Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022:27:1-53.
doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-97762-7_1.

Parental Behavior in Rodents

Mariana Pereira  1 , Kristina O Smiley  2 , Joseph S Lonstein  3
Affiliations

Parental Behavior in Rodents

Mariana Pereira et al. Adv Neurobiol. 2022.

Abstract

Members of the order Rodentia are among the best-studied mammals for understanding the patterns, outcomes, and biological determinants of maternal and paternal caregiving. This research has provided a wealth of information but has historically focused on just a few rodents, mostly members of the two Myomorpha families that easily breed and can be studied within a laboratory setting (including laboratory rats, mice, hamsters, voles, gerbils). It is unclear how well this small collection of animals represents the over 2000 species of extant rodents. This chapter provides an overview of the hormonal and neurobiological systems involved in parental care in rodents, with a purposeful eye on providing information known or could be gleaned about parenting in various less-traditional members of Rodentia. We conclude from this analysis that the few commonly studied rodents are not necessarily even representative of the highly diverse members of Myomorpha, let alone other rodent suborders, and that additional laboratory and field studies of members of this order more broadly would surely provide invaluable information toward revealing a more representative picture of the rich diversity in rodent parenting.

Keywords: Brain; Hormones; Lactation; Maternal behavior; Paternal behavior; Rodentia.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Adejumo DO, Adeyanju TA, Adeyanju TE. Range extension and first confirmed record of the Flightless Anomalure Zenkerella insignis (Matschie, 1898) (Mammalia: Rodentia: Anomaluridae) in Nigeria. J Threat Taxa. 2020;12(13):16900–3.
    1. Ahdieh HB, Mayer AD, Rosenblatt JS. Effects of brain antiestrogen implants on maternal behavior and on postpartum estrus in pregnant rats. Neuroendocrinology. 1987;46(6):522–31. - PubMed
    1. Akther S, Korshnova N, Zhong J, Liang M, Cherepanov SM, Lopatina O, Komleva YK, Salmina AB, Nishimura T, Fakhrul AA, Hirai H, Kato I, Yamamoto Y, Takasawa S, Okamoto H, Higashida H. CD38 in the nucleus accumbens and oxytocin are related to paternal behavior in mice. Mol Brain. 2013;6:41. - PubMed - PMC
    1. Albin-Brooks C, Nealer C, Sabihi S, Haim A, Leuner B. The influence of offspring, parity, and oxytocin on cognitive flexibility during the postpartum period. Horm Behav. 2017;89:130–6. - PubMed - PMC
    1. Andersen DC. Observations on reproduction, growth, and behavior of the northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides). J Mammal. 1978;59:418–22.