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ct: I orally exposed zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata, to 4.7 or 720 mug estradiol/g diet for eight days to test the hypothesis that estrogens can affect their behaviour. In a two choice preference test, low estradiol males spent (P = 0.01) more time near other males after six days of treatment and their courtship also diminished. Singing scores decreased (P = 0.01) in both treated groups, dancing score (P = 0.01) in the high estradiol and mounting in the low estradiol males were lower (P = 0.02) compared to controls on day 4 of the treatment period. Pecks and chases targeting males were lower in both treatment groups. More high estradiol females performed tail quivering on day 4 (P < 0.01) and their score for this behaviour was also significantly higher (P < 0.01). These females also accepted mounts by the stimulus male more often.

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Environmental enrichment is known to influence an animal's well-being, provide opportunities for activity, and encourage behaviours appropriate to the species. Female Long-Evans rats were co-housed during their gestational and postpartum times in a colony housing environment comprising numerous cages, with interconnecting tubes, surrounding a multileveled enclosure with many objects scattered throughout. A control group of rats were housed in standard cages. The effects of the physical and social enrichment were determined by evaluating group differences in body weight, litter characteristics, elevated-plus maze performance during the gestational and postpartum periods, and Morris water maze behaviour (postpartum only). Results showed that enriched females were leaner and maintained a constant postpartum weight. Group differences in litter characteristics were observed, with enriched females having heavier but fewer offspring. Behavioural trends were observed in the elevated-plus maze with enriched rats showing greater change in behaviours over time. In the Morris water maze probe test, enriched rats performed less thigmotaxic and more middle maze swimming, as well as an increased tendency to enter the quadrant where the platform was located in non-probe trials. A housing environment, with complex physical and social stimulation, offered more opportunity for environmental interactions producing heartier pups and leaner mothers that displayed differential behavioural responses compared to control mothers. Studying maternal-offspring interactions in a more naturalistic environment allows one to observe a greater repertoire of behaviours that accommodates adequate normal or natural cognitive development than can be observed in the typical standard laboratory housing that limits experience and environmental engagement. Published as Sparling, Manhoney, Baker, & Bielajew, The effects of gestational and postpartum environmental enrichment on the mother rat: a preliminary investigation, in Behavioural Brain Research, 2010, 208, p.213-223.

The present study tested (1) the validity of the transtheoretical model [TTM] and its prediction that stage-matched interventions are more effective than stage-mismatched interventions at promoting stage transition, and (2) the hypothesized theoretical mediators of regular physical activity and adjacent stage progression. Sedentary or insufficiently active adults (N = 190) recruited through corporate email newsletters were randomized to receive either a stage-matched, stage-mismatched, or standard care intervention. Stage-matched interventions were designed to alter hypothesized theoretical mediators of adjacent stage progression for regular moderate-intensity physical activity through print-based materials. This experimental study focused on two stage transitions, from contemplation to preparation and from preparation to action. Physical activity behavior, stage transition, and hypothesized theoretical mediators of physical activity participation and forward transition between adjacent stages were assessed at baseline and 8-week follow-up (83% retention rate). Based on results from a preliminary cross-sectional study (N = 1,172) that examined patterns of differences between adjacent stages (discontinuity patterns) on theoretical constructs hypothesized by the TTM to differ across stages, it was hypothesized that an increase in the perceived benefits and a decrease in the perceived costs of regular physical activity mediated progression from contemplation to preparation whereas an increase in self-efficacy and behavioral processes of change were hypothesized to mediate progression from preparation to action. Results revealed significant increase in physical activity behavior and stage progression across all conditions. Stage-matched, stage-mismatched, and standard care interventions produced equivalent results in terms of adjacent stage progression, physical activity participation, and proportion of individuals meeting CDC/ACSM guidelines at post-intervention follow-up. Behavioral processes of change were the only theoretical constructs to consistently predict progression to the next stage in the sequence for individuals in the preparation stage and increase in physical activity behavior for individuals in the contemplation and preparation stage. None of the theoretical constructs predicted adjacent stage progression for individuals in the contemplation stage. Preliminary evidence does not support the matching of interventions to stage in the context of regular physical activity and challenges the notion that stages of change, or at least a subset of them, are qualitatively distinct.

Recent studies based on self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2002) have found that autonomous regulation is linked to healthy eating behaviours, while controlled regulation is linked to dysfunctional eating behaviours (Pelletier, Dion, Slovinec-D'Angelo, & Reid, 2004). The main purpose of this thesis was to build on this previous work by examining the relations between regulation styles for eating behaviours and approach vs. avoidance food planning strategies in order to better understand success (healthy eating behaviours) and failure (bulimic symptoms and failure at weight-loss) at the regulation of eating behaviours. In total, three studies were conducted. In the first study, a new scale was developed to assess approach food planning and avoidance food planning, namely the Planning of Eating Behaviours Scale (PEBS). Results from confirmatory factorial analyses supported the two-factor structure of the scale. In addition, construct validity was assessed through correlations between the PEBS subscales and measures of well-being. In Study 2, mediational analyses were performed to examine whether approach and avoidance food planning could account for the effects of regulation styles on eating behaviours. Results indicated that approach food planning is a partial mediator of the relation between autonomous regulation and healthy eating behaviours, such that women with autonomous regulation are more likely to use approach food planning, which in turn is positively associated with healthy eating behaviours. Avoidance food planning was identified as a partial mediator of the relation between controlled regulation and dysfunctional eating behaviours (e.g., bulimic symptoms and food concerns), such that women with controlled regulation are more likely to use avoidance food planning which in turn is more likely to lead to dysfunctional eating behaviours. Finally, Study 3 examined whether two types of planning interventions alter the relationship between regulation styles and the outcome of the regulation. The approach-oriented intervention made women with high levels of autonomous regulation more successful at weight loss. Results also indicated a main positive effect for autonomous regulation on body weigh goal attainment and healthy food choices. The avoidance-oriented intervention was found to have no impact on measures of success, whether on its own or in interaction with regulation styles.