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| Author(s): |
Aline de Mello Cruz
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Doctoral Thesis |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ/SBD) |
| Defense date: | 2013-09-27 |
| Examining board members: |
Luciano Freitas Felicio;
Newton Sabino Canteras;
Cristina de Oliveira Massoco Salles Gomes;
Aldo Bolten Lucion;
Helenice de Souza Spinosa
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| Advisor: | Luciano Freitas Felicio |
| Abstract | |
Maternal behavior can be defined as the behavioral performance that the mother expresses from the immediate pre birth until offspring can survive alone without specific maternal care. The understanding of mechanisms involved in maternal behavior may have different approach related to mothers and the pups. Understanding the neuroanatomical and neurochemical mechanisms from these animal is important for society in general, specially for mothers suffering from psychological and physiological disorders in the perinatal period. In the natural environment, animals often face situations of conflict, and must make choices between different behaviors essential to their maintenance, such as feeding, defense and reproduction. Environmental enrichment can promote positive or negative impacts on the expression of certain behaviors. We observed a huge impact in the presence of pinus flakes at the moment of behavioral testing, positively influencing the expression of maternal behavior. Behavioral modulation (or selection) is when animals have to choose between two or more types of behaviors. Recent research from our group suggest that changes in opioid tone in the end of pregnancy can modulate the expression of behavioral patterns in postpartum. This study suggests that pretreatment with progesterone during pregnancy can change the sensitivity to opioids and its effect on maternal behavior and behavioral selection during lactation, but related central pharmacological challenge, the phenomenon become mild. Cholecystokinin (CCK) modulation of maternal behavior seems to be associated with the reproductive status and modulation of specific neuroanatomical sites. Blockage of specific CCK receptors in this behavioral modulation is only effective in satiation, but not related to maternal behavior parameters. Pregnant and lactating rats show better performances in hunt when compared to virgin rats, with no drug challenge effect. Lactating rats normally show a decrease in levels of anxiety-like behavior in postpartum period when compared to virgin rats. Decrease in anxiety levels can directly influence maternal ability to take care of their litter. In this study, this effect was greater than the effect of the drug itself in modulation of anxiety behavior, attenuating the peptide calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) anxiogenic effect. (AU) | |