Animal models for the study of the effect of prolonged stress on lactation in rats

Lau, Chantal; Simpson, Charles W.

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2004.05.004

Cited by 29 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Ro¨del et al 2008b). In addition, a subordinate rank position might lower the mother's lactational performance due to the negative effects of social stress (von Holst 1998;Lau and Simpson 2004). Furthermore, young, first-time breeding rabbit females may have less experience in building appropriate nests.…”

Section: Article In Pressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causes and predictors of nest mortality in a European rabbit population

et al. 2009

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We conducted a study on nest mortality of an individually marked population of European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus L., 1758) living in a field enclosure. Over 4 years, we determined maternities and quantified pup mortality during the nest period of 703 pups born in subterranean breeding burrows. Overall, pup mortality occurred in 42.7% of the litters, whereas 32.4% of all born pups were affected. Mortality was highest during the first few postnatal days. In about 50% of the cases, we managed to quantify different causes of mortality such as malnutrition, flooding, cooling of the pups, infanticide, or predation. The pups' body mass on postnatal day 1, the thermal environment and the number of litter mates were the most important predictors of nest mortality. Litter mortality risk decreased with increasing soil temperature around the subterranean nests. A comparatively higher average pup body mass lowered the nest mortality risk of a litter, whereas this effect was more pronounced when soil temperatures were low. Furthermore, mortality was lowest in medium-sized litters, most probably due to the balance between the thermal benefits of huddling with litter siblings and the costs of having them due to the lower share of milk obtained by the individual pups in larger litters. In addition, nest mortality depended on characteristics of the mother; mortality was increased in litters of low-ranking females and of mothers with lower body mass. In conclusion, our study highlights multiple causes and the effects of different environmental and social factors on nest mortality of this small mammal.

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Section: Article In Pressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causes and predictors of nest mortality in a European rabbit population

et al. 2009

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“…However, acute exposure to a novel male intruder, without social defeat of the dam, elicits robust behavioral and endocrine stress responses in lactating females [15][16][17][18] . There is also evidence that chronic stress during lactation, including exposure to a male intruder, directly impairs milk production 19,20, which may impact pup growth. These results in maternal rats are supported by studies in virgin females, where chronic social instability (varying isolation and crowding) increases hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal axis activity 11,21, alters body temperature regulation, reduces sucrose and food intake, and has been proposed as an animal model for female depression 11 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Chronic Social Stress to Model Postpartum Depression in Lactating Rodents

Carini

Murgatroyd

Nephew

2013

JoVE

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Exposure to chronic stress is a reliable predictor of depressive disorders, and social stress is a common ethologically relevant stressor in both animals and humans. However, many animal models of depression were developed in males and are not applicable or effective in studies of postpartum females. Recent studies have reported significant effects of chronic social stress during lactation, an ethologically relevant and effective stressor, on maternal behavior, growth, and behavioral neuroendocrinology. This manuscript will describe this chronic social stress paradigm using repeated exposure of a lactating dam to a novel male intruder, and the assessment of the behavioral, physiological, and neuroendocrine effects of this model. Chronic social stress (CSS) is a valuable model for studying the effects of stress on the behavior and physiology of the dam as well as her offspring and future generations. The exposure of pups to CSS can also be used as an early life stress that has long term effects on behavior, physiology, and neuroendocrinology.

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“…Moreover, low-ranking individuals are often more stressed than dominant animals, as has been shown for female European rabbits by measurements using serum corticosterone concentrations and heart rate as indicators of the level of stress (von Holst 1998). Stress is commonly considered to suppress the release of the mother's milk (Lau 2001;Lau and Simpson 2004); therefore, a lower lactational performance in subordinate rabbit mothers might be expected. According to this alternative hypothesis, we would expect that litter size-dependent growth of pups is reflected by litter-size dependent differences in maternal quality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimal litter size for individual growth of European rabbit pups depends on their thermal environment

2008

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In altricial mammals and birds, the presence of a large number of litter or brood mates often affects the development of individual offspring by reducing the share of resources provided by the parents. However, sibling presence can also be favourable, conferring thermoregulatory benefits when ambient temperatures are low. Consequently, shifts in the relation between costs and benefits of sibling presence can be expected as a function of the thermal environment. In a study of a European rabbit population (Oryctolagus cuniculus) living in a field enclosure, we investigated the effects of litter size and soil temperature on pup growth over 7 years. Temperatures inside the subterranean nests were positively correlated with soil temperature and with litter size. Soil temperature varied strongly across the breeding season, ranging from 3 to 21 degrees C. Under warmer soil temperature conditions (10-15 degrees C and >15 degrees C), pup growth decreased with increasing litter size, where litters of two pups (smallest litter size considered) showed the highest growth rates. In contrast, under colder soil temperature conditions (<10 degrees C), the highest growth rates were found in litters of three pups. We also asked if such temperature-dependent differences in the optimal pup growth rates might be explained by differences in maternal characteristics, which might affect lactational performance. We assessed maternal performance using females' postpartum body mass and social rank. However, we did not find consistent differences in maternal characteristics between females giving birth to different-sized litters during different soil temperature conditions, which would have provided an alternative explanation for the observed differences in litter size-dependent pup growth. We conclude that under colder soil temperature conditions, the thermal benefits of a greater number of littermates outweigh the negative consequences of competition for milk, leading to an environment-dependent shift in the optimal litter size for individual growth in this species.

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Animal models for the study of the effect of prolonged stress on lactation in rats

Cited by 29 publications

References 37 publications

Causes and predictors of nest mortality in a European rabbit population

Causes and predictors of nest mortality in a European rabbit population

Using Chronic Social Stress to Model Postpartum Depression in Lactating Rodents

Optimal litter size for individual growth of European rabbit pups depends on their thermal environment

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