Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Behavioral Neurobiology
Mapping A Pup-Responsive Pathway From The Medial Preoptic Area To The Ventral Tegmental Area., Matias Andina
Mapping A Pup-Responsive Pathway From The Medial Preoptic Area To The Ventral Tegmental Area., Matias Andina
Masters Theses
Maternal behavior is the complex array of caregiving behaviors females display towards offspring. In rats, the transition to motherhood depends on the action of various hormones, especially estradiol near parturition, which primes the maternal circuitry to respond to pups upon first encounter at parturition with appropriate maternal behavior. Although virgin rats avoid pups, new mothers are highly motivated to interact with pups, and their maternal behavior depends on the functional interaction between the medial preoptic area (mPOA) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA). However, a precise mapping of the VTA-projecting mPOA neurons remains to be elucidated. To determine whether pup-responsive …