Studies of undernutrition in the young rat: Methodological considerations

Plaut, S. Michael

doi:10.1002/dev.420030303

Cited by 55 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 41 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It is also important to recognize that there may be behavioral measures other than those used here which are more sensitive to nutritional effects, and this should be addressed in future research. Another concern is that manipulation of litter size affects not only pup nutrition but also the nature of the interaction between dam and offspring (Plaut, 1970;Priestnall, 1972;Crnic, 1980), and presumably between offspring themselves. It is interesting to note that, although pups reared in litters of 3 were the heaviest in the study, those reared in litters of 5 had the most advanced behavioral score.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The quantitative relationship between nutritional effects on preweaning growth and behavioral development in mice

Wainwright

Pelkman

Wahłsten

1989

Developmental Psychobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Our objective was to establish whether nutritional effects on the behavioral development of preweaning mouse pups were linearly related to effects on body and brain growth or whether there was a threshold effect, with behavior being affected only by nutritional extremes. We also used a standardized scale of development to compare the relative magnitude of such effects on morphological and behavioral measures. The level of nutrient availability was manipulated continuously by rearing the pups in litter sizes ranging from 3 to 12. On Day 32 post-conception, measures were taken of body weight, brain weight, thickness of the cerebellar external granular layer (EGL), and behavioral development. The relationship between litter size and body weight, brain weight, and behavioral development was best described by a linear regression model; no threshold effect was apparent. By comparing measures on animals from different litter sizes at the same age (32 days) to standard developmental curves over a wide range of ages, we found that for every additional pup in a litter, body growth was retarded by the equivalent of 1.28 days, brain weight by 0.44 day, and behavioral development by 0.07 day. Although the variation in nutrient availability provided by this range of litter sizes does result in a linear relationship between growth and behavioral development, there is nevertheless considerable sparing of function.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The quantitative relationship between nutritional effects on preweaning growth and behavioral development in mice

Wainwright

Pelkman

Wahłsten

1989

Developmental Psychobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The function of this system and levels of plasma corticosteroids have repeatedly been related to levels of emotionality (Bronson & Eleftheriou, 1963;Howard, 1973;Levine & Mullins, 1968). Although the hightened emotionality found in animals from large litters may be the consequence of differential functioning of the adrenocortical system, the contributions of nutritional and maternal stress factors have not yet been determined (Plaut, 1970).…”

Section: Emotionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of postnatal litter size on adult aggression in the laboratory mouse

Ryan

Wehmer

1975

Developmental Psychobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Growth, emotionality, food competition, and aggression were examined in mice nursed in litters of 3 or 9 and reared in isolation until testing. Animals from large litters were lighter at weaning and in adulthood and were more emotional in the open field than subjects from small litters. They did not win more food competition tests than subjects from small litters although their consummatory behavior during food competition tests was greater. Subjects from large litters were more aggressive in initial encounters, but over repeated encounters became more submissive. In a 2nd open-field test, emotionality of large-litter subjects was reduced more than that of subjects from small litters. When later placed in group-living cages, subjects from small litters sustained less long term physical assault than subjects from large litters. High correlations were found between the 4 measures of brief aggression.

show abstract

“…The methods used to produce undernutrition in rats are accompanied by changes in mother-pup interaction (8)(9)(10)(11)(12) and it has been proposed that changes in maternal behavior tend to minimize the effects of undernutrition on offspring growth and development (13,14). Other studies have indicated that the changes in maternal behavior cause either beneficial effects (15) or no effect on the later behavior of offspring (16,17).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of the test situation on pup retrieval behavior of normal and undernourished lactating rats

Rocha

Soares

Mello

2002

Braz J Med Biol Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Undernutrition of dams and pups disrupts the retrieval efficiency of mothers. However, if the mothers are assessed in their home cages, they spend more time with their litters. In the present study the effect of test conditions on pup retrieval behavior of mothers receiving a 25% (well-nourished group) and 8% casein diet (undernourished group) was examined. In agreement with previous studies, undernourished mothers spent more time with their litters than well-nourished dams as lactation proceeded. Pup retrieval behavior varied with test conditions. In the first experiment, the maternal behavior of dams was assessed by the standard procedure (pups were separated from their mother and scattered over the floor of the home cage). The mother was then returned and the number of retrieved pups was recorded. From day 3 to 8, the retrieval efficiency of undernourished dams decreased, while the retrieval efficiency of well-nourished mothers did not vary. In the second experiment, mothers were subjected to a single retrieval test (on day 9 of lactation) using the procedure described for experiment 1. No difference between well-nourished and undernourished mothers was observed. In the third experiment, seven-day-old pups were separated from the mothers and returned individually to a clean home cage. Dietary treatment did not affect the retrieval efficiency. However, undernourished dams reconstructed the nest more slowly than did well-nourished dams. Taken together, these results suggest that pup retrieval behavior of the undernourished mother is not impaired by dietary restriction when the maternal environment is disturbed minimally. Correspondence

show abstract

Studies of undernutrition in the young rat: Methodological considerations

Cited by 55 publications

References 41 publications

The quantitative relationship between nutritional effects on preweaning growth and behavioral development in mice

The quantitative relationship between nutritional effects on preweaning growth and behavioral development in mice

Effect of postnatal litter size on adult aggression in the laboratory mouse

Influence of the test situation on pup retrieval behavior of normal and undernourished lactating rats

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About