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Effects of unilateral suckling on nursing behavior and c‐ fos activity in the caudal periaqueductal gray in rats
Author(s) -
Lonstein Joseph S.,
Stern Judith M.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-2302(199912)35:4<264::aid-dev2>3.0.co;2-u
Subject(s) - kyphosis , supine position , medicine , c fos , periaqueductal gray , anesthesia , stimulation , litter , endocrinology , biology , central nervous system , gene expression , surgery , midbrain , radiography , agronomy , biochemistry , gene
In rats, suckling elicits kyphosis—the bilaterally symmetrical, upright, humpbacked nursing posture—and maximal expression of the immediate early gene c‐ fos in a region of the caudal periaqueductal gray (cPAG) that mediates the sensorimotor integration of kyphosis. We determined the effects of prepartum unilateral nipple removal on nursing behavior and c‐ fos expression during a 60‐min mother–litter interaction on Day 7 postpartum. Compared with dams suckled by 6 pups bilaterally, dams suckled unilaterally displayed essentially normal maternal behaviors, including kyphosis. Unilaterally suckled dams, however, showed an increase in the abnormal prone nursing posture, a decrease in proportion of kyphotic nursing of total time over pups, and a 20% higher contralateral/ipsilateral ratio of cPAG neurons expressing c‐ fos. These results are consistent with an incompletely lateralized neural pathway conveying suckling stimulation to the cPAG and provide a mechanism whereby kyphosis is elicited by unilateral suckling when pups initiate nursing from their supine dam. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 35: 264–275, 1999