Alloparental Behavior and Paternal Behavior in Nonhuman Mammals

The Parental Brain ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190848675.003.0007 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 194-228

Author(s):

Michael Numan

Keyword(s):

Parental Behavior ◽

Genetic Selection ◽

Virgin Female ◽

Ventromedial Hypothalamus ◽

House Mice ◽

Prairie Voles ◽

Paternal Behavior ◽

Mesolimbic Dopamine System ◽

Laboratory Rats ◽

Alloparental Behavior

Chapter 7 examines alloparental and paternal behavior. Although these behaviors are rare in mammals, their occurrence indicates that parental behavior can occur in the absence of pregnancy and parturition. For mammals of both sexes, dual brain circuits affect whether parental behavior occurs: An inhibitory defensive circuit (anterior hypothalamus/ventromedial hypothalamus projections to periaqueductal gray), and an excitatory parental circuit (medial preoptic area, mesolimbic dopamine system, and the oxytocin system). When alloparental behavior occurs, either through experimental genetic selection (virgin female laboratory house mice) or through natural selection (prairie voles, marmosets), the defensive circuit has been downregulated and the parental circuit has been upregulated by such selection. When paternal behavior occurs, either naturally (California mice, dwarf hamsters) or experimentally (laboratory rats and house mice), copulation with a female and remaining with her through parturition depresses the male’s defensive circuitry while activating his parental circuitry.

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Parental Behavior

The Parental Brain ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190848675.003.0002 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 4-13

Author(s):

Michael Numan

Keyword(s):

Breeding System ◽

Cooperative Breeding ◽

Maternal Care ◽

Parental Behavior ◽

Mammalian Species ◽

Biparental Care ◽

Dominant Form ◽

Paternal Behavior ◽

Alloparental Behavior ◽

Care System

Chapter 2 describes the types of parental behavior that can occur in vertebrates: maternal, paternal, and alloparental behavior. The dominant form of parental behavior in mammals is a uniparental maternal care system, where the mother raises her offspring by herself. A mother can form either a nonselective or selective bond with her infants, depending on the maturity of her infants at birth. A biparental care system, in which both maternal and paternal behavior occur, is present in about 5% of mammalian species. Approximately 3% of mammalian species exhibit a cooperative breeding system, where some offspring remain in their social group and help their parents raise subsequent offspring. The parental behavior of these helpers is referred to as alloparental behavior. The occurrence of paternal and alloparental behavior shows that alternative mechanisms, not requiring pregnancy and parturition, can evolve which allow for these forms of parental behavior.

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The Parental Brain

10.1093/oso/9780190848675.001.0001 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Michael Numan

Keyword(s):

Maternal Behavior ◽

Parental Behavior ◽

Mammalian Species ◽

Cortical Circuits ◽

Paternal Behavior ◽

Feeling States ◽

Alloparental Behavior ◽

Parental Brain ◽

Development And Evolution ◽

Epigenetic Processes

The Parental Brain: Mechanisms, Development, and Evolution takes a three-pronged approach to the parental brain. The first part of the book deals with neural mechanisms. Subcortical circuits are crucially involved in parental behavior, and, for most mammals, the physiological events of pregnancy and parturition prime these circuits so that they become responsive to infant stimuli, allowing for the onset of maternal behavior at parturition. However, since paternal behavior and alloparental behavior occur in some mammalian species, alternate mechanisms are shown to exist that regulate the access of infant stimuli to these circuits. In humans, cortical circuits interact with subcortical circuits so that parental feeling states (emotions) and cognitions can be translated into parental behavior. The section on development emphasizes the experiential basis of the intergenerational continuity of normal and abnormal maternal behavior in animals and humans: The way a mother treats her infant affects the development of the infant’s brain and subsequent maternal behavior. Genetic factors, including epigenetic processes and gene by environment (G × E) interactions, are also involved. The chapter on evolution presents evidence that the parental brain most likely provided the foundation or template for other strong prosocial bonds. In particular, cortical and subcortical parental brain circuits have probably been utilized by natural selection to promote the evolution of the hyper-cooperation and hyper-prosociality that exist in human social groups. A unique aspect of this book is its integration of animal and human research to create a complete understanding of the parental brain.

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Effects of voluntary activity and genetic selection on aerobic capacity in house mice (Mus domesticus)

Journal of Applied Physiology ◽

10.1152/jappl.1998.84.1.69 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 84 (1) ◽

pp. 69-76 ◽

Cited By ~ 130

Author(s):

John G. Swallow ◽

Theodore Garland ◽

Patrick A. Carter ◽

Wen-Zhi Zhan ◽

Gary C. Sieck

Keyword(s):

Body Mass ◽

Aerobic Capacity ◽

Genetic Selection ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Analysis Of Covariance ◽

House Mice ◽

Mus Domesticus ◽

Voluntary Activity ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Running Wheels

Swallow, John G., Theodore Garland, Jr., Patrick A. Carter, Wen-Zhi Zhan, and Gary C. Sieck. Effects of voluntary activity and genetic selection on aerobic capacity in house mice ( Mus domesticus). J. Appl. Physiol. 84(1): 69–76, 1998.—An animal model was developed to study effects on components of exercise physiology of both “nature” (10 generations of genetic selection for high voluntary activity on running wheels) and “nurture” (7–8 wk of access or no access to running wheels, beginning at weaning). At the end of the experiment, mice from both wheel-access groups were significantly lighter in body mass than mice from sedentary groups. Within the wheel-access group, a statistically significant, negative relationship existed between activity and final body mass. In measurements of maximum oxygen consumption during forced treadmill exercise (V˙o 2 max), mice with wheel access were significantly more cooperative than sedentary mice; however, trial quality was not a significant predictor of individual variation in V˙o 2 max. Nested two-way analysis of covariance demonstrated that both genetic selection history and access to wheels had significant positive effects on V˙o 2 max. A 12% difference inV˙o 2 max existed between wheel-access selected mice, which had the highest mass-correctedV˙o 2 max, and sedentary control mice, which had the lowest. The respiratory exchange ratio at V˙o 2 max was also significantly lower in the wheel-access group. Our results suggest the existence of a possible genetic correlation between voluntary activity levels (behavior) and aerobic capacity (physiology).

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