Breeding Biology and Behavior of Monogamous Primates

描述（由申请人提供）：棉顶绢毛猴是一种合作 繁殖生活在家庭群体中的猴子。婴儿护理分为 由父亲和哥哥姐姐承担大部分婴儿的群体成员。而 有显着的成本，如减肥，父亲照顾婴儿， 出生的那天。父亲似乎预期婴儿出生， 出生前的催乳素水平。我们的目标是1）。的作用是什么 催乳素在非产妇婴儿护理和什么线索刺激催乳素？2.）的情况。 经验在非产妇婴儿护理中的作用是什么？我们将观察 自然家庭记录催乳素与婴儿期助手的关系 护理和将操纵催乳素水平的助手。我们将研究 通过研究12 - 14个月的婴儿护理经验， 自然家庭中的老绢毛猴，当它们第一次参与婴儿护理时， 通过对与不育雌性一起生活的有经验的父亲的测试， 随后用生殖雌性进行测试。我们预测直接接触 以激活幼绢毛猴体内的催乳素， 无论是婴儿的刺激还是来自怀孕女性的暗示都会导致这种反应 经验丰富的父亲。我们将测试对婴儿线索的反应， 幼年绢毛猴的逼真模型。我们会控制催乳素的水平 假设睾丸激素水平升高， 父亲在婴儿出生前导致雌二醇增加， 催乳素，使用多巴胺受体激动剂降低水平，并测试类固醇 内源性催乳素诱导。我们反过来促进增加催乳素。我们 将使用芳香化酶阻断睾酮芳构化为雌二醇 修颜乳液我们将收集关于催产素对非产妇婴儿的作用的数据， 在乎最初，为了验证激素假说，我们将研究成年绢毛猴 在他们的生活中没有接触过婴儿， 适当的荷尔蒙刺激合作式幼儿护理在棉顶幼儿中的应用 绢毛猴家庭代表了父母照顾的另一端， 婴儿护理完全由母亲负责的物种。超过50%的 在美国工作的母亲，双亲或合作的婴儿 护理变得越来越必要。通过了解 促进父亲照顾婴儿的经验和激素， 我们希望提供有价值的信息， 人类家庭

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The cotton-top tamarin is a cooperatively breeding monkey living in family groups. Infant care taking is divided among group members with fathers and older siblings doing most infant carrying. While there are significant costs such as weight loss, fathers care for infants from the day of birth. Fathers appear to anticipate infant births with increased prolactin levels prior to birth. Our specific aims are 1.) What is the role of prolactin in nonmaternal infant care and what cues stimulate prolactin? 2.) What is the role of experience in nonmaternal infant care? We will observe natural families to document prolactin's association with helpers during infant care and will manipulate prolactin levels in helpers. We will examine the role of experience with infants as a factor in infant care by studying 12-14 month old tamarins in natural families as they first become involved in infant care, and through tests of experienced fathers housed with infertile females and subsequently tested with reproductive females. We predict that direct exposure to infants will be needed to activate prolactin in young tamarins, but that either infant stimuli or cues from a pregnant female will lead to the response of experienced fathers. We will test responsiveness to infant cues using realistic models of infant tamarins. We will manipulate levels of prolactin to increase levels with hypothesize that elevated levels of testosterone in fathers prior to infant births lead to increased estradiol, which in exogenous prolactin, decrease levels with a dopamine receptor agonist, and test steroid induction of endogenous prolactin. We turn promotes increased prolactin. We will block the aromatization of testosterone to estradiol using an aromatase blocker. We will gather data on the role of oxytocin with non-maternal infant care. Initially, to test the hormonal hypothesis, we will study adult tamarins that have had no prior exposure to infants in their life with and without appropriate hormonal priming. The cooperative infant care seen in cotton-top tamarin families represents the opposite end of a parental care continuum from species where infant care is exclusively maternal. With more than 50 percent of mothers in the US working outside of the home, biparental or cooperative infant care is becoming increasingly necessary. By understanding the interaction of experience and hormones in facilitating care of infants by fathers and non-reproductive helpers in tamarins we hope to provide information of value to human families.