Early handling increases lamb affinity for humans
Domestic animals that are socialized to humans are often more easily managed and less timid than those that are not. We examined whether increased handling and artificial feeding of domestic sheep, Ovis aries, at an early age would decrease their subsequent timidity towards people. Forty-eight lamb twin sets were divided into four treatment groups for […]
Effects of neonatal handling on playfulness by means of reversal of the desire to play in rats (Rattus norvegicus)
In the present study the authors sought to establish whether the range of effects of neonatal handling stimulation (H), that is, brief daily periods of infant isolation, could be extended to the domain of social motivation. With this aim, the authors studied the innate motivation to engage in rough-and-tumble play (R&T) in adolescent rats (Rattus […]
Developmental plasticity of HPA and fear responses in rats: A critical review of the maternal mediation hypothesis
Developmental plasticity of HPA and fear responses in rats has been proposed to be mediated by environment-dependent variation in active maternal care. Here, we review this maternal mediation hypothesis based on the postnatal manipulation literature and on our own recent research in rats. We show that developmental plasticity of HPA and fear responses in rats […]