In these studies, we first compared the neuroendocrine responses between early (EL, PPD3-5), late (LL, PPD 15) lactating and virgin (V) females to a male intruder in the home cage. We next investigated whether the presence of the pups at the time of exposure to stress could modify the magnitude of the hormonal response to a male intruder in the home cage or to a predator odor (fox urine) in a novel environment. In the male intruder paradigm, levels of CRF mRNA expression in the PVN and CeA were lower in LL compared to EL or V females and plasma ACTH and B secretion was also reduced in LL compared to EL females. In EL females, the presence of the pups with their mothers at the time of stress significantly increased plasma ACTH and B responses to either male intruder or predator odor compared to EL females without their pups for 2.5hrs or 48 hrs. These studies point out to the critical role of the pups in modulating the maternal response to stressors that represent a threat for the litter.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.78351 |
| Date | January 2003 |
| Creators | Deschamps, Sophie |
| Contributors | Walker, Claire-Dominique (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Division of Neuroscience.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001974359, proquestno: AAIMQ88186, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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