Reproductive experience and activation of maternal memory.

Scanlan, Victoria F.; Byrnes, Elizabeth M.; Bridges, Robert S.

doi:10.1037/0735-7044.120.3.676

Cited by 60 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…This retention of maternal behavior has been referred to as maternal memory [7]. Primiparous rats possess a relatively strong maternal memory compared to nulliparous animals that are sensitized to display maternal behavior through exposure to foster pups [6,8]. This observation suggests that a different mechanism establishes maternal memory in primiparous rats.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…It is known that the medial amygdala is an important component of the olfactory mechanism involved in maternal responsiveness towards pups [33]. Fos-ir levels in postpartum females with an impaired sense of smell are lower than levels in intact females [34], and pup exposure as well as non-tactile pup stimuli also increases Fos-ir in the medial and cortical amygdala in female rats [6,35]. The medial amygdala has also been implicated in affiliation in prairie voles, where axon sparing lesions of this region decrease affiliative behavior towards both pups and females [36].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following an initial maternal experience, primiparous female rats rapidly respond to foster pups after an extended separation from their own pups [1][2][3][4][5][6] . This retention of maternal behavior has been referred to as maternal memory [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies indicate that maternal memory may involve the neural pathways activated around parturition [21,22], whereas the long term retention of these behaviors suggests the involvement of a memory-related process [6]. The shifts in AVP activity around parturition, combined with its role in learning and memory processes make it a plausible candidate for the establishment of maternal memory (for review: [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Arginine vasopressin V1a receptor antagonist impairs maternal memory in rats

Nephew

Bridges

2008

Physiology & Behavior

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Primiparous female rats rapidly respond to foster pups following an extended separation from pups after an initial maternal experience. This consolidation of maternal behavior has been referred to as maternal memory. The neurochemical regulation of maternal memory is not clearly understood. One neuropeptide that may mediate maternal memory is arginine vasopressin (AVP), a neuropeptide which is modulated around the time of parturition and has an established role in learning and memory processes. Thus, the present studies examine the possible involvement of AVP in the establishment of maternal memory in female rats. Pregnant rats were implanted with chronic cannulae connected to subcutaneous osmotic minipumps filled with a V1a receptor antagonist [d(CH2)5Tyr(Me)AVP, 0.1-12.5 ng/hr] or saline vehicle which were chronically infused either into the lateral ventricles or bilaterally into the medial amygdala beginning on day 18 of gestation. Both the osmotic pumps and the newborn pups were removed 24 hours following parturition. The effects of the V1a antagonist treatments on social recognition and maternal behavior were measured following parturition and maternal memory was assessed following a ten day separation from pups. Whereas none of the AVP treatments affected the initial establishment of maternal behavior postpartum, maternal memory was impaired in rats infused into the amygdala with the AVP antagonist (1.25 and 12.5 ng/hr). Social recognition was not impaired by intracerebroventricular infusion of either the 0.1 or 1.0 ng/hr dose of the V1a antagonist. The present results suggest a role for medial amygdaloid V1a receptors in the establishment of maternal memory.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Arginine vasopressin V1a receptor antagonist impairs maternal memory in rats

Nephew

Bridges

2008

Physiology & Behavior

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“…For example, prairie voles that respond parentally to a brief exposure to a foster pup will show shorter latencies to respond to pups in future parental response testing [48] as do rats [51]. These changes in behavior are not necessarily directly ascribed to hippocampal function, but may be associated with learning and memory formation from an initial parental experience (i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pup exposure elicits hippocampal cell proliferation in the prairie vole

Ruscio

Sweeny

Hazelton

et al. 2008

Behavioural Brain Research

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The onset of parental behavior has profound and enduring effects on behavior and neurobiology across a variety of species. In some cases, mere exposure to a foster neonate (and a subsequent parental response) can have similar effects. In the present experiment we exposed adult male and female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) to two foster pups for twenty minutes and quantified cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus (DG), medial amygdala (MeA) and cortical amygdala (CorA). Prairie voles are highly social rodents that typically display biparental care and spontaneous parental care when exposed to foster pups. Comparisons were made between the animals that responded parentally or non-parentally towards the pups, as well as control conditions. Cell proliferation was assessed using injections of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) and immunocytochemical localization of this marker. The phenotype of the cells was determined using double label immufluoresence for BrdU and TuJ1 (a neuronal marker). An increase in cell proliferation in the DG was seen in animals exposed to pups. However, animals that responded nonparentally had a greater number of BrdU labeled cells in the DG compared to those that responded parentally. The majority of BrdU labeled cells co-expressed TuJ1 across all groups. These results demonstrate that exposure to a foster pup, and the behavioral reaction to it (parental or non-parental) is associated with site-specific changes in cell proliferation.

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Extensive juvenile “babysitting” facilitates later adult maternal responsiveness, decreases anxiety, and increases dorsal raphe tryptophan hydroxylase‐2 expression in female laboratory rats

Harding

Lonstein

2016

Developmental Psychobiology

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Pregnancy and parturition can dramatically affect female neurobiology and behavior. This is especially true for laboratory-reared rodents, in part, because such rearing prevents a host of developmental experiences that females might undergo in nature, including juvenile alloparenting. We examined the effect of chronic exposure to pups during post-weaning juvenile life (days 22-36) on adult maternal responsiveness, anxiety-related behaviors, and dorsal raphe tryptophan hydroxylase-2 (TPH2) and serotonin transporter (SERT) levels in nulliparous rats. Adult females with juvenile alloparental experience showed significantly faster sensitized maternal responsiveness, less anxiety, and more dorsal raphe TPH2. Juvenile alloparenting did not affect females' later social novelty and preference behaviors toward adults, suggesting their increased interest in pups did not extend to all social partners. In a second experiment, suckling a pregnant dam (achieved by postpartum estrus reinsemination), interacting with her after standard laboratory weaning age, and a 3-day exposure to younger siblings also reduced juvenile females' later anxiety but did not affect maternal responsiveness or TPH2. Thus, extensive juvenile "babysitting" can have long-term effects reminiscent of pregnancy and parturition on maternal responsiveness and anxiety, and these effects may be driven by upregulated serotonin. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 58: 492-508, 2016.

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Reproductive experience and activation of maternal memory.

Cited by 60 publications

References 32 publications

Arginine vasopressin V1a receptor antagonist impairs maternal memory in rats

Arginine vasopressin V1a receptor antagonist impairs maternal memory in rats

Pup exposure elicits hippocampal cell proliferation in the prairie vole

Extensive juvenile “babysitting” facilitates later adult maternal responsiveness, decreases anxiety, and increases dorsal raphe tryptophan hydroxylase‐2 expression in female laboratory rats

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