title: Exposure to common anesthetic agents alters pup-retrieval response in lactating rats.
abstract: This study investigated the lactating stage of rats to determine the effect on maternal behavior of a single exposure to general anesthetic. Lactating Wistar rats were treated with anesthetic doses of pentobarbital (PENT) or ketamine (KET) on day 3 or 9 of lactation, and their behavioral responses were evaluated during a 50-min nursing period, after a 4-h mother-pup separation, on day 12. Exposure to KET on day 9 led to a significantly longer latency to pup-retrieval than that of the control. Duration of pup-retrieval in mothers treated with KET on day 3 and 9 was significantly longer than in the control. Other components of maternal behavior did not differ between the groups. The present findings suggested that general anesthetics have an impact upon pup-retrieval activities, which indirectly represent maternal motivation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamuro
mesh_terms: D000759:Adjuvants, Anesthesia / Q000494:pharmacology; D000758:Anesthesia / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000523:psychology; D000778:Anesthetics, Dissociative / Q000494:pharmacology; D018681:Anesthetics, General / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D004986:Ether / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D007649:Ketamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D007774:Lactation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D009425:Nesting Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D010424:Pentobarbital / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000759:Adjuvants, Anesthesia; D000778:Anesthetics, Dissociative; D018681:Anesthetics, General; D004986:Ether; D007649:Ketamine; D010424:Pentobarbital