Method of estimating preference of the female rat for various sound stimuli while searching for pups.
A rat was placed without her pups in an open T-shaped maze and maternal behavior stimulated by the presentation of pups. The pups were then removed and tone pulses (7 kHz, 14 kHz) and a tape recording of the pup's pain signal were simultaneously presented from different alleys of the maze. Preference was estimated by the predominate direction of sorties during random alternation of the sound sources. Preference for the pup's pain signal was found in eight rats.
D000818:Animals; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D009042:Motivation; D009425:Nesting Behavior; D051381:Rats; D014828:Vocalization, Animal