Roughton E C, Schneider M L, Bromley L J, Coe C L
Department of Kinesiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53706-1532, USA.
Am J Occup Ther. 1998 Feb;52(2):90-8. doi: 10.5014/ajot.52.2.90.
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether maternal endocrine activation during pregnancy would affect the neurobehavioral state of primate offspring in a manner similar to that observed in human infants from pregnancies involving maternal substance abuse or maternal stress.
Twenty-two rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) infants were derived from females administered either adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), which increased the mother's endocrine activity, or saline solutions for 14 consecutive days during mid-pregnancy. On days 15 and 30 postpartum, infants underwent brief separations from their mothers and were videotaped for later evaluation of neurobehavioral state.
Infants from mothers administered ACTH spent significantly more time in a drowsy state than did controls (p < .04), and the increased drowsiness tended to be most pronounced during the postseparation period, when acute stress was highest. In contrast, controls remained in a more active alert state (p < .03), presumably searching for their mother, a species-typical adaptive response to maternal separation. Female infants spent more time in distressed state than did males on day 15, and the proportion of time in distressed state decreased in all infants after administration of .2 ml of 24% sucrose solution.
The results demonstrate that neurobehavioral state alterations are found in infants from mothers with increased endocrine activity during pregnancy. Neurobehavioral state disorganization can have an adverse impact on the human infant's concurrent and subsequent occupational performance. These findings establish the usefulness of the nonhuman primate model for advancing knowledge on early contributions to the development of human infant occupational behavior.
本研究旨在调查孕期母体内分泌激活是否会以类似于在涉及母体药物滥用或母体应激的人类婴儿中观察到的方式影响灵长类后代的神经行为状态。
22只恒河猴（猕猴）幼崽来自于在孕期中期连续14天接受促肾上腺皮质激素（ACTH，可增加母体内分泌活动）或生理盐水注射的母猴。产后第15天和第30天，幼崽与母亲短暂分离，并进行录像以便后续评估神经行为状态。
接受ACTH注射的母猴所生的幼崽比对照组幼崽在困倦状态下花费的时间显著更多（p < .04），并且在分离后时期，当急性应激最高时，困倦增加的趋势最为明显。相比之下，对照组幼崽保持在更活跃的警觉状态（p < .03），大概是在寻找它们的母亲，这是对母体分离的一种物种典型适应性反应。在第15天，雌性幼崽比雄性幼崽在苦恼状态下花费的时间更多，并且在所有幼崽给予0.2毫升24%蔗糖溶液后，苦恼状态下的时间比例下降。
结果表明，在孕期内分泌活动增加的母猴所生的幼崽中发现了神经行为状态改变。神经行为状态紊乱可能会对人类婴儿当前及后续的职业表现产生不利影响。这些发现确立了非人类灵长类动物模型对于推进关于人类婴儿职业行为发展早期贡献知识的有用性。
