Importance of pup-related sensory inputs and maternal performance for the expression of Fos-like immunoreactivity in the preoptic area and ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of postpartum rats.

This study used Fos immunocytochemistry to locate neurons within the medial preoptic area (MPOA) and ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (VBNST) that are tightly associated with the performance of maternal behavior in postpartum rats. In the first experiment, a high degree of Fos activation was observed in these regions if females were allowed to interact fully with pups, but not if they could receive only olfactory, visual, and auditory inputs from pups. The second experiment found that olfactory bulbectomy combined with thelectomy did not eliminate Fos expression in the MPOA and VBNST of females displaying maternal behavior. These Fos-expressing neurons may represent efferent neurons essential for the performance of maternal behavior.