TY - JOUR
T1 - Diurnal and nocturnal nursing behavior in the OLETF rat
AU - Schroeder, Mariana
AU - Lavi-Avnon, Yael
AU - Dagan, Michal
AU - Zagoory-Sharon, Orna
AU - Weller, Aron
AU - Moran, Timothy H.
PY - 2007/4
Y1 - 2007/4
N2 - The Otsuka Long Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rat model of obesity has been recently found to develop hyperphagia and obesity early in life. Our goal was to investigate the dams' nursing behavior during the day and the night in order to elucidate their contribution to the pre-obesity of the pups. We examined nursing bout number, length, posture, initiative, nursing total time and frequency of other maternal behaviors over the three postpartum (PP) weeks. In the first week, OLETF dams nursed more during the day and presented more self-directed activities during the night. In the third PP week, OLETF dams displayed increased nursing time, bout number, nursing frequency, and supine postures at the beginning of the nursing episodes and less active self-directed behaviors, both day and night, while OLETF pups displayed more initiative in starting nursing bouts. The results suggest a circadian difference in nursing behavior and self-directed activities between the strains on PP week 1 and a strong influence of the OLETF pups on the nursing behavior of the dam on PP week 3, which contributes to their obese features.
AB - The Otsuka Long Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rat model of obesity has been recently found to develop hyperphagia and obesity early in life. Our goal was to investigate the dams' nursing behavior during the day and the night in order to elucidate their contribution to the pre-obesity of the pups. We examined nursing bout number, length, posture, initiative, nursing total time and frequency of other maternal behaviors over the three postpartum (PP) weeks. In the first week, OLETF dams nursed more during the day and presented more self-directed activities during the night. In the third PP week, OLETF dams displayed increased nursing time, bout number, nursing frequency, and supine postures at the beginning of the nursing episodes and less active self-directed behaviors, both day and night, while OLETF pups displayed more initiative in starting nursing bouts. The results suggest a circadian difference in nursing behavior and self-directed activities between the strains on PP week 1 and a strong influence of the OLETF pups on the nursing behavior of the dam on PP week 3, which contributes to their obese features.
KW - CCK
KW - Maternal behavior
KW - Nursing
KW - OLETF
KW - Obesity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34247346077&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/dev.20206
DO - 10.1002/dev.20206
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C2 - 17380526
AN - SCOPUS:34247346077
SN - 0012-1630
VL - 49
SP - 323
EP - 333
JO - Developmental Psychobiology
JF - Developmental Psychobiology
IS - 3
ER -
