Pup suckling is more rewarding than cocaine: evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and three-dimensional computational analysis

Description

No / Nursing has reciprocal benefits for both mother and infant, helping to promote maternal behavior and bonding. To test the "rewarding" nature of nursing, functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to map brain activity in lactating dams exposed to their suckling pups versus cocaine. Suckling stimulation in lactating dams and cocaine exposure in virgin females activated the dopamine reward system. In contrast, lactating dams exposed to cocaine instead of pups showed a suppression of brain activity in the reward system. These data support the notion that pup stimulation is more reinforcing than cocaine, underscoring the importance of pup seeking over other rewarding stimuli during lactation

Links & Downloads

1. Harder, J.A., Febo, M., Ferris, C.F. and Sullivan, J.M. (2005). Pup suckling is more rewarding than cocaine: evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and three-dimensional computational analysis. Journal of Neuroscience. Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 149-156.
2. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/4116
3. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3156-04.2005

Tags

Accumbens

Cocaine

Nigrostriatal

Prefrontal

Magnetic

Maternal

Substantia Nigra

Suckling

Motivation

Additional Fields

Identifer	oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/4116
Date	16 December 2009
Creators	Harder, Josie A., Febo, M.M., Ferris, C.F., Sullivan, J.M. Jr
Source Sets	Bradford Scholars
Language	English
Detected Language	English
Type	Article, No full-text available in the repository