Maternal and affective behaviors of lactating rats reared in overlapping litters

Malnutrition increases NO production and induces changes in inflammatory and oxidative status in the distal colon of lactating rats

“…32 In addition to an adequate amount of feeding, it is well known the importance of skin-to-skin contact between the mother and newborns as an adequate stimulus for somatic and affective development. 33 Thus, the limited number of suckling opportunities per pup associated to a reduced maternal care was important to modify the somatic parameters observed in the N15 group. Despite these modifications, no changes in the serum albumin, cholesterol, and triglycerides levels were found in the malnourished group, suggesting the absence of severe systemic metabolic changes.…”

“…The deficit of ~41% in the bodyweight of the N15 group as compared to the control represents the maximum limit of a moderate malnutrition for Wistar rats . In addition to an adequate amount of feeding, it is well known the importance of skin‐to‐skin contact between the mother and newborns as an adequate stimulus for somatic and affective development . Thus, the limited number of suckling opportunities per pup associated to a reduced maternal care was important to modify the somatic parameters observed in the N15 group.…”

Affective changes during the postpartum period: Influences of genetic and experiential factors

“…Unlike the presumably aversive early-life experiences discussed above (including separation from the mother) that can increase females' postpartum anxiety, neither neonatal handling nor being reared in an overlapping litter negatively affects postpartum maternal behavior or the growth of the litter (Giovenardi et al, 2005;Uriarte et al, 2014). Interestingly, these early life…”

Raising overlapping litters: Differential activation of rat maternal neural circuitry after interacting with newborn or juvenile pups

“…Maternal behaviour in rats, as in most mammalian species, involves a complex repertoire of activities that ensure the survival of the progeny and shape the neural and behavioural development of the offspring . The maternal neural circuitry involves several brain regions, including key areas such as the medial preoptic area (mPOA) and the ventral portion of the bed nucleus of the stria terminals (vBNST), as well as regions implicated in processing biologically relevant stimuli, such as the amygdala.…”

“…Maternal behaviour in rats, as in most mammalian species, involves a complex repertoire of activities that ensure the survival of the progeny and shape the neural and behavioural development of the offspring. 1,2 The maternal neural circuitry involves several brain regions, including key areas such as the medial preoptic area (mPOA) and the ventral portion of the bed nucleus of the stria terminals (vBNST), as well as regions implicated in processing biologically relevant stimuli, such as the amygdala. Other important regions are general motivational systems, such as the dopaminergic mesolimbic system, which includes the nucleus accumbens (NA), and areas implicated in selective attention and decision-making such as the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC).…”