title: Effects of maternal care on the development, emotionality, and reproductive functions in male and female rats.
abstract: Variations in maternal behavior induce long-lasting effects on behavioral and neuroendocrine responses to stress. The aim of this study was to analyze developmental parameters, reproductive function, and anxiety-related behaviors of male and female rats raised by mothers that naturally display high and low levels of maternal licking behavior. Results showed that an increase in licking behavior received by the pups accelerated their eye opening and reduced fear behavior assessed in the open field test. Additionally, female offspring of high licking (HL) mothers showed decreased ovulation and lordosis intensity. In contrast, males from HL and low licking (LL) mothers did not differ in their reproductive function, suggesting a gender difference in maternal effects. Present results showed that individual differences in maternal behavior appear not only to be predictive of later emotionality and stress-responsivity in the offspring, but can also modulate the reproductive function of females. Maternal genetic factors, differences in the prenatal intrauterine milieu, or a combination of these cannot be excluded to explain the effects observed.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiologia Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde (ICBS), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Sarmento Leite 500, Porto Alegre RS. 90050-170, Brazil.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Uriarte
authors.forename: Márcia K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Breigeiron
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Benetti
authors.forename: Ximena F
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.forename: Aldo B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Lucion
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006120:Grooming / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012737:Sex Factors; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D013997:Time Factors