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Cited by 128Neuroendocrine regulation and behaviorAnimal Behavior and ReproductionSexual Differentiation and Disorders

Oestrogen-Independent, Experience-Induced Maternal Behaviour in Female Mice: Oestradiol-independent maternal behaviour

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Stolzenberg, D. S., Rissman, E. F.·2011·Journal of Neuroendocrinology
DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2826.2011.02112.xPMC PMC3064747
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Abstract

Nulliparous female mice that have not experienced mating, pregnancy or parturition show near immediate spontaneous maternal behaviour when presented with foster pups. The fact that virgin mice display spontaneous maternal behaviour indicates that the hormonal events of pregnancy and parturition are not necessary to produce a rapid onset of maternal behaviour in mice. However, it is not known how similar maternal behaviour is between virgin and lactating mice. In the present study, we show that naturally postpartum females are faster to retrieve pups and spend more time crouching over pups than spontaneously maternal virgin females, and that these differences diminish with increased maternal experience. Moreover, 4 days of experience with pups induced pup retrieval on a novel T-maze. Furthermore, the effects of experience on subsequent maternal responsiveness are not dependent on gonadal hormones because ovariectomised females with 4 days of pup experience show pup retrieval on a novel T-maze similar to that of postpartum mice. Four days of maternal experience also induced T-maze pup retrieval in ovariectomised aromatase knockout female mice that was not significantly different from the maternal responsiveness of ovariectomised wild-type littermates. These data suggest that maternal experience can induce maternal behaviour in females that have never been exposed to oestradiol at any time in development or adulthood. Finally, ovariectomised pup-experienced females continue to retrieve pups on a novel T-maze 1 month after the initial experience, suggesting that, even in the absence of oestradiol, maternal experience produces long-lasting modifications in maternal responsiveness.

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  • During mother-pup interactions, oxytocin binds to oxytocin receptors in the medial preoptic area, leading to dopamine release from projections from the ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens.

    “During mother-pup interactions, OT binds to oxytocin receptors (OXTRs) in the medial preoptic area (MPOA), which in turn leads to DA release from projections from the VTA to the nucleus accumbens (NAc), both regions implicated in motivation and reward [32,33].”

    From The Neurobiology of Love and Pair Bonding from Human and Animal Perspectives (2023) · cites this paper as [33]

    The Discussion says the MPOA interacts with the mesolimbic dopamine system and reports greater dopamine release into the nucleus accumbens in pup-experienced rats responding to pups. It also says oxytocin can affect maternal behaviour, but does not say that oxytocin binds receptors in the MPOA during mother–pup interactions or that this causes dopamine release from VTA projections. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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Authors
Stolzenberg, D. S., & Rissman, E. F.
Affiliations
University of Virginia (US)
Corresponding author
Stolzenberg, D. S.
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Neuroendocrinology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2011-03-16
Volume
23
Issue
4
Pages
345-354
ISSN
0953-8194 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1111/j.1365-2826.2011.02112.x
PMC
PMC3064747
OpenAlex
W1846192949
Cited by
128
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 3
FWCI
6.11
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
doi.wiley.com/10.1002/tdm_license_1.1 (tdm, 1630 d)
Locations
  • Journal of Neuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH057759)
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (T32DK007646)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Sexual Differentiation and Disorders
Keywords
maternal behavior, ovariectomy, estradiol, maternal experience, virgin female mice, postpartum women, pup retrieval, maternal responsiveness, T-maze
MeSH terms
Animals, Estrogens, Female, Lactation, Maternal Behavior, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Ovariectomy, Pregnancy, Random Allocation, Sexual Behavior, Animal, Maze Learning, Parturition, Postpartum Period, Mice

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