Modern neuroscience has presented new opportunities for exploring the molecular and neural mechanisms controlling specific social responses. This book reviews insights into the neural circuits underlying a particularly fascinating form of social interaction, parental behavior. This book presents a detailed review of maternal and paternal behavior of particular mammalian species. It offer neuroscientists a spectrum of specific mammals that can be used as experimental models to explore particular topics on the functions of the nervous system. It shows that results coming from the laboratory can be translated into useful information for raising mammals on the farm, and it stimulates biologists to gain insights into the underpinnings of the complex mechanisms governing mammalian behavior in the wild. It also discusses the implications of this research for human parental behavior.
Author(s): Gabriela González-Mariscal
Series: Advances in Neurobiology, 27
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 310
City: Cham
Contents
Parental Behavior in Rodents
1 Introduction
2 Patterns of Maternal Caregiving
Sciuromorpha
Hystricomorpha
Castorimorpha
Anomaluromorpha
3 Neural Basis of Maternal Caregiving in Rodents
4 Endocrinology of Maternal Caregiving in Rodents
Steroid Hormones and Maternal Care: Estrogens and Progesterone
Protein and Peptide Hormones and Maternal Care: Prolactin and Oxytocin
5 Patterns of Paternal Caregiving
6 Neural Basis of Paternal Caregiving
7 Endocrinology of Paternal Caregiving
Steroid Hormones and Paternal Care
Peptide and Protein Hormones and Paternal Care
8 Conclusions
References
Parental Behavior in Carnivores
1 Introduction
Paternal Care
2 Prepartum Behavior: Preparation for Arrival of the Young
3 Parturition
4 Postpartum Care and Transition to Independence
Nursing
Den Hygiene and Safety
Mother-Young Recognition
Alloparental Care
Weaning
Postweaning Care
5 Conclusion
References
The Onset of Maternal Behavior in Sheep and Goats: Endocrine, Sensory, Neural, and Experiential Mechanisms
1 Introduction
2 Characteristics of the Onset of Maternal Behavior
Behavior During the Prepartum Period
Behavior at Parturition and Maternal Responsiveness
Individual Recognition of the Young: Maternal Selectivity
3 Immediate Factors Controlling Maternal Responsiveness
Physiological Changes During Pregnancy and Parturition
Hormonal Factors Controlling Maternal Responsiveness
Sensory Factors Controlling Maternal Responsiveness
Brain Regions Involved in Maternal Responsiveness
4 Immediate Factors Controlling Maternal Selectivity
Olfactory Cues
Visual and Auditory Cues
Brain Regions Involved in Selectivity
The Olfactory Bulb
Beyond the Olfactory Bulb
5 Environmental Factors Regulating the Onset of Maternal Behavior: Nutrition Levels
6 Personality Traits and Experiential Factors Regulating the Onset of Maternal Behavior
Breed Differences
Temperament
Maternal Experience
7 Conclusion
References
Parental Behaviour in Sows
1 Nest-Building Behaviour
Background
Hormonal Control of Nest-Building Behaviour
Environmental Requirements
Effects of Modern Housing in Confinement on Nest-Building Behaviour
Consequences of Lacking Nest-Building Behaviour
2 Farrowing
3 Lactation
Nursing Behaviour
Aggressive Behaviour
Is Maternal Behaviour Inherited?
Cross-Fostering in the Pig
4 Conclusions
References
Rabbit Maternal Behavior: A Perspective from Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, Animal Production, and Psychobiology
1 Introduction
2 The Doe’s Behavior Throughout Pregnancy and Parturition: Mother-Offspring Activities During Lactation
Nest Building in the Laboratory, on the Farm, and in the Wild
Hormones and Brain Targets Regulating Specific Aspects of Nest Building
Effect of Environmental Factors (Housing, Available Materials, Seminatural Enclosures)
Effect of Social Rank
Delivery, Placentophagia, Postpartum Estrus, and Their Management on the Farm
Duration of Kindling and Kit Survival in Relation to Maternal Social Rank
Mating Postpartum in the Lab, on the Farm, and in the Wild: Behavioral and Neuroendocrine Consequences for the Doe
Fostering Kits
Lactation: Behavioral Aspects
Periodicity of Nursing, Suckling Bout Duration, and Impact of Litter Size
Photoperiod and “Clock Genes”
Domestic Breeds vs. Wild Animals
Effect of Different Housing Systems
Milk Production Across Early, Middle, and Late Lactation (with and Without Concurrent Pregnancy)
Impact of Breed, Litter Size, and Environmental Factors
Main Hormones Involved
Weaning
Kits’ Behavior
In Anticipation of Nursing, During Suckling (Change in Teat Position), and After Milk Intake
Critical Assessment of Biostimulation on Kit Development
3 Maternal Nest Building in the Rabbit as a Possible Model for Elucidating the Neurobiological Control of Compulsive Behavior
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Dysregulation of Normal, Adaptive Behavior?
Neurobiology of OCD and Straw-Carrying
Relationship Between OCD, Straw-Carrying, and Normal Maternal Behavior
4 Final Reflections
References
Parental Behavior in Bovines
1 Introduction
2 Origin and Distribution of Cattle
3 Breeds of Cattle
4 Cow-Calf Behavior When Kept in the Wild or Under Seminatural Conditions
Behavior Around Calving
The Behavior of the Calf Immediately After Birth
Maternal Licking of the Calf
Vocalization in Calves and Cows
Cow-Calf Attachment
Teat-Seeking and First Suckling
5 Cow-Calf Behaviors During Development
Suckling During Growth
The First Weeks of Life
Distance Between Calf and Cow
Contact Between Calf and Cow During Growth
Weaning by the Cow or by Humans After Longer Suckling Periods
6 Reproductive Endocrinology Around Parturition
Placenta Expulsion Postpartum
7 The Behavior of Dairy Calves and Cows in Different Systems
Group Housing of Cows During Calving
Effects of Deprivation of Maternal Care on the Newborn Calf
Effects of Cow-Calf Separation in Dairy Cattle at Different Times Postpartum
Fostering Calves onto Foster Cows
8 Conclusions
References
Nonhuman Primate Paternal Care: Species and Individual Differences in Behavior and Mechanisms
1 Introduction
2 What Is Paternal Care, and Why Is It Important?
3 How Is Paternal Care Activated and Controlled?
4 What Have We Learned About the Basic Biology of Reproductive and Parenting Hormones and the Role of the Sensory Systems in Paternal Care?
5 How Does Paternal Care Vary Within and Between the Species That We Study?
6 Directions for Future Research
References
Recent Neuroscience Advances in Human Parenting
1 Introduction
2 Maternal Brain Circuits
3 Maternal Functional Brain Adaptations
Task-Based fMRI
Resting-State fMRI
4 Maternal Structural Brain Adaptations
5 Proposed Neural Mechanisms Mediating the Genesis and Operation of the Human Parental Brain
Neuroplasticity
Myelination
Microglia, the Brain’s Immune Cells
6 The Late-Life Parental Brain
7 Non-birthing Parents
The Paternal Brain
Functional Brain Adaptations
Structural Brain Adaptations
The Alloparental Brain
Grandparents
Adoptive and Foster Parents
8 Perinatal Mental Illness
Perinatal Depression (PND)
Perinatal Anxiety Disorders
Postpartum Psychosis (PP)
Factors Influencing Perinatal Mental Illness
Nonpregnant Parents
9 Conclusions
References
Integrative Studies of the Effects of Mothers on Offspring: An Example from Wild North American Red Squirrels
1 Introduction
2 Kluane Red Squirrel Project
3 North American Red Squirrels
4 Methods for Quantifying Effects of Mothers on Offspring and Maternal Behavior
Quantitative Genetics
Maternal Attentiveness
Maternal Physiology
5 Impact of Mothers on Offspring in Red Squirrels
Offspring Postnatal Growth Rates
Offspring Behavior
Offspring Physiology
Offspring Survival
6 Future Directions
7 Conclusions
References
Index
