Lecture 7 Flashcards
what is parental behavior?
Any behavior(s) that contributes directly to the survival of offspring. Can be maternal or paternal Behavior
What is motivated behavior
Eating, drinking, copulation
Describe the difference of the three types of parenting.
uniparental- one parent
biparental- two parents
alloparenting - non-offspring parenting
What is the relationships between parental care and mating
More parental care = more choosiness about mate
Less parental care = more competition to mate
Describe the three types of offsprings in reference to their helplessness.
Altricial- young are born naked, blind and helpless. Cannot thermoregulate
Precocial- born with eyes open, with fur or feathers. Mobile.
Semiprecocial- eyes open, can thermoregulate and eliminate. Always require significant parental care
Describe Marsupials
They produce highly altricial young, young remain attached to mother, have pouches, invest in postpartum care, they live in harsh unpredictable environments
Describe Monotremes
They lay eggs with two patterns and they’re very primitive animals.
Describe Eutherians
They have a placenta and live in stable environments and therefore can invest in long gestations. They have high and low care.
What are the two basic patterns on laying eggs with monotremes.
Duck-billed platypus - they build a burrow and seals herself with eggs. Milk secreted from mammary glands directly onto skin.
Anteaters- they lay a single egg and carries it in a pouch. Young lives in pouch post-hatching.
Describe two behaviors of altricial parents
Pup-directed behaviors which includes licking/grooming, retrieving and nursing
Non pup-directed behaviors which includes placentophagia, nest building, aggression.
in reference to parenting birds are 90% ___ and mammals are 90% ___
birds -> 90% biparental
mammals -> 90% uniparental
describe the three types of strategies for precocial young
hider-types - 1 or 2 young stay hidden in nest for 7-10 days at a time while mother forages for food
follower-types - young follows mother from birth
semi-precocial- virtually helpless at birth & can cling on to mother
examples of hider-types, follower-types and precocial
hider-types- deer,
follower-types - giraffes and whales
precocial- primates
describe 3 kinds of maternal experience
Nulliparous: Never given birth
Primiparous: First time giving birth
Multiparous: More than one birth
explain the difference in latency between a Nulliparous and Primiparous mouse
the nulliparous mouse will avoid pups until a 5-6 day exposure then they begin to act maternal. the primiparous mouse will have a shorter latency.
what inhibits maternal behavior in mice
chemosensory input to the MPOA and the AMYGDALA
how can maternal behavior be induced other than exposure to pups alone.
blood borne substances
describe estrogens in relation to maternal care
- it Increase at end of pregnancy and early postpartum
- they’re in in “maternal” brain regions
- they are the “Prime” system for maternal behavior
describe progresterone in relation to maternal care
It drops at birth, when placenta removed and the drop is necessary for for onset of maternal behaviors 24-48 hours later.
describe prolactin in relation to maternal care
It is a Peptide hormone that is stimulated by
Thyrotropin Releasing Hormone and inhibited by
Dopamine.There is a Spike in prolactin at end of gestation and immediately post-partum
describe oxytocin in relation to maternal care
Stimulates uterine contractions & Stimulates milk let-down.
Important for bonding like nursing or skin to skin contact. in hormone-primed virgins they will show maternal behavior 1 hour.
describe the MPOA/BNST system in relation to maternal care.
explain
what are the three stages of Maintenance of Maternal Behavior and give examples
- Maternally-driven care (hormone-driven) ex Dams build nest, gather pups, crouch over them to nurse
- Pup-driven care. this is the feedback from pups maintains care ex Foster litters -> maternal indefinitely
- Cessation of care (termination)
in rats what hormone correlates with decreased time spent with pups over two weeks
prolactin
what prevents the time in the nest (a hormone and a procedure)
Adrenalectomy and prolactin
Describe the four steps in which prolactin correlates w/ decreased time in the nest.
Suckling stimulates secretion of prolactin
Increased levels of prolactin stimulates increased levels of corticosterone
Increased levels of corticosterone increases dams metabolic rate, increasing basal body temperature
Increase in body temperature leads to less time spent in the nest
To avoid potentially lethal hyperthermia
Are hormones necessary for expression of basic parental behaviors in humans? explain why or why not?
No. Adoptive parents, siblings, grandparents and caregivers grow attached to infants in a process that appears similar to the process observed in the biological mother
what two human maternal behaviors lead to increased oxytocin
Vaginal birth and breastfeeding
cortisol positively correlated with what in maternal human behaviors
High salivary Cortisol correlates with more physically affectionate behavior, and talked more often to their babies than did women with low levels of cortisol
The ablility to better to recognize own infant’s cries and smell were acheived with what hormone
High levels of cortisol
What do women with positive shift in the ratio of estradiol to progesterone show?
a greater attachment to their infants than women with negative shifts of estradiol:progesterone
what kind of parental care in uncommon in mammals
paternal
in what type of species do you normally see paternal care
pair-bonding species
in animals where there is some paternal care what hormones are high and which hormones are low.
high - prolactin and estradiol
low- testoterone and cortisol
how many days after exposure to pups do virgin females become maternal
5-6
how long is the latency for maternal behavior with 14 days of high estrogen
24-48 hours
describe the interactions between the mother and pups that are required for nursing
Pups - sign, sound smell
mother- distal cues stimulate contact seeking
pups: mother touch pups
mother: perioral contact stimulates nuzzling, licking and hovering over
pups: pups touch mother
mother: ventral contact stimulates crouching posture
pups: facilitates suckling
what happens with ACTH in the first two weeks post-partum
it increases
