Guidance and differentiation of maternally directed orienting behaviors: Probing the origins of filial attachment

Abstract

Newborn rats seek and attain contact with their mothers by orienting and primitive locomotor behaviors called maternally-directed orienting behaviors (MDOBs). By 2 days of age MDOBs are elicited specifically by maternal features and are heightened by a period of acute separation from the mother. This behavioral regulation by the mother's presence suggests an early form of filial attachment. To probe for other evidence of filial attachment, two aspects of the controls of MDOBs were investigated: (1) whether MDOBs are goal-corrected in relation to the dam's position and (2) whether the performance of MDOBs can be separated from that of suckling. It was found that, during the first 2 days after birth, MDOBs maintained the pup's ventrum-to-ventrum contact with the dam regardless of her position, suggesting that they are goal-corrected. Evidence was not found for independent controls of nipple grasping (NG), the behavior that initiates suckling, and MDOBs during the first two postnatal days.

Developmental Responses of the Lateral Hypothalamus to Leptin in Neonatal Rats, and its Implications for the Development of Functional Connections with the Ventral Tegmental Area

“…When pups are suckling exclusively, milk ingestion per se (and the metabolic signals associated with it) might not represent the greatest rewarding stimulus. Maternal presence and the multisensory modalities associated with it (food, warmth, sensory stimulation) are the most critical rewarding stimulus during early neonatal life . By PND16, there is strong responsiveness of all three regions (ARC, LH and VTA) to leptin, with the ARC and VTA mainly transducing the leptin signal through pSTAT3, and the LH through pERK1/2.…”

Filial attachment: Development, mechanisms, and consequences.

“…For the rhesus, as is no doubt true much more generally (e.g., see Polan, 2005), the infant's attachment to its caregiver originates from a set of coordinated and highly motivated movement patterns that are present at or shortly after birth. In macaque monkeys, behaviors such as sucking, clinging, and rooting represent a rudimentary sensorimotor schema that guides development of actual, physical attachment to the rearing figure (Mason & Mendoza, 1998), a step on the road to emotional attachment.…”