Maternal lifestyle and nutrient intake during pregnancy can have long-lasting effects on the health of offspring as well as the mother. This dissertation focuses on the impact of maternal exercise during pregnancy on offspring insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake and the maternal effects of exercise during pregnancy. The first aim of this dissertation was to investigate if exercise prior to and during pregnancy and nursing would improve glucose uptake and insulin sensitivity in mice and rats. In both mice and rats, it was concluded that maternal exercise could enhance whole-body insulin sensitivity and increase glucose uptake into skeletal muscle and adipose tissue in adult offspring compared with offspring from sedentary dams. Maternal exercise also positively influenced male but not female adult offspring body composition; male offspring from exercised dams had significantly decreased fat mass and increased lean mass compared with offspring from sedentary dams. The second aim of this dissertation was to test whether exercise during pregnancy would improve glucose disposal in mouse dams with diet-induced obesity. Maternal running was effective in reducing fat mass accumulation and glucose intolerance associated with high fat feeding during pregnancy. In high fat diet mice, exercise was also able to improve insulin sensitivity in adipose tissue compared to tissue from sedentary high fat diet mice. The findings in this dissertation provide new insight into the long-term effects exercise during pregnancy can have on offspring health. Women may be encouraged to start an exercise regimen before and during their pregnancy if they are aware of the life-long benefits it can have for their children. The findings from the second aim present new insight into how exercise can affect pregnancies complicated by maternal obesity and glucose intolerance, and the animal model can be used in the future studies to investigate the offspring effects of maternal exercise during a diabetic pregnancy.

Previous research into the subsequent effects of prenatal methadone exposure has primarily focused on neurological changes and short term physical development. While there have been some studies of behavioural development, only short term effects have been investigated. The present research therefore aimed to assess longer term behavioural development of offspring exposed to methadone gestationally, lactationally or both. Methadone was provided in the drinking water of drug-treated rat dams during gestation (2.39mg/kg/day) and lactation (2.86mg/kg/day). The four conditions were: non-exposure/control (N = 24), gestational-exposure (N = 20), lactational-exposure (N = 24), and combined-exposure (N = 21). As well as several measures of pregnancy characteristics, offspring postnatal physical development was assessed at 30, 60 and 120 days after birth. Behavioural assessments were also made at these ages by means of an open-field, Y maze and emergence apparatus. There were no significant differences in physical development. Maternal methadone exposure during gestation reduced the number of rat dams that became (or remained) pregnant. In the offspring, there was increased activity in lactationally-exposed rats through into adulthood. Anxiety was increased in the combined-exposure condition, primarily in adolescent males. The significant longer term effects of earlier methadone on the rats’ behavioural development supported the need for more research into this hitherto relatively neglected area. More information about effects of methadone exposure on anxiety and activity, as well as on social functioning and motor coordination could be useful for understanding potential risk factors in the ever growing methadone-exposed population, and thus suggesting best practice for methadone maintenance programmes.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common complication of pregnancy and population health studies have linked it to impaired cognitive performance in the offspring. GDM triggers inflammatory responses, which can critically affect development of neuronal circuitry. We hypothesized that GDM promotes inflammatory responses in the fetus that can disturb fine-tuning of neuronal networks during early development, resulting in lifelong impaired cognitive functions. The cognitive performance of 15 week old offspring exposed to diet induced GDM were assessed. The brain tissue of the 15 week old and neonatal (E20) offspring were analyzed by immunohistochemistry, western blot, and cytokine assay. Cultured microglial responses to elevated glucose and/or fatty acid levels mimicking GDM associated diabetic conditions were analyzed. Our data reveals chronic neuroinflammation in GDM offspring, which combined with deregulation of microglial functions may explain hippocampal CA1 layer neuronal derangement and synaptic degradation that correlates with impaired cognitive performance of GDM offspring. / October 2016

Appendices data can be found at: A: http://dx.doi.org/10.15142/T35P49 B: http://dx.doi.org/10.15142/T3201B C: http://dx.doi.org/10.15142/T3X59V D: http://dx.doi.org/10.15142/T3SG6K F: http://dx.doi.org/10.15142/T3NP4N

The killing of parents and stepparents by biological and stepchildren is a rare event. Incidents involving multiple parricide victims and/or multiple parricide offenders are an even rarer occurrence. The majority of studies on parricide involve a single victim and single offender. Using the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), this study identified 603 single-victim, single-offender incidents, 22 single-victim, multiple-offender incidents, 60 single-offender double parricide incidents, 17 multiple-offender double parricide incidents, and 15 familicide incidents over the 20 year period 1990 to 2010. Univariate and bivariate analyses examined parricidal incidents involving single or multiple offenders and single or multiple victims with the aim of investigating juvenile and adult involvement in double parricide and familicide. Frequencies reported include victim, offender, and incident characteristics for all types of parricide incidents. Consistent with prior research on single-victim, single-offender parricide, the results indicated that the typical parricide offender was a white male approximately 30 years of age. A firearm predominated as the weapon of choice for all parricide incidents; however, when a biological mother was one of the victims, the offender(s) used more diverse methods. When multiple offenders were involved in double parricides, however, the offenders tended to be younger and were more likely to include a female accomplice. Only one case of familicide involved a female offender, and none of the familicide incidents involved multiple offenders. Study limitations and implications for prevention are also discussed.

The American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus), an inhabitant of rapidly flowing mountain streams, is an aquatic passerine whose vocalizations have previously been undescribed. This study examines the spectrographic characteristics and contexts of calls and song in a color-banded population of Dippers. calls of adults are the Jih, Weep and Grawk calls; calls of nestlings and fledglings are the Chip and Beg calls. Adult Dippers have a limited number of call types which occupy a middle range of frequencies (3 to 6kHz) and have structural characteristics which enhance detection of vocal signals. Gradation is present between call types. Possible explanations for similarities in characteristics of the Weep call of the adult female and the begging vocalizations of nestlings are discussed. The song is variable and complex, characterized by repetition of notes, contrast between adjacent note types and a wide range of note types. Vocal and social adaptations to the stream environment are considered. Post-feeding singing (PFS) is song given by adult birds immediately following the feeding of fledglings. Females sang following 29. 6% of feedings whereas rrales sang following 14. 6%. Average duration of singing by males (15.4 sec) was almost twice that of females (8.4 sec). Feeding bouts and other contexts of adult singing are discussed. Evidence for the functional significance of PFS and speculations on selective forces shaping its evolution are presented.

Investigating maternal investment (Ml) and mother-offspring relationships during the period of infant dependency is critically important to furthering the understanding of female reproductive strategies in primates. Infant primates are completely dependent upon their mothers. The way in which a mother allocates her resources therefore is crucial for infant survival, but is balanced Against her need to invest in subsequent offspring. One approach to examining how mothers might invest in their offspring stems from the Trivers & Willard hypothesis (TWH, 1973), which predicts that mothers in good condition should bias their investment towards sons and whereas mothers in poorer condition should bias investment toward daughters. Long-term demographic records on birth sex ratio and inter-birth interval suggest that female mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) do not bias investment prenatally, but they may adjust postnatal Ml according to the TWH. This study investigated Ml and mother-offspring relationships in wild mountain gorillas, using behavioural correlates of Ml, including suckling, weaned age, physical contact, "transport, and grooming to redress the lack of understanding about Ml in this species. The appropriateness of TWH was investigated, integrating different indicators of maternal condition. Important determinants of Ml and mother-offspring relationships were considered, such as offspring age, parity, presence of siblings and maternal relatives, group size and lastly, personality, which has been largely neglected in nonhuman primates. The extent, to which the offspring influenced Ml patterns, was examined using the parent-offspring conflict theory (Trivers, 1972) as a theoretical framework. During 2006-2007, 38 mother-offspring dyads were observed in the Virunga massif, resulting in 1210 hours of direct behavioural observation. Additional field data from the previous four decades were integrated into the dataset for the analysis of suckling and weaned age. Gorilla personality was assessed through the Hominoid Personality Questionnaire. Findings relating to suckling frequency, weaned age, and maternal feeding activities were consistent with the TWH: sons suckled more often than daughters when they had mothers in good condition, whereas the reverse sex-pattern occurred in offspring with mothers in poorer condition. In addition, daughters were weaned at an earlier age than sons when mothers were in better condition, although this sex-difference reduced in older mothers that were categorised as being in good condition. Maternal feeding time and feeding efficiency revealed that mothers in poorer condition spent more time ingesting food when they had daughters, whereas mothers in better .condition spent more time ingesting food when they had sons. Furthermore, group size affected lactation duration with offspring in small groups being weaned earlier than offspring in large groups. Behavioural conflicts over Ml showed that the mother and offspring influenced Ml patterns during the period of dependency. Finally, six personality dimensions were identified, of which five revealed effects maternal behaviour, such as maternal retrieval, responsiveness and rejection, although their relative importance varied between those behaviours. In general, mother and offspring personality effects were complex due to their interactions with the developmental stage of offspring. In conclusion, my thesis research has made several novel contributions to furthering the understanding of female reproductive strategies in the highly endangered mountain gorilla. I presented the first evidence using behavioural data that females bias their postnatal investment towards the sex with the greatest fitness return as predicted by the TWH. My findings are discussed in the light of alternative Ml strategies, such as the local resource competition and enhancement model. My research has highlighted the importance of integrating anthropometric and physiological measures and demographic long-term data into future Ml studies to assess direct costs and benefits of Ml. The examination of mother-offspring behavioural conflicts showed that offspring have a strong impact on the level of Ml they receive. I have also examined the personality of a wild mountain gorilla population for the first time. My findings demonstrate that personality-parenting links are evident in several respects and I have demonstrated the great potential of personality as a determinant of maternal behaviour and mother-offspring relationships.

Population health data suggests that the development of metabolic disease is influenced by early life events. Gestational diabetes (GDM) is a common complication of pregnancy, but its effects on the offspring are poorly understood. It is hypothesized that a diet high in fat and sucrose will cause excessive weight gain and obesity during pregnancy accompanied by hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia that are characteristic of GDM. It is also hypothesized that gestational exposure to GDM will cause obesity, hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance in the offspring when compared to the offspring from metabolically healthy, lean mothers.

The present study evaluated the relations among positive parenting practices, cognitive emotion regulation strategies, and positive and negative psychological adjustment among Chinese and Canadian emerging adults. Emotion regulation was hypothesized to mediate the relations between positive parenting and psychological adjustment. Participants included 75 international Chinese students and 120 Canadian students between the ages of 18 to 25 enrolled at the University of Victoria. Participants completed multiple-choice questionnaires assessing perceptions of their mothers’ and fathers’ positive parenting practices (i.e., warmth, volitional autonomy support and parent as teacher), their use of positive and negative cognitive emotion regulation strategies, and their levels of positive psychological adjustment (i.e., happiness, life satisfaction and academic satisfaction) and negative psychological adjustment (i.e., depression, anxiety and loneliness). Emotion regulation partially mediated the relations between perceptions of fathers’ parenting and positive and negative psychological adjustment for Chinese and Canadian students, and for Canadian students’ perceptions of mothers’ parenting. Few group differences emerged in the relations among parenting, emotion regulation and adjustment; greater positive parenting was associated with students’ use of more positive emotion regulation strategies and fewer negative strategies, and with higher levels of positive adjustment and lower levels of negative adjustment. In contrast to the overall similarity observed in terms of relations among the constructs, an exception to this pattern was the lack of relations between parenting and emotion regulation for Chinese students. Mean differences between Chinese and Canadian students in emotion regulation and psychological adjustment were found. Chinese students used all of the assessed emotion regulation strategies more often than Canadian students, and had higher levels of negative adjustment and lower levels of positive adjustment as compared with Canadian students. Clinical implications in terms of how parents, mental health professionals and post-secondary institutions can help bolster the positive adjustment of emerging adults cross-culturally are discussed, along with the strengths and limitations of the current study and directions for future research. / Graduate / 0622 / 0620

Previous research into the subsequent effects of prenatal methadone exposure has primarily focused on neurological changes and short term physical development. While there have been some studies of behavioural development, only short term effects have been investigated. The present research therefore aimed to assess longer term behavioural development of offspring exposed to methadone gestationally, lactationally or both. Methadone was provided in the drinking water of drug-treated rat dams during gestation (2.39mg/kg/day) and lactation (2.86mg/kg/day). The four conditions were: non-exposure/control (N = 24), gestational-exposure (N = 20), lactational-exposure (N = 24), and combined-exposure (N = 21). As well as several measures of pregnancy characteristics, offspring postnatal physical development was assessed at 30, 60 and 120 days after birth. Behavioural assessments were also made at these ages by means of an open-field, Y maze and emergence apparatus. There were no significant differences in physical development. Maternal methadone exposure during gestation reduced the number of rat dams that became (or remained) pregnant. In the offspring, there was increased activity in lactationally-exposed rats through into adulthood. Anxiety was increased in the combined-exposure condition, primarily in adolescent males. The significant longer term effects of earlier methadone on the rats’ behavioural development supported the need for more research into this hitherto relatively neglected area. More information about effects of methadone exposure on anxiety and activity, as well as on social functioning and motor coordination could be useful for understanding potential risk factors in the ever growing methadone-exposed population, and thus suggesting best practice for methadone maintenance programmes.