Effects of parental environment on the prevalence of convulsive seizures in Onychomys torridus

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Abstract
Male and female southern grasshopper mice (Onychomys torridus) were reared in 1 of 3 different parental environments: (a) with the natural male and female parents; (b) with the female parent only; or (c) with foster parents of a closely related species, Peromyscus leucopus. All mice were weaned at 25 days of age, then observed individually in an open field arena at 10‐day intervals from 30 to 100 days of age. Twenty‐seven of 59 subjects (45.8%) that were reared by the natural parents exhibited convulsive seizures during at least 1 of the 8 tests in the open field arena. The prevalence of convulsive seizures increased significantly in subjects that received altered parental care: 27 of 41 subjects (65.9%) reared by the female parent only or by Peromyscus foster parents seized during at least 1 of the 8 tests in the open field. Subjects from the 3 treatment groups did not differ in the mean number of seizures observed during the 8 open field tests. These results demonstrate a significant influence of the preweaning parental environment on the prevalence of convulsive seizures in Onychomys torridus.