Postnatal pup brain dopamine depletion inhibits maternal behavior.
The interactions between dams and their pups and among siblings were investigated in litters with (a) all pups depleted of striatal dopamine by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA on PND3), (b) all pups treated with vehicle, or (c) half of the pups depleted of dopamine and the other half treated with vehicle. On PND10, two sets of four pups from each litter were videotaped in a novel environment with the dam:pup and maternal behaviors were later scored by blind observers. We observed a 70% decrease in striatal dopamine in 6-OHDA-treated pups but found no effect of treatment on pup weight gain. Dams with some or all DA-depleted pups (a) were slower to retrieve a pup and establish a nest, (b) retrieved pups less frequently, and (c) spent less time huddling with pups than dams with only vehicle-treated pups. When compared with DA-depleted pups in homogeneous litters, DA-depleted pups in mixed litters were less hyperactive and spent more time huddling with other pups than in isolation. These results suggest that DA-depleted pups receive compromised maternal care but can benefit from interactions with normal siblings.
Wilkins
A S
AS
Neuroscience Program, Trinity College, Hartford, CT 06106, USA.
Logan
M
M
Kehoe
P
P
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000378:metabolism; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D016627:Oxidopamine / Q000633:toxicity; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012931:Social Environment; D013565:Sympatholytics / Q000633:toxicity; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology
D002395:Catecholamines; D013565:Sympatholytics; D016627:Oxidopamine; D004298:Dopamine