Dopamine antagonists during parturition disrupt maternal care and the retention of maternal behavior in rats

• Published in: Pharmacology, biochemistry and behavior Vol. 73; no. 4; pp. 869 - 875
• Main Authors: Byrnes, Elizabeth M., Rigero, Beth A., Bridges, Robert S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.11.2002; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Animals; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Dopamine antagonist; Dopamine Antagonists - pharmacology; Dopamine D2 Receptor Antagonists; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Male; Maternal behavior; Maternal Behavior - drug effects; Maternal Behavior - physiology; Maternal Behavior - psychology; Maternal retention; Neurotransmission and behavior; Parturition; Parturition - drug effects; Parturition - physiology; Parturition - psychology; Pregnancy; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, Dopamine D1 - agonists; Receptors, Dopamine D1 - antagonists & inhibitors; Receptors, Dopamine D1 - physiology; Receptors, Dopamine D2 - agonists; Receptors, Dopamine D2 - physiology; Retention (Psychology) - drug effects; Retention (Psychology) - physiology; Maternal retention; Maternal behavior; Parturition; Dopamine antagonist; Dopamine; Intravenous administration; Rat; Rodentia; D1 Dopamine receptor; Catecholamine; Vertebrata; Mammalia; D2 Dopamine receptor; Animal; Antagonist
• ISSN: 0091-3057; 1873-5177
• DOI: 10.1016/S0091-3057(02)00941-3

Brief contact with pups at parturition enables the female rat to establish and retain the full repertoire of maternal behaviors, allowing her to respond rapidly to pups in the future. To determine whether the dopamine system is involved in the retention of maternal behavior, females were continuously infused with dopamine antagonists during the periparturitional period and then allowed either a brief interaction period with pups (3 h) or no interaction with pups (pups removed as they were born). Females were exposed to either the D1-like antagonist SCH 23390 (0.1 or 1.0 mg/kg/day) or the D2-like antagonist clebopride (0.5 or 1.0 mg/kg/day). The high dose of either DA antagonist resulted in significant attenuation of maternal care immediately postpartum. When tested for the retention of maternal behavior 7 days later, however, only the females exposed to the D2 antagonist displayed a delayed response to shown full maternal behavior (FMB) towards donor pups. Thus, while both dopamine receptor subtypes appear necessary for the full and rapid expression of maternal behavior during the early postpartum period, only the D2 receptor subtype appears to be involved in the retention of this behavior.