The role of the endocrine system in baboon maternal behavior
The role of the endocrine system in baboon maternal behavior
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DOI：
10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.01.002
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发表时间：
2004-04-01
影响因子：
10.6
通讯作者：
Brent, L
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Bardi, M;French, JA;Brent, L
背景人类母亲表现出广泛的养育技能，尽管我们已经收集了大量关于影响母亲行为的各种因素的证据，但我们对灵长类动物父母行为变异的生理相关性仍然知之甚少。在大量群居雌性狒狒样本（n = 89）中测量了分娩过程中分泌的性腺和肾上腺类固醇。母亲的行为数据是在婴儿出生后的前两个月内收集的。结果：我们发现分泌的性类固醇激素和皮质醇的变化与狒狒母亲的婴儿导向行为有关。表现出更多与压力相关行为的母亲，也倾向于减少与婴儿的接触，产后皮质醇水平较高，产前孕二醇-3-葡萄糖苷酸 (PdG) 水平较高，产后 PdG 水平较低。产前皮质醇水平较高的母亲表现出较高水平的以婴儿为导向的亲和行为。结论：这些结果表明，整个内分泌系统作为一个功能单位对于加强灵长类动物的母性护理具有重要意义。分娩过程中发生的巨大生理变化可能与认知体验系统相协调，帮助母亲应对新生儿带来的额外挑战。
Background Human mothers display a wide range of parenting skills, and although we have gathered a large body of evidence on a variety of factors affecting maternal behavior, we still know relatively little about the physiologic correlates of variation in parental behavior in primates.Methods. Excreted gonadal and adrenal steroids were measured across parturition in a large sample (n = 89) of group-living female baboons. Maternal behavior data were collected during the first 2 months of infants' life.Results: We found that changes in the excreted sex steroid hormones and cortisol were associated with baboon mothers' infant-directed behaviors. Mothers who displayed more stress-related behaviors, who were also prone to maintain less contact with their infants, bad higher postpartum cortisol levels, higher prepartum pregnanediol-3-glucoronide (PdG) levels and lower postpartum PdG levels. Mothers with higher prepartum cortisol levels showed higher levels of infant-directed affiliative behaviors.Conclusions: These results point toward the importance of the whole endocrine system as a functional unit in terms of enhancing maternal care in primates. The dramatic physiologic changes occurring across parturition may act, in coordination with the cognitive-experiential system, to help the mother cope with the additional challenges imposed by the newborn.