TY - JOUR
T1 - Paternal care in biparental rodents
T2 - Intra- and inter-individual variation
AU - Saltzman, Wendy
AU - Harris, Breanna N.
AU - De Jong, Trynke R.
AU - Perea-Rodriguez, Juan P.
AU - Horrell, Nathan D.
AU - Zhao, Meng
AU - Andrew, Jacob R.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author 2017.
PY - 2017/9
Y1 - 2017/9
N2 - Parental care by fathers, although rare among mmmals, can be essential for the survival and normal development of offspring in biparental species. A growing body of research on biparental rodents has identified several developmental and experiential influences on paternal responsiveness. Some of these factors, such as pubertal maturation, interactions with pups, and cues from a pregnant mate, contribute to pronounced changes in paternal responsiveness across the course of the lifetime in individual males. Others, particularly intrauterine position during gestation and parental care received during postnatal development, can have long-term effects on paternal behavior and contribute to stable differences among individuals within a species. Focusing on five well-studied, biparental rodent species, we review the developmental and experiential factors that have been shown to influence paternal responsiveness, and consider their roles in generating both intra- and inter-individual variation. We also review hormones and neuropeptides that have been shown to modulate paternal care and discuss their potential contributions to behavioral differences within and between males. Finally, we discuss the possibility that vasopressinergic and possibly oxytocinergic signaling within the brain, modulated by gonadal steroid hormones, may represent the “final common pathway” mediating effects of developmental and experiential variables on intra- and inter-individual variation in paternal care.
AB - Parental care by fathers, although rare among mmmals, can be essential for the survival and normal development of offspring in biparental species. A growing body of research on biparental rodents has identified several developmental and experiential influences on paternal responsiveness. Some of these factors, such as pubertal maturation, interactions with pups, and cues from a pregnant mate, contribute to pronounced changes in paternal responsiveness across the course of the lifetime in individual males. Others, particularly intrauterine position during gestation and parental care received during postnatal development, can have long-term effects on paternal behavior and contribute to stable differences among individuals within a species. Focusing on five well-studied, biparental rodent species, we review the developmental and experiential factors that have been shown to influence paternal responsiveness, and consider their roles in generating both intra- and inter-individual variation. We also review hormones and neuropeptides that have been shown to modulate paternal care and discuss their potential contributions to behavioral differences within and between males. Finally, we discuss the possibility that vasopressinergic and possibly oxytocinergic signaling within the brain, modulated by gonadal steroid hormones, may represent the “final common pathway” mediating effects of developmental and experiential variables on intra- and inter-individual variation in paternal care.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85043728480&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/icb/icx047
DO - 10.1093/icb/icx047
M3 - Article
C2 - 28641377
AN - SCOPUS:85043728480
SN - 1540-7063
VL - 57
SP - 589
EP - 602
JO - Integrative and Comparative Biology
JF - Integrative and Comparative Biology
IS - 3
ER -