The effect of alloparental experience and care on anxiety-like, social and parental behaviour in adult mandarin voles

Wu, Ruiyong; Song, Zhenzhen; Tai, Fadao; An, Xiaolei; Yu, Peng; Li, Yani

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.10.007

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 59 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Studies in mandarin voles reinforce the notion that alloparenting experience produces long‐lasting changes in the brain and behavior of alloparents. Mandarin voles with long‐term alloparental experience displayed significantly more locomotor activity in a novel environment and were more investigatory of a novel same‐sex conspecific (Wu et al, ). Prior experience with pups facilitates alloparental responsiveness in adult male mandarin voles, yet intriguingly also leads to an upregulation in ERα expression within the medial amygdala (Song et al, ).…”

Section: Reaction Of the Alloparentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The neurobiological causes and effects of alloparenting

Kenkel

Perkeybile

Carter

2016

Developmental Neurobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Alloparenting, defined as care provided by individuals other than parents, is a universal behavior among humans that has shaped our evolutionary history and remains important in contemporary society. Dysfunctions in alloparenting can have serious and sometimes fatal consequences for vulnerable infants and children. In spite of the importance of alloparenting, they still have much to learn regarding the underlying neurobiological systems governing its expression. Here, they review how a lack of alloparental behavior among traditional laboratory species has led to a blind spot in our understanding of this critical facet of human social behavior and the relevant neurobiology. Based on what is known, they draw from model systems ranging from voles to meerkats to primates to describe a conserved set of neuroendocrine mechanisms supporting the expression of alloparental care. In this review we describe the neurobiological and behavioral prerequisites, ontogeny, and consequences of alloparental care. Lastly, they identified several outstanding topics in the area of alloparental care that deserve further research efforts to better advance human health and wellbeing.

show abstract

Section: Reaction Of the Alloparentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The neurobiological causes and effects of alloparenting

Kenkel

Perkeybile

Carter

2016

Developmental Neurobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These data are very consistent with those of Uriarte et al (). They also extend upon them by suggesting that the reduction in anxiety is not due to other events experienced by older pups raised in overlapping litters, such as the endocrine consequences of suckling on a pregnant dam (Koldovsky & Thornberg, ; Melo, ), sharing in placentophagia with their mothers during the second parturition (Harding & Lonstein, ), or the continued interaction with the mother past typical laboratory weaning age (Wu et al, ). Our results also show that the juvenile alloparental experience can be as short as three days and still reduce aspects of females’ later anxiety behavior.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…The effects of juvenile alloparenting in female rats may, therefore, apply most to social behaviors expressed during adulthood that are similar in form to the early experience (i.e., maternal behaviors). However, a more general increase in social approach and sniffing was recently found in juvenile alloparentally experienced Mandarin voles ( Microtus mandarinus ) tested with an unrestrained conspecific (Wu et al, ). This apparent discrepancy could reflect a species difference in the generalizability of juvenile alloparenting effects, or differences between studies in the captive versus unrestrained nature of the stimulus animals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Positive responsiveness to neonates waxes and wanes across development in female laboratory rats and numerous other animals, with affinity rising across weaning and falling at puberty (Bridges et al, ; Brunelli et al, ; Lonstein & De Vries, , ; Lyons, ; Maestripieri, ; Maestripieri & Pelka, ; Mayer et al, ; Mayer & Rosenblatt, ; Roberts, Miller, Taymans, & Carter, ; Stern, ; Vella et al, ; Wu et al, ). Without pregnancy and parturition, most post‐pubertal female rats remain disinterested in pups and are instead repelled by them (Fleming & Luebke, ; Mayer et al, ; Mayer & Rosenblatt, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

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

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

“…This rodent has an extended family group occupying a single burrow system, and shows a number of traits associated with a cooperative breeding system such as the delayed dispersal of juveniles and the presence of multiple successive litters within a nest (Smorkatcheva 1999;). In the lab, mandarin vole families have higher levels of social interaction via biparental, alloparental and affiliative behavior and stable pair-bonds (Wang et al 2005;Song et al 2010;Wu et al 2011Wu et al , 2013. The behavioral patterns of adult-adolescent interactions may be determined by adolescent development and prior familiarity (Wang & Tai 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of cocaine on aggression and associated central ERα and oxytocin expression in ovariectomized and intact mandarin voles

Fang

Wang

Tai

2017

The European Zoological Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ovarian hormones, especially estrogen, may facilitate drug use vulnerability in females. Oxytocin is of special relevance to females and an important neuroendocrine factor regulating drug use. Mandarin vole (Microtus mandarinus) is a monogamous rodent, with complex nonsexual social behavior. Here, we examined whether ovariectomy produces effects on cocaine-induced aggressive behaviors, estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and oxytocin in virgin female mandarin voles. The data indicate that repeated cocaine exposure increased aggressive behavior and reduced levels of oxytocin expression in the paraventricular nucleus in ovariectomized and sham-operated females. In addition, cocaine reduced the levels of ERα expression in the medial nuclei of the amygdale in sham-operated females. In contrast, cocaine decreased ERα expression in the medial preoptic area and increased serum estradiol levels in ovariectomized females. These results suggest that ovariectomy influences the effects of cocaine on central levels of ERα and oxytocin expression and serum estrogen levels. The estrogen system acts in concert with oxytocin to regulate cocaine-induced aggressive behavior in virgin females.

show abstract

The effect of alloparental experience and care on anxiety-like, social and parental behaviour in adult mandarin voles

Cited by 9 publications

References 59 publications

The neurobiological causes and effects of alloparenting

The neurobiological causes and effects of alloparenting

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

Effects of cocaine on aggression and associated central ERα and oxytocin expression in ovariectomized and intact mandarin voles

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About