Strain-typical patterns of pregnancy-induced nestbuilding in mice: maternal and experiential influences.
Pregnant C57BL/6J mice incorporate less material into maternal nests and build fewer fully enclosed nests than do pregnant DBA/2J mice. These strain differences are not ameliorated by additional reproductive experience since multiparous animals also exhibit a similar pattern. Reciprocally-crossed hybrid females exhibit DBA-like levels of pregnancy-induced nestbuilding and cross-fostered C57BL and DBA females retain the phenotype of their strain. Experiential and maternal environmental factors apparently are not responsible for strain differences in pregnancy-induced nestbuilding. Differences in ovarian function and/or central neural tissue sensitivity to ovarian hormones may modulate strain differences in pregnancy-induced nestbuilding.
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D009425:Nesting Behavior; D011247:Pregnancy; D012931:Social Environment; D013045:Species Specificity