Birke L I, Sadler D
Dev Psychobiol. 1985 Nov;18(6):467-75. doi: 10.1002/dev.420180604.
This paper reports changes in maternal behavior of rats following progestin treatment of the neonates. There have been recent reports that hormonal treatment of pups can alter maternal behavior, particularly licking of pups, and that such effects might have implications for the later development of those pups. Accordingly, the major objective of the experiments described was to test the hypothesis that the effects of neonatal progestins on later behavioral development that we have previously described (Birke & Sadler, 1983; 1984) might in part be mediated by changes in maternal behavior. This was done by investigating the behavior of dams, including pup-directed behavior, following the hormone treatments that we have used previously. In the first experiment, medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), given via maternal milk, was found to increase rates of pup licking by dams. In the second experiment, anogenital licking was increased to litters containing pups that had received either MPA or progesterone by direct injection. No significant changes in licking following pup treatment with the antiserum to progesterone were observed, however. The results are discussed in relation to our previous work on progestin effects on later behavior, and in relation to the suggestion that hormonal effects on sexually dimorphic behaviors might, at least partly, be mediated through interactions with the mother during the neonatal period.
本文报道了对新生大鼠进行孕激素处理后其母性行为的变化。最近有报道称，对幼崽进行激素处理会改变母性行为，尤其是对幼崽的舔舐行为，而且这种影响可能会对这些幼崽日后的发育产生影响。因此，所述实验的主要目的是检验这样一个假设，即我们之前所描述的新生大鼠孕激素对其后期行为发育的影响（Birke & Sadler，1983年；1984年），可能部分是由母性行为的变化介导的。这是通过研究母鼠在接受我们之前使用过的激素处理后的行为来实现的，包括对幼崽的行为。在第一个实验中，发现通过母乳给予醋酸甲羟孕酮（MPA）会增加母鼠舔舐幼崽的频率。在第二个实验中，直接注射MPA或孕酮的幼崽所在的窝中，对肛门生殖器的舔舐行为增加。然而，用抗孕酮血清处理幼崽后，未观察到舔舐行为有显著变化。我们将结合之前关于孕激素对后期行为影响的研究工作，以及关于激素对两性异形行为的影响可能至少部分是通过在新生期与母亲的相互作用介导的这一观点来讨论这些结果。
