Oxytocin acts on individual brain cells to prompt specific social behaviors, a new study reports.
BPS affects a neuroanatomy and maternal behavior in pregnant and lactating mice, including an association with an increased risk of infanticide.
Greater maternal involvement upregulates the oxytocin system in their babies.
Researchers have identified a novel role for hormone-sensitive neurons in the Edinger Westphal nucleus which are essential for maternal nesting behaviors in mice.
Prolactin, a hormone responsible for milk production in mothers, reduces a mother's investment in aggressive behaviors and helps to increase protective behaviors.
Neuron activity in the locus coeruleus spikes when a mother mouse touches her pup to retrieve it.
Maternal biological rhythms support the development of the fetal suprachiasmatic nuclei.
Female mice who have not been pregnant or given birth show activation in the anterior cingulate cortex when they acquire maternal behaviors after exposure to pups. The findings reveal through repeated exposure to pups, virgin female mice are capable of learning maternal behaviors that resemble those of mothers following birth.
