This is a continuing study aimed at learning how disturbance of the parent-infant relationship affects the developing young and may predispose to disorders of behavior and to stress-induced bodily disease. The animal model system we have developed in rats has led to the discovery of unexpected processes at work within the mother-infant interaction. We are learning how these regulatory processes mediate the effects of separation and shape the subsequent development of physiologic and behavioral systems of the infant. The disciplines involved are those of experimental psychology, biology and psychophysiology in particular, as adapted to immature experimental animals. The methods include selected electrophysiological, pharmacological, and microsurgical techniques as well as behavioral observation and recording.
The aims are to understand the specific processes or mechanisms by which the experience becomes translated into altered physiological and behavior development. In the first of the three major sections of this proposal, basic processes involved in the immediate and the slower developing effects of maternal separation on 2 week old rats are analyzed, building upon our previous work in this area. In the second section, we propose studies that will apply some of our recent knowledge about these basic processes to explore how they affect development of the infants' cardiovascular system, and influence the course of a new experimental model disease of respiratory regulation that we have recently described. In the third section, we will examine how a 24 hour separation affects the mother-infant interaction on reunion and thereafter. In the studies on the immediate response to separation, we will focus on the control of ultrasonic vocalization rates; in the other studies we will focus on 3 interrelated systems: autonomic control, nutrient intake, and sleep/wake state regulation.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award (R37)
Project #
5R37MH040430-06
Application #
3486742
Study Section
Psychobiology and Behavior Research Review Committee (BBP)
Project Start
1984-07-01
Project End
1991-11-30
Budget Start
1989-01-01
Budget End
1989-11-30
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
1989
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
New York State Psychiatric Institute
Department
Type
DUNS #
167204994
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10032
Shair, Harry N (2014) Parental potentiation of vocalization as a marker for filial bonds in infant animals. Dev Psychobiol 56:1689-97
Brunelli, Susan A; Hofer, Myron A (2007) Selective breeding for infant rat separation-induced ultrasonic vocalizations: developmental precursors of passive and active coping styles. Behav Brain Res 182:193-207
Shair, Harry N; Brunelli, Susan A; Hofer, Myron A (2005) Lack of evidence for mu-opioid regulation of a socially mediated separation response. Physiol Behav 83:767-77
Myers, Michael M; Ali, Nyron; Weller, Aron et al. (2004) Brief maternal interaction increases number, amplitude, and bout size of isolation-induced ultrasonic vocalizations in infant rats (Rattus norvegicus). J Comp Psychol 118:95-102
Shair, Harry N; Jasper, Anna (2003) Decreased venous return is neither sufficient nor necessary to elicit ultrasonic vocalizations of infant rat pups. Behav Neurosci 117:840-53
Shair, Harry N; Brunelli, Susan A; Masmela, Jenny R et al. (2003) Social, thermal, and temporal influences on isolation-induced and maternally potentiated ultrasonic vocalizations of rat pups. Dev Psychobiol 42:206-22
Brunelli, Susan A; Myers, Michael M; Asekoff, Shira L et al. (2002) Effects of selective breeding for infant rat ultrasonic vocalization on cardiac responses to isolation. Behav Neurosci 116:612-23
Polan, H J; Milano, D; Eljuga, L et al. (2002) Development of rats' maternally directed orienting behaviors from birth to day 2. Dev Psychobiol 40:81-103
Hofer, M A; Shair, H N; Masmela, J R et al. (2001) Developmental effects of selective breeding for an infantile trait: the rat pup ultrasonic isolation call. Dev Psychobiol 39:231-46
Shair, H N; Masmela, J R; Hofer, M A (1999) The influence of olfaction on potentiation and inhibition of ultrasonic vocalization of rat pups. Physiol Behav 65:769-72

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