Plasticity in the maternal circuit: effects of maternal experience on Fos-Lir in hypothalamic, limbic, and cortical structures in the postpartum rat.
To determine what brain sites are activated during the acquisition and retention of a maternal experience in postpartum rats, 3 studies examined the number of cells showing Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-lir) in brains following reexposure to pups and pup-associated cues in maternally experienced and inexperienced rats. Day 1 postpartum rats were given a 2- or 4-hr interactive experience with pups and then reexposed to pups in a perforated box, or to a neutral stimulus (perforated box only) 4 or 10 days later. At the end of the test phase, brains were prepared for immunohistochemical detection of Fos-lir. The brain sites showing the most consistent difference between experienced and inexperienced rats were the medical preoptic area, the basolateral amygdala, the parietal cortex, and the prefrontal cortex.
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
A S
AS
Fleming
M
M
Korsmit
D000679:Amygdala / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D049590:Postpartum Period; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D011301:Preoptic Area / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats
D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos