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Inhibition of infant glucocorticoid stress response: Specific role of maternal cues
Author(s) -
Stanton Mark E.,
Levine Seymour
Publication year - 1990
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.420230504
Subject(s) - glucocorticoid , stimulus (psychology) , psychology , novelty , social contact , endocrinology , corticosterone , developmental psychology , corticosteroid , medicine , physiology , hormone , psychotherapist , social psychology
Previous work from this laboratory has shown that passive contact with ananesthetized lactating dam eliminates the corticosteroid stress response to novelty in 12‐, 16‐, and 20‐day‐old rat pups. In the present study, we further examined some of the sensory and developmental aspects of this phenomenon. In two experiments, we asked whether inhibition of the corticosteroid stress response is related exclusively to contact with a maternal stimulus as opposed to other social stimuli. Experiment I compared the effectiveness of contact with an anesthetized dam vs. an anesthetized adult male rat. At 12 and 16 days of age, contact with an adult male was some what effective in reducing stress responsiveness, whereas at 20 days, contact with an adult male was entirely ineffective. At all ages, contact with an anesthetized dam was an effective inhibitor of the stress response. Experiment II compared the relative effectiveness of contact with an anesthetized dam vs. an anesthetized pup was entirely ineffective in inhibiting the glucocorticoid stress response. In Experiment III, the effect of maternal contact was assessed during a period of development when the biological, and presumably social, significance of the lactating‐dam stimulus is changing. In this study, 20‐, 24‐, and 28‐day‐old rat pups revealed a progressive decrement in the ability of maternal contact to inhibit stress responsiveness. These findings replicate and extend our previous ones by showing that maternal stimuli play a special role in the modulation of pituitary‐adrenal activity during development.