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Science 15 February 1985:
Vol. 227. no. 4688, pp. 782 - 784
DOI: 10.1126/science.3969568
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Articles

Science, Vol 227, Issue 4688, 782-784
Copyright © 1985 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Prolactin stimulation of maternal behavior in female rats

RS Bridges, R DiBiase, DD Loundes, and PC Doherty

Inexperienced, hypophysectomized female rats treated with steroids were used in experiments to investigate the roles of the pituitary gland and prolactin in the expression of maternal behavior. Administration of ovine prolactin or treatment with ectopic pituitary grafts, which release prolactin into the circulation, stimulated maternal care in these females toward rat young. Steroid treatment alone, while stimulating maternal behavior in rats with intact pituitary glands, did not facilitate maternal responsiveness in hypophysectomized females. These findings indicate a stimulatory behavioral role for pituitary prolactin in the establishment of maternal care and suggest that exposure to prolactin during pregnancy helps to stimulate the immediate onset of maternal behavior at parturition.


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Prolactin: Structure, Function, and Regulation of Secretion.
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Evolutionary Change in the Endocrinology of Behavioral Receptivity: Divergent Roles for Progesterone and Prolactin within the Genus Phodopus.
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Prolactin (PRL) and Its Receptor: Actions, Signal Transduction Pathways and Phenotypes Observed in PRL Receptor Knockout Mice.
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)