15 iul. NEUROBIOLOGIA COMPORTAMENTULUI MATERN
Abstract – Maternal behavior
Maternal behavior comprises any behavior that leads to the survival of an immature individual of a species. Maternal behavior is initiated by hormonal shifts during pregnancy, birth and lactation. It has an initiation phase – dependent on levels of progesterone, estrogen, oxitocin, prolactin and a maintenance phase, less influenced by the hormonal levels and more dependent on the mother-offspring interaction. During this phase, the „reward” pathways in mother’s brain are activated. Maternal behavior is essential for species survival and represents an epigenetic factor also important in spices evolution.
Keywords: maternal behavior
2009-11-26 17:41:45