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Experience with younger siblings facilitates maternal responsiveness in pubertal norway rats
Author(s) -
Stern Judith M.,
Rogers Louise
Publication year - 1988
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.420210608
Subject(s) - developmental psychology , psychology
The latency of maternal behavior (MB) onset induced by cohabitation with pups (sensitization) increases in female and male Long‐Evans rats from 24 days of age (1–2 day latency) to 42 days of age (4–5 day latency). This decline in maternal responsiveness at Day 42 did not occur in 50% of rats (“responders”) which lived with their dam and younger siblings (conceived during the postpartum estrus) for either 4 or 11–18 days after their birth. In contrast to cessation of suckling at about Day 25 postpartum in the absence of a 2nd litter, when a 2nd litter was born >Day 26 or