Cortisol and behavioral responses to separation in mother and infant guinea pigs

Ritchey, Robyn L.; Hennessy, Michael B.

doi:10.1016/s0163-1047(87)90514-0

Cited by 48 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Ritchey and Hennessy (1987) found that preweaning guinea pigs placed into a novel test cage with littermates exhibited plasma cortisol elevations that were as great as those of pups placed into the cage alone. The presence of littermates did, however, result in less vocalizing, although levels were still somewhat greater than when pups were tested with their mother.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Plasma cortisol and vocalization responses of postweaning age guinea pigs to maternal and sibling separation: Evidence for filial attachment after weaning

Hennessy

Nigh

Sims

et al. 1995

Developmental Psychobiology

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Postweaning guinea pigs housed with their mother and littermates since birth vocalized more and exhibited greater increases in plasma cortisol levels when placed for 1 hr into a novel test cage alone than they did when tested in the identical fashion with the mother present. These responses were apparent beyond 50 days of age, but had waned by 90 days of age. When tested with a familiar sibling cagemate, postweaning guinea pigs emitted fewer vocalizations than when tested alone but exhibited no less of an elevation of plasma cortisol levels. These results were obtained regardless of whether the subjects had been housed with mother and littermates from birth until the time of testing or with mother and littermates until weaning and then just the single sibling cagemate until the time of testing. The present findings closely approximate those seen in preweaning guinea pigs during tests of maternal and sibling separation, and indicate that guinea pigs can continue to exhibit a specific attachment to the mother beyond the time of weaning.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Plasma cortisol and vocalization responses of postweaning age guinea pigs to maternal and sibling separation: Evidence for filial attachment after weaning

Hennessy

Nigh

Sims

et al. 1995

Developmental Psychobiology

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“…Separation-induced calling in the guinea pig pup is positively correlated with plasma levels of ACTH, adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol (Hennessy and Moorman 1989;. The increase in plasma ACTH levels upon separation occurred both in mother and pup (Ritchey and Hennessy 1987).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Reduction of guinea pig pup isolation calls by anxiolytic and antidepressant drugs

et al. 1996

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Guinea pigs possess central 5-HT1D receptors similar to humans but different from rats and mice. In order to study the role of this receptor on animal behaviour, it may be of interest to develop a paradigm measuring affective states in the guinea pig. Therefore we assessed the effects of a variety of psychotropic drugs on guinea pig pup isolation calls. Anxiolytic compounds such as the benzodiazepine receptor agonists diazepam and alprazolam, the full 5-HT1A receptor agonists 8-OH-DPAT and flesinoxan, and alcohol reduced isolation calling by the guinea pig pup. Moreover, mixed antidepressant/anxiolytic compounds like the 5-HT uptake inhibitors fluvoxamine and clomipramine or the MAO-inhibitor clorgyline as well as the antidepressant NA uptake inhibitors desipramine and maprotiline suppressed vocalizations. The 5-HT1D/1A receptor agonist 5-CT was also very effective in reducing separation calls. Remarkably, the partial 5-HT1A receptor agonists buspirone and BMY 7378 did not affect calling. The neuroleptic haloperidol, the psychostimulant d-amphetamine, the putative anxiogenics DMCM and m-CPP and the putative anxiolytics ondansetron and CI-988 had no effect on isolation calls of guinea pig pups. We propose this paradigm could be helpful to assess behavioural effects of anxiolytic and antidepressant drugs in a species different from rat or mouse, and in which the effects of 5-HT1D receptor ligands may possibly be established.

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“…Numerous studies over the years have found pups to show little or no elevation of plasma cortisol levels when tested with the mother in a novel enclosure (e.g., Hennessy & Ritchey, 1987; Hennessy & Moorman, 1989; Sachser, Dürschlag, & Hirzel, 1998). This effect is not due simply to the presence of a familiar social partner because when tested under identical conditions, but with a littermate present, cortisol levels are as high as when the pup is tested alone (Ritchey & Hennessy, 1987). Other adult animals sometimes have a moderating effect on the HPA responses of preweaning and early post-weaning guinea pigs, but overall the mother has a more-consistent and potent ameliorating influence (Hennessy, Kaiser, & Sachser, 2009).…”

Section: Maternal Separation and Social Buffering: The Role Of Attachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Filial attachment and its disruption: Insights from the guinea pig

Hennessy

2014

Developmental Psychobiology

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Guinea pigs are precocial rodents that show evidence of a selective attachment to the mother who, in turn, exhibits little active maternal care. Effects of separation in guinea pigs are, therefore, more likely to reflect the disruption of attachment than the removal of, or alterations in, patterns of maternal care. Here, effects in guinea pigs of the presence or absence of the mother on psychobiological endpoints and of maternal separation on depressive-like behavior are reviewed. It is argued that results with guinea pigs often align more closely with those of nonhuman primates than those of laboratory rats and mice, and that the guinea pig offers a valuable translational model for studies of the consequences of attachment and its disruption.

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Cortisol and behavioral responses to separation in mother and infant guinea pigs

Cited by 48 publications

References 25 publications

Plasma cortisol and vocalization responses of postweaning age guinea pigs to maternal and sibling separation: Evidence for filial attachment after weaning

Plasma cortisol and vocalization responses of postweaning age guinea pigs to maternal and sibling separation: Evidence for filial attachment after weaning

Reduction of guinea pig pup isolation calls by anxiolytic and antidepressant drugs

Filial attachment and its disruption: Insights from the guinea pig

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