Francis D D, Champagne F C, Meaney M J
Developmental Neuroendocrinology Laboratory, Douglas Hospital Research Center, McGill University, Montréal, Canada.
J Neuroendocrinol. 2000 Dec;12(12):1145-8. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2826.2000.00599.x.
Female Long-Evans rats exhibit stable individual differences in maternal behaviours such as pup licking/grooming and arched-back nursing posture (LG-ABN). These variations in maternal behaviour are accompanied by differences in lactation-induced increases in oxytocin receptor levels in brain regions known to mediate the expression of maternal care in this species (i.e. the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, the medial preoptic area and the lateral septum). Oxytocin receptor levels in the central nucleus of the amygdala were significantly higher in high compared to low LG-ABN females regardless of reproductive status. These findings suggest that individual differences in maternal behaviour may be directly related to variations in oxytocin receptor expression.
雌性Long-Evans大鼠在母性行为方面表现出稳定的个体差异，如舔舐/梳理幼崽和弓背哺乳姿势（LG-ABN）。这些母性行为的差异伴随着哺乳诱导的已知介导该物种母性关怀表达的脑区（即终纹床核、内侧视前区和外侧隔）催产素受体水平的差异。无论生殖状态如何，高LG-ABN雌性大鼠杏仁核中央核中的催产素受体水平均显著高于低LG-ABN雌性大鼠。这些发现表明，母性行为的个体差异可能与催产素受体表达的变化直接相关。
