Brown R E, Douglas S
Psychology Department, Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4J1, Canada.
Behav Processes. 1991 Mar;23(2):89-102. doi: 10.1016/0376-6357(91)90060-D.
Adult male Long-Evans rats were presented with 1-7 or 14-21 day old pups for 20 days. Pups were changed every 12 h and each male received pups from three litters, with litters changed every week. Pup-related activities were observed for two 15-min periods each day. Males with young pups had a shorter latency to crouch over and carry pups while males with older pups showed a shorter latency to lick pups. Males with young pups had higher nest ratings, and engaged in more nest building, crouching over and carrying pups than males with older pups, while males with older pups spent more time touching, sniffing, and licking pups. Both groups of males showed an increase in pup-related behaviour over the first 8-10 days of pup exposure and a decrease in pup-related behaviour when the litters were changed. These results indicate that pup age is an important factor in determining male behaviour. Males direct parental behaviour toward neonatal pups and affiliative behaviour toward older pups. The importance of affiliative behaviour with adult males in the social development of juvenile rats is discussed.
将成年雄性Long-Evans大鼠与1至7日龄或14至21日龄的幼崽放在一起20天。每12小时更换一次幼崽，每只雄性大鼠接收来自三窝的幼崽，每周更换一次窝。每天观察两个15分钟时间段内与幼崽相关的行为。与年幼幼崽在一起的雄性大鼠蹲伏并携带幼崽的潜伏期较短，而与年长幼崽在一起的雄性大鼠舔幼崽的潜伏期较短。与年幼幼崽在一起的雄性大鼠有更高的筑巢评分，并且比与年长幼崽在一起的雄性大鼠进行更多的筑巢、蹲伏和携带幼崽的行为，而与年长幼崽在一起的雄性大鼠花更多时间触摸、嗅闻和舔幼崽。两组雄性大鼠在接触幼崽的前8至10天与幼崽相关的行为都有所增加，并且在更换窝时与幼崽相关的行为减少。这些结果表明幼崽年龄是决定雄性行为的一个重要因素。雄性大鼠对新生幼崽表现出亲代行为，对年长幼崽表现出亲和行为。文中讨论了成年雄性大鼠的亲和行为在幼年大鼠社会发展中的重要性。
