Maternal aggression, which has been observed in a variety of mammals in both naturalistic and laboratory settings, functions to protect the home and young as well as to disperse adults and juveniles. While much is known about the physiological determinants of other aspects of parental behavior and other forms of aggressive behavior, comparatively little is known concerning the biological basis of maternal aggression. Yet, females mammals exhibit dramatic changes in their aggressive behavior toward conspecifics during pregnancy, postpartum estrus, and lactation. Dr. Svare has shown that females are aggressive during pregnancy, become docile during postpartum estrus, and then become intensively aggressive during lactation. He will determine the role of steroid hormones in the stimulation and inhibition of these behavioral changes. Dr. Svare will systematically examine aggressive behavior and steroid hormone (estradiol, progesterone, testosterone) concentrations throughout pregnancy and early postpartum period. He will then use this information to construct a schedule of exogenous hormones to reproduce the specific behaviors. The results will enhance our knowledge of the biological basis of female aggressive behavior and may ultimately prove important for understanding the behavioral changes that frequently occur in human peripartum females.
