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Mother‐infant interaction and the modulation of pituitary‐adrenal activity in rat pups after early stimulation
Author(s) -
Smotherman William P.
Publication year - 1983
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/dev.420160303
Subject(s) - stimulation , psychology , developmental psychology , medicine , endocrinology
In Experiment I, handling or electric shock of 2‐day‐old rat pups triggered pituitary‐adrenocortical activity. Interaction between mother and litter after pup treatment affected the magnitude and the time course of the pups' adrenocortical response. Mother‐infant interactions following pup treatment on Day 2 were found to affect the responsiveness of pups to later stimulation. In Experiment II handled or shocked pups that were returned to a mother‐absent nest were subsequently found to be less responsive to ACTH injection than were pups returned to a mother‐present nest following treatment. These data are discussed in terms of the reciprocity and synchrony in mother‐infant interactions and the Maternal Mediation hypothesis of early experience.