Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
2006-6-20
pubmed:abstractText
Maternal licking of pups' perineal regions affects the development of the spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus (SNB), a sexually dimorphic motor nucleus in the lumbar spinal cord that controls penile reflexes involved with copulation. Maternal licking influences SNB motoneuron number, with reductions in licking resulting in fewer motoneurons. Reduced maternal licking also has functional consequences in adulthood, resulting in increased latency to ejaculation and postejaculatory intromission and longer interintromission intervals. In this experiment, we assessed the potential effect of maternal licking on the development of SNB dendritic morphology. To reduce maternal licking, dams were treated with intranasal application of zinc sulfate during the first two postnatal weeks, which interferes with their ability to detect the pup odors that drive the licking behavior. At either postnatal day (P) 28 (when SNB dendritic length is normally maximal) or P49 (when SNB dendritic morphology is normally mature), SNB motoneurons were retrogradely labeled with cholera toxin-conjugated HRP, and dendritic arbor was reconstructed in three dimensions. At P28, the dendritic arbor of reduced maternal licking pups was not different from controls; however at P49, reduced licking pups showed a 23% reduction in dendritic arbor in the SNB, an effect that was especially pronounced in the rostral end of the nucleus, where reductions reached 48%. These results suggest that reductions in perineal stimulation provided by maternal licking could affect adult male copulatory behavior via alterations in SNB motoneuron morphology, and thus support maternal licking as an important factor in normal neural and behavioral development.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
May
pubmed:issn
0006-8993
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
30
pubmed:volume
1092
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
87-99
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Afferent Pathways, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Animals, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Animals, Newborn, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Cell Differentiation, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Cholera Toxin, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Copulation, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Dendrites, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Erectile Dysfunction, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Female, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Genitalia, Male, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Grooming, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Horseradish Peroxidase, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Male, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Maternal Behavior, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Motor Neurons, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Physical Stimulation, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Rats, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Rats, Sprague-Dawley, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Sensory Deprivation, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Sex Characteristics, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Spinal Cord, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Touch, pubmed-meshheading:16674931-Zinc Sulfate
pubmed:year
2006
pubmed:articleTitle
Maternal licking influences dendritic development of motoneurons in a sexually dimorphic neuromuscular system.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Program in Neuroscience, 1101 E. 10th Street, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural