Regulators of Male Parental Care

描述（由申请方提供）：选择在本研究中使用探索性/发展性补助金机制，以开发用于确定男性对婴儿反应性的评估工具。常见的绒猴，Callithrix jacchus，是研究雄性父母照顾的激素激活的完美模型，由于父亲在婴儿反应性方面的变化，就像在人类父亲中发现的那样。一套行为测试将被用来评估每个父亲对自己的婴儿或其他婴儿的反应。这些工具将使我们能够调查激素在调节男性父母照顾中的作用。具体目标1将探讨不同的方法来评估男性对婴儿的反应，既通过他在出生后的头两周内的自然表现，也通过使用自己或未知婴儿的发声反应测试，以及他们自己的婴儿或三到四周大的未知婴儿在家庭环境之外。将选择反应最高和最低的雄性动物用于特定目标2。对于第二个目标，将调节催乳素水平，以通过改变催乳素水平来测试男性对婴儿的反应性变化。对婴儿有最高反应的男性将给予卡麦角林，以降低婴儿出生前后的催乳素水平。他们将使用特定目标1中设计的测试对自己的婴儿和新生儿进行测试。对婴儿和非父亲的反应最低的父亲将给予外源性催乳素，以提高他们的婴儿反应。具体目标3开发了新的技术，为男性提供女性怀孕的线索。这一目的是探讨如何父亲的照顾是由女性的特点启动。雄性将被给予怀孕雌性的气味分泌物，并测试它们对婴儿的反应。绒猴是为数不多的社会组织/家庭结构与人类相似的哺乳动物物种之一。随着亲职行为分析的发展，绒猴有可能成为研究灵长类动物亲职行为的理想模型系统，并为人类状况提供见解。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The use of the Exploratory/Developmental Grant mechanism in this study was chosen to allow for the development of assessment tools for determining male responsiveness to infants. The common marmoset monkey, Callithrix jacchus, is the perfect model for studying hormonal activation of male parental care due to father's variation in infant responsiveness, as is found in human fathers. A set of behavioral tests will be used to assess each father's responsiveness to his own infants or to others. These tools will allow us to investigate the role of hormones in modulating male parental care. Specific Aim 1 will explore different methods for evaluating male responsiveness to infants both by his natural performance during the first two weeks following birth and by using responsiveness tests with their own or an unknown infant's vocalizations and their own infant or an unknown infant at three to four weeks of age outside the family environment. The highest and lowest responsive males will be selected for Specific Aim 2. For the second aim, levels of prolactin will be modulated to test changing males' responsiveness towards infants by changing prolactin levels. Males with the highest response towards infants will be given cabergoline to lower their prolactin levels prior to and after birth of their infants. They will be tested with their own and novel infants using the tests designed in Specific Aim 1. Fathers with the lowest response towards infants and nonfathers will be given exogenous prolactin to enhance their infant responsiveness. Specific Aim 3 develops novel techniques for providing female pregnancy cues to males. This aim examines how paternal care is primed by female characteristics. Males will be given scent secretions from pregnant females and tested for their changes in response to infants. Marmosets are one of the few mammalian species whose social organization/family structure bears some resemblance to that of humans. With the development of parenting behavioral assays, the marmoset has the potential to be an ideal model system for studying parental care in primates and providing insights into the human condition.