TY - JOUR
T1 - Acute effects of corticosterone injection on paternal behavior in California mouse (Peromyscus californicus) fathers
AU - Harris, Breanna N.
AU - Perea-Rodriguez, Juan Pablo
AU - Saltzman, Wendy
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank Leslie Karpinski, James Sinclair, John Kitasako and Dr. Akiko Sato for their assistance with animal care and maintenance throughout the study. We are grateful to Drs. Ted Garland and Brad Hyman for use of equipment and lab space, and to Dr. Trynke de Jong, Joseph Chang, Michael Pham, and Julie Nguyen for their help with experimental procedures. We thank Brian Gray and Dr. Kristine Kaiser, as well as three anonymous reviewers, for providing helpful comments on this manuscript. This experiment was supported by funds provided by the University of California, Riverside .
PY - 2011/11
Y1 - 2011/11
N2 - Glucocorticoids are thought to mediate the disruption of parental behavior in response to acute and chronic stress. Previous research supports their role in chronic stress; however, no study has experimentally tested the effects of acute glucocorticoid elevation on paternal behavior. We tested the prediction that acute corticosterone (CORT) increases would decrease paternal behavior in California mouse fathers and would lead to longer-term effects on reproductive success, as even short-term increases in CORT have been shown to produce lasting effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. First-time fathers were injected with 30 mg/kg CORT, 60 mg/kg CORT or vehicle, or left unmanipulated. Interactions between the male and its pup(s) were recorded 1.5-2 h after injection and scored for paternal and non-paternal behavior. Treatment groups were combined into control (unmanipulated. +. vehicle, n = 15) and CORT (30 mg/kg. +. 60 mg/kg, n = 16) for analysis based on resulting plasma CORT concentrations. CORT treatment did not alter paternal or non-paternal behaviors or any long-term measures (male body mass or temperature, pup growth rate, pup survival, interbirth interval, number or mass of pups born in the second litter). Fathers showed a significant rise in body mass at day 30 postpartum, followed by a decrease in body mass after the birth of the second litter; however, this pattern did not differ between the CORT and control groups. In summary, acute elevation of plasma CORT did not alter direct paternal behavior, body mass, or reproductive outcomes, suggesting that acute CORT elevation alone does not overtly disrupt paternal care in this biparental mammal.
AB - Glucocorticoids are thought to mediate the disruption of parental behavior in response to acute and chronic stress. Previous research supports their role in chronic stress; however, no study has experimentally tested the effects of acute glucocorticoid elevation on paternal behavior. We tested the prediction that acute corticosterone (CORT) increases would decrease paternal behavior in California mouse fathers and would lead to longer-term effects on reproductive success, as even short-term increases in CORT have been shown to produce lasting effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. First-time fathers were injected with 30 mg/kg CORT, 60 mg/kg CORT or vehicle, or left unmanipulated. Interactions between the male and its pup(s) were recorded 1.5-2 h after injection and scored for paternal and non-paternal behavior. Treatment groups were combined into control (unmanipulated. +. vehicle, n = 15) and CORT (30 mg/kg. +. 60 mg/kg, n = 16) for analysis based on resulting plasma CORT concentrations. CORT treatment did not alter paternal or non-paternal behaviors or any long-term measures (male body mass or temperature, pup growth rate, pup survival, interbirth interval, number or mass of pups born in the second litter). Fathers showed a significant rise in body mass at day 30 postpartum, followed by a decrease in body mass after the birth of the second litter; however, this pattern did not differ between the CORT and control groups. In summary, acute elevation of plasma CORT did not alter direct paternal behavior, body mass, or reproductive outcomes, suggesting that acute CORT elevation alone does not overtly disrupt paternal care in this biparental mammal.
KW - Acute
KW - Body mass
KW - California mice
KW - Corticosterone
KW - Glucocorticoid
KW - HPA
KW - Paternal care
KW - Peromyscus
KW - Stress
KW - Trade-off
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=80555131103&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2011.09.001
DO - 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2011.09.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 21939660
AN - SCOPUS:80555131103
SN - 0018-506X
VL - 60
SP - 666
EP - 675
JO - Hormones and Behavior
JF - Hormones and Behavior
IS - 5
ER -