title: Paternal retrievals increase testosterone levels in both male and female California mouse (Peromyscus californicus) offspring.
abstract: The importance of maternal care on offspring development has received considerable attention, although more recently, researchers have begun to focus on the significance of paternal contributions. In the monogamous and bi-parental California mouse, fathers provide high levels of care, and therefore serve as a model system for studying paternal effects on behavior and underlying neuroendocrine mechanisms. Paternal retrievals in this species influence long term changes in brain (expression of arginine vasopressin-AVP) and behavior (aggression and parenting) in adult male offspring. Further, paternal retrievals induce a transient increase in testosterone (T) in male offspring, which is thought to mediate the relationship between paternal retrievals and AVP expression. Although the father-son relationship has been well characterized, few studies have examined father-daughter interactions. In California mice, paternal retrievals increase aggression in female offspring. Although T has been implicated in the regulation of female aggression, it remains unclear whether T may underlie long-term changes in female offspring aggression in response to paternal retrievals. In the current study, we examined the influence of paternal retrievals on T in both male and female offspring. Retrievals were manipulated experimentally by displacement of the pup and trunk blood was collected from retrieved, non-retrieved, and non-manipulated (baseline) pups. We found that fathers expressed similar levels of retrievals towards sons and daughters, and that T levels were elevated in retrieved, as compared to non-retrieved offspring. Similar to what has been previously described in male offspring and replicated here, female offspring that were retrieved had higher T levels than non-retrieved females. Neither females nor males experienced a change in corticosterone levels in response to retrievals suggesting offspring do not mount a stress response to paternal care. Therefore, our data suggest that paternal retrievals may serve similar functions in shaping adult behavior in both male and female offspring via modulation of hormone levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Saint Joseph's University, 5600 City Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131, USA; Department of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 890 Drillfield Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA. Electronic address: charymc@vt.edu.
authors.forename: Mamatha C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Chary
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Saint Joseph's University, 5600 City Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131, USA.
authors.forename: Jayson P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Randolph-Macon College, 204 Henry Street, Ashland, VA 23005, USA.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bardi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Saint Joseph's University, 5600 City Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Becker
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000378:metabolism; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D005220:Fathers; D005260:Female; D006120:Grooming / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009425:Nesting Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D010332:Paternal Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D010542:Peromyscus / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D001127:Arginine Vasopressin; D013739:Testosterone; D003345:Corticosterone
keywords: Paternal behavior; Paternal retrievals; Peromyscus californicus; Testosterone