scholarly journals Prolactin action is necessary for parental behavior in male mice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina O. Smiley ◽  
Rosemary S.E. Brown ◽  
David R Grattan
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Paternal Care ◽  
Parental Behavior ◽  
Prolactin Receptor ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Retrieval Task ◽  
Paternal Behavior ◽  
Similar Action ◽  
Pup Retrieval ◽  
Forebrain Neurons

Parental care is critical for successful reproduction in mammals. In comparison to maternal care, the neuroendocrine mechanisms supporting paternal care are less well-studied. Laboratory mice show a mating-induced suppression of infanticide (normally observed in virgins) and onset of paternal behavior. Using this model, we sought to investigate whether the hormone prolactin plays a role in paternal behavior, as it does for maternal behavior. First, using c-fos immunoreactivity in Prlr-IRES-Cre-tdtomato reporter mouse sires, we show that the circuitry activated during paternal interactions contains prolactin-responsive neurons, including the medial preoptic area, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and medial amygdala. To evaluate whether prolactin action is required for the establishment and display of paternal behavior, we conditionally deleted the prolactin receptor (Prlr) from 3 distinct cell types: glutamatergic, GABAergic, and CaMKIIα-expressing forebrain neurons. Prlr-deletion from CaMKIIα-expressing forebrain neurons, but not from glutamatergic or GABAergic cells, resulted in a profound effect on paternal behavior, as none of these males completed the pup retrieval task. Finally, although sires do not show an acute increase in circulating prolactin levels in response to pups, pharmacological blockade of prolactin-release at the time of pup exposure resulted in failure to retrieve pups, similar to when the Prlr was deleted from CaMKIIα neurons, with prolactin administration rescuing this behavior. Taken together, our data show that paternal behavior in sires is dependent on basal levels of circulating prolactin acting at the Prlr on CaMKIIα-expressing neurons. These new data in male mice demonstrate that prolactin has a similar action in both sexes to promote parental care.

scholarly journals Pairmate-dependent pup retrieval as parental behavior in male mice

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingkun Liang ◽  
Jing Zhong ◽  
Hong-Xiang Liu ◽  
Olga Lopatina ◽  
Ryusuke Nakada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parental Behavior ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Pup Retrieval

Paternal behavior by Peromyscus leucopus in enclosures

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 1184-1187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuhua Xia ◽  
John S. Millar
Keyword(s):  
Paternal Care ◽  
Parental Behavior ◽  
Peromyscus Leucopus ◽  
Nest Building ◽  
Paternal Investment ◽  
Behavioral Patterns ◽  
Natural Conditions ◽  
Natal Nest ◽  
Paternal Behavior ◽  
Food Caching

Male Peromyscus leucopus are known to exhibit well-developed paternal behavior in confined cages, but electrophoresis indicates promiscuity in this species. One explanation for this paradox is that the documented paternal behavioral patterns are laboratory artifacts. We made nocturnal observations of parental behavior in 14 families of P. leucopus in large enclosures and observed no paternal care. Males rarely entered the natal nest and when they did, remained in the nest for less than 2 min. Thus, we consider direct paternal care such as licking, retrieving, and huddling unlikely. We also failed to observe any indirect paternal investment such as nest building or food caching. The female in each of five pairs was very aggressive towards the male, continuously chasing him throughout most of the observation periods. Another three females actively prevented their mates from entering the natal nest. Paternal care probably does not contribute to the growth and survivorship of the young under natural conditions.

scholarly journals Testosterone induces paternal behavior in sexually inexperienced males of Neotomodon alstoni (Rodentia: Muridae)

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 1419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juana Luis Diaz ◽  
Guillermo Ramos Blancas ◽  
Martín Martínez Torres ◽  
Agustín Carmona Castro ◽  
Benita Cedillo Ildefonso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aggressive Behavior ◽  
Paternal Care ◽  
Parental Behavior ◽  
Sexual Experience ◽  
Paternal Behavior ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Neuroendocrine Mechanisms ◽  
Selection Test ◽  
Behavior Test

The inhibition of infanticide can be considered a prerequisite for the onset of paternal behavior. Thus, hormones such as testosterone (T) would be expected to mediate the inhibition of aggression toward pups and the onset of paternal care. However, the effect of T in onset of this behavior seems to depend of sexual experience. The aim of this study was to determine whether T induces paternal behavior in sexually inexperienced males of the Mexican volcano mouse (Neotomodon alstoni). For this, 33 non-paternal males were selected based on paternal behavior tests. These non-paternal mice were organized in three groups: 10 males were castrated, 10 subjected to sham procedure, and 13 underwent castration and T replacement. After of these treatments, the males were again evaluated by a second paternal behavior test, and blood samples were obtained to measure plasma T levels by radioimmunoassay. Castrated males with T replacement changed their behavior; 46.2 % of these males displayed paternal behavior despite 92.3 % of these males having previously displayed aggressive behavior in the selection test. An increase in T facilitates the onset of paternal behavior in sexually inexperienced males of Mexican volcano mouse, as occurs in sexual experience males. These results support the hypothesis that an increase in T levels would be involved in the neuroendocrine mechanisms that suppress infanticide and promote the onset of parental behavior in Mexican volcano mice males. Future studies in this mouse will investigate whether T regulates the onset of paternal behavior via conversion to estradiol or whether both T metabolites are involved in its onset.

scholarly journals Functional New World monkey oxytocin forms elicit an altered signaling profile and promotes parental care in rats

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (34) ◽  
pp. 9044-9049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas T. Parreiras-e-Silva ◽  
Pedro Vargas-Pinilla ◽  
Diego A. Duarte ◽  
Dânae Longo ◽  
Grace Violeta Espinoza Pardo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
New World ◽  
Paternal Care ◽  
World Monkey ◽  
New World Monkeys ◽  
Behavioral Traits ◽  
Functional Variants ◽  
Pup Retrieval ◽  
Specific Complex ◽  
The Common

The neurohormone oxytocin is a key player in the modulation of reproductive and social behavioral traits, such as parental care. Recently, a correlation between different forms of oxytocin and behavioral phenotypes has been described in the New World Monkeys (NWMs). Here, we demonstrate that, compared with the Leu8OXT found in most placental mammals, the Cebidae Pro8OXT and Saguinus Val3Pro8OXT taxon-specific variants act as equi-efficacious agonists for the Gq-dependent pathway but are weaker agonists for the β-arrestin engagement and subsequent endocytosis toward the oxytocin receptor (OXTR). Upon interaction with the AVPR1a, Pro8OXT and the common Leu8OXT yielded similar signaling profiles, being equally efficacious on Gq and β-arrestin, while Val3Pro8OXT showed reduced relative efficacy toward β-arrestin. Intranasal treatment with either of the variants increased maternal behavior and also promoted unusual paternal care in rats, as measured by pup-retrieval tests. We therefore suggest that Val3Pro8OXT and Pro8OXT are functional variants, which might have been evolutionarily co-opted as an essential part of the adaptive genetic repertoire that allowed the emergence of taxon-specific complex social behaviors, such as intense parental care in the Cebidae and the genus Saguinus.

scholarly journals Central role of G protein Gαi2 and Gαi2+ vomeronasal neurons in balancing territorial and infant-directed aggression of male mice

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (11) ◽  
pp. 5135-5143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Charlotte Trouillet ◽  
Matthieu Keller ◽  
Jan Weiss ◽  
Trese Leinders-Zufall ◽  
Lutz Birnbaumer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
G Protein ◽  
Sensory Neurons ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Parental Behavior ◽  
Vomeronasal Organ ◽  
Male Infant ◽  
Lateral Septum ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Protein Subunit ◽  
Α Subunit

Aggression is controlled by the olfactory system in many animal species. In male mice, territorial and infant-directed aggression are tightly regulated by the vomeronasal organ (VNO), but how diverse subsets of sensory neurons convey pheromonal information to limbic centers is not yet known. Here, we employ genetic strategies to show that mouse vomeronasal sensory neurons expressing the G protein subunit Gαi2 regulate male–male and infant-directed aggression through distinct circuit mechanisms. Conditional ablation of Gαi2 enhances male–male aggression and increases neural activity in the medial amygdala (MeA), bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and lateral septum. By contrast, conditional Gαi2 ablation causes reduced infant-directed aggression and decreased activity in MeA neurons during male–infant interactions. Strikingly, these mice also display enhanced parental behavior and elevated neural activity in the medial preoptic area, whereas sexual behavior remains normal. These results identify Gαi2 as the primary G protein α-subunit mediating the detection of volatile chemosignals in the apical layer of the VNO, and they show that Gαi2+ VSNs and the brain circuits activated by these neurons play a central role in orchestrating and balancing territorial and infant-directed aggression of male mice through bidirectional activation and inhibition of different targets in the limbic system.

Alloparental Behavior and Paternal Behavior in Nonhuman Mammals

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.

Parental Behavior

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.

Show me you care: female mate choice based on egg attendance rather than male or territorial traits

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 1054-1064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anyelet Valencia-Aguilar ◽  
Kelly R Zamudio ◽  
Célio F B Haddad ◽  
Steve M Bogdanowicz ◽  
Cynthia P A Prado
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Paternal Care ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Offspring Survival ◽  
Territory Quality ◽  
Female Mate

Abstract Female mate choice is often based on male traits, including signals or behaviors, and/or the quality of a male’s territory. In species with obligate paternal care, where care directly affects offspring survival, females may also base their mate choices on the quality of a sire’s care. Here, we quantified male reproductive success in a natural population of the glass frog Hyalinobatrachium cappellei, a species with male parental care, to determine the influence of territory quality, male traits, and paternal care behaviors on female mate choice. We found that attending males have a higher chance of gaining new clutches than nonattending males. Our results indicate that females do not select males based only on body condition, calling persistence, or territory traits. Instead, our findings support the hypothesis that females choose males based on care status. Indeed, males already attending a clutch were 70% more likely to obtain another clutch, and the time to acquire an additional clutch was significantly shorter. We also found that males adjust their parental care effort in response to genetic relatedness by caring only for their own offspring; however, remaining close to unrelated clutches serves as a strategy to attract females and increase chances of successful mating. Thus, males that establish territories that already contain clutches benefit from the signal eggs provide to females.

PARENTAL BEHAVIOR IN THE DERMAPTERA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO FORFICULA AURICULARIA (DERMAPTERA: FORFICULIDAE)

1976 ◽  
Vol 108 (6) ◽  
pp. 609-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Lamb
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Special Reference ◽  
Parental Behavior ◽  
Forficula Auricularia

AbstractNew observations on parental behavior of the earwig, Forficula auricularia L., are reported and the literature on the parental behavior in the Dermaptera is summarized. The construction of the nest, care of the eggs and nymphs, and the duration of parental care are described. The control of parental behavior and the role of the male in nest establishment are also considered.

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