Protein malnutrition induced during gestation: Its effect on pup development and maternal behavior
- 1 July 1977
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Developmental Psychobiology
- Vol. 10 (4) , 339-345
- https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.420100408
Abstract
Repeated time‐lapse photographic observations were used to examine the ontogeny of behavioral development in prenatally malnourished rat pups following birth. Pups born to dams receiving a low protein diet (7% casein by weight) were fostered at birth to well‐nourished dams and behavioral observations were made at 4‐day intervals. Dams nursing gestationally malnourished pups were observed to spend more time in the nesting area with their pups towards the end of lactation. Moreover, the behavioral development (locomotion, feeding, and rearing and climbing activity) of gestationally malnourished offspring was depressed when compared to their controls. The results indicate that prenatal undernutrition alters the behavioral development of the offspring and maternal behavior of the dam in a manner which reduces the exposure of the pup to the immediate environment.This publication has 12 references indexed in Scilit:
- Effect of different regimens of early malnutrition on behavioural development and adult avoidance learning in Swiss white miceBritish Journal of Nutrition, 1975
- Protein malnutrition in the rat: Its effects on maternal behavior and pup developmentDevelopmental Psychobiology, 1974
- The Importance of the Period of Dietary Restriction of the Dam on Behavior and Growth in the RatJournal of Nutrition, 1974
- Vulnerability of Developing Brain: Relative Effects of Growth Restriction during the Fetal and Suckling Periods on Behavior and Brain Composition of Adult RatsJournal of Nutrition, 1973
- Maternal Protein Deprivation during Pregnancy or Lactation in Rats and the Efficiency of Food and Nitrogen Utilization of the ProgenyJournal of Nutrition, 1973
- Nutritional and Environmental Interactions in the Behavioral Development of the Rat: Long-Term EffectsScience, 1972
- Vulnerability of developing brain. VI. relative effects of foetal and early postnatal undernutrition on reflex ontogeny and development of behaviour in the ratBrain Research, 1971
- Effect of Early Malnutrition on the Reaction of Adult Rats to Aversive StimuliNature, 1970
- Neuromotor Development in Progeny of Underfed Mother RatsJournal of Nutrition, 1969
- Influence of Malnutrition in Early Life on Exploratory Behavior of RatsJournal of Nutrition, 1968