consistent with previous reports, maternal dams had 2- to 7-fold more Fos-immunoreactive (Fos-ir) neurons in these sites compared with nonstimulated controls. Maternal dams had significantly more Fos-ir neurons that also contained ERα-ir in all sites, with the greatest increases in the ventral medial preoptic area, lateral habenula, and ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Between ∼25 and 45% of the Fos-ir cells in the sites examined also expressed ERα. Thus, a substantial number of neurons that are genomically activated during maternal behavior contain ERα, raising the possibility that the postpartum display of maternal behavior can be influenced by ERα activity.

show abstract

Importance of pup-related sensory inputs and maternal performance for the expression of Fos-like immunoreactivity in the preoptic area and ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of postpartum rats.

Cited by 112 publications

References 60 publications

siRNA silencing of estrogen receptor-α expression specifically in medial preoptic area neurons abolishes maternal care in female mice

siRNA silencing of estrogen receptor-α expression specifically in medial preoptic area neurons abolishes maternal care in female mice

Role of the Midbrain Periaqueductal Gray in Maternal Nurturance and Aggression:c-fosand Electrolytic Lesion Studies in Lactating Rats

Maternal Behavior Stimulates <i>c-fos</i> Activity within Estrogen Receptor Alpha-Containing Neurons in Lactating Rats

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About