Early behavioural enrichment in the form of handling renders mouse pups unresponsive to anxiolytic drugs and increases NGF levels in the hippocampus
Early life experiences, such as early handling, can influence neural development of rodents leading to changes in physiological and behavioural reactivity to stress. These effects are likely to be mediated by changes in maternal behaviour. This study analyzed the effects of different manipulations of the rearing environment on maternal behaviour and the behavioural and physiological […]
Enhancing captive breeding in giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca): maintaining lactation when cubs are rejected, and understanding variation in milk collection and associated factors
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20232.abs From 1997 to 2002, a female giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) was artificially stimulated and lactation was maintained, after her neonates were removed due to the female’s inability to provide maternal care. Milk samples were collected and the amount of milk collected was quantified. The lactation curve of this animal was estimated based on […]
Reactions of three bottlenose dolphin dams with calves to other members of the group in connection with nursing
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20071.abs The suckling behavior of three bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) mother–calf pairs at the Kolmården Wild Animal Park, Sweden, was followed from birth until the calves were 1 year old, with emphasis on the behavior of the mothers toward other dolphins present in pool. The results show that 80.44% of the sucklings occurred when […]
Maternal behaviour and early behavioural ontogeny of harp seals, Phoca groenlandica
Maternal behaviour and early behavioural ontogeny of harp seals, Phoca groenlandica, was studied in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in February and March 1982-1984. Females remained with their pups almost continuously for the first 2 days post-partum, after which time attendance dropped, remaining constant at approximately 15% of the observation time until weaning. Cows identified […]
Breed differences in the expression of maternal care at parturition persist throughout the lactation period in sheep
Maternal care plays an important role in the survival of offspring in mammals. In the ewe initial maternal care is expressed by nurturing the young and formation of an exclusive olfactory bond with the lamb. After the neonatal period, maternal care is associated with co-operation with sucking interactions, maintenance of a close ewe-lamb relationship, communication […]
Social novelty increases tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the extended olfactory amygdala of female prairie voles
The monogamous social behaviors of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) require olfactory inputs, which are processed by the posterodorsal medial amygdala (MeApd) and principal bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (pBST). The male prairie vole MeApd and pBST contain hundreds of cells densely immunoreactive for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH-ir). Female prairie voles have relatively few of these […]
Mother–infant interactions in free-ranging rhesus macaques: Relationships between physiological and behavioral variables
Studies of mother–infant relationships in nonhuman primates have increasingly attempted to understand the neuroendocrine bases of interindividual variation in mothering styles and the mechanisms through which early exposure to variable mothering styles affects infant behavioral development. In this study of free-ranging rhesus macaques on Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico, we aimed to: 1) compare lactating and […]
First report of captive new Guinea dingo (canis dingo hallstromi) den-digging and parental behavior
Abstract New Guinea dingoes (NGDs) (Canis dingo hallstromi; Troughton [1957] Proc Roy Soc new South Wells 1955–1956:93–94) have been kept in zoos since 1956. Almost nothing is known of their wild behavior. These observations of a captive pair are the first documentation of natal den-digging and parental behavior for this taxon. The main den, excavated […]
Maternal behavior in cattle
We provide a critical summary of the literature on maternal behavior in cattle. The studies we review increase our basic understanding of this behavior and provide insights into practical problems in cattle production. When domesticated cattle are permitted to rear their young, the behaviors associated with maternal care are for the most part similar to […]
Nursing stimulation is more than tactile sensation: It is a multisensory experience
Novel sensory experiences, particularly those associated with epochal developmental events like nursing alter cortical representation, affecting memory, perception and behavior. Functional MRI was used here to test whether the sensoricortical map of the ventrum is modified during lactation. Three stimuli were used to drive cortical activation in primiparous rats: natural, artificial suckling stimulation and general […]