Role of maternal behavior on aggression, fear and anxiety.
Physiol Behav
; 77(2-3): 197-204, 2002 Nov.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-12419395
Concomitant to the expression of maternal behavior, the lactating female develops anxiolysis in the elevated plus maze test, aggression towards intruders and reduced fear in response to a sudden auditory stimulus. This study aims to determine if these behavioral changes are associated with maternal behavior independently of the endocrine status that characterizes gestation, parturition and lactation. To assess this purpose, the behavior of lactating females was compared to that exhibited by maternal and nonmaternal ovariectomized rats untreated with steroid hormones. In contrast with lactating dams, sensitized animals (rats that displayed maternal behavior after a continuous contact with young pups) did not display reduced anxiety in the plus maze test. However, the sensitized females showed behaviors characteristic of lactating rats, such as some components of maternal aggression and reduced fear, though much less intensely than dams. These results suggest that aggression and reduced fear, but not anxiolysis, partially depend on the development of maternal behavior.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Ansiedade
/
Agressão
/
Medo
/
Comportamento Materno
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Physiol Behav
Ano de publicação:
2002
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Uruguai
País de publicação:
Estados Unidos