Skip to content
2000
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Current Applied Materials
  4. Volume 1, Issue 1
  5. Article
Volume 1, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 2666-7312
  • E-ISSN: 2666-7339

Abstract

Nesting is an essential neuropsychological motor behavior that helps conserve heat for reproduction and shelter building to protect offspring from environmental change.

The aim of the present study was to investigate how putting cotton in the cage influenced the nesting behavior of female mice.

The objective of the present work is to validate and establish the role of cotton as nesting material.

The female mice (n=25), after monogamous mating, were kept individually in a separate cage for the entire gestation period to prepare for delivery. Sterile cotton was kept inside the cage after immediate delivery to observe the nesting and burrowing neuropsychological behaviour. The quality of the resulting nest was scored by a definitive 5-point nest scoring scale as 0 for no nest, 1 for the flat nest, and 2 onwards for nests covering the offspring by mice. Furthermore, the neurobehavioral maternal health was also evaluated in terms of grooming, rearing activity, mean time spent by the dam, frequency of nurturing and mean time spent on the nest for each mouse for 10min daily for 15 days.

Based on scoring, out of 25 female mice, 16 were found to show a maximum score of 5, as they build a nest with which they reveal better neuropsychological nurturing behavior as compared to the remaining 4 with a score of 4 to protect their offspring from environmental change to maintain a homeostatic microenvironment.

Cotton was considered a suitable choice as nest-building material, which was better utilized by the swiss albino mice. It also improves nesting and burrowing performance, observed in the home cage, proving to be a valuable and easy-to-use tool for assessing motor impairment due to brain damage as well as neurobehavioral changes.

© 2022 Bentham Science Publishers
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/cam/10.2174/2666731201666220331085608
2022-04-01
2024-11-26

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/cam/10.2174/2666731201666220331085608
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. GaskillB.N. KarasA.Z. GarnerJ.P. Pritchett-CorningK.R. Nest building as an indicator of health and welfare in laboratory mice.J. Vis. Exp.2013825101210.3791/51012 24429701
     [Google Scholar]
  2. LathamN. MasonG. From house mouse to mouse house: The behavioural biology of free-living Mus musculus and its implications in the laboratory.Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.2004863-426128910.1016/j.applanim.2004.02.006
     [Google Scholar]
  3. MellorD.J. Updating animal welfare thinking: Moving beyond the “Five Freedoms” towards “A Life Worth Living”.Animals (Basel)2016632110.3390/ani6030021 27102171
     [Google Scholar]
  4. TothL.A. KregelK. LeonL. MuschT.I. Environmental enrichment of laboratory rodents: The answer depends on the question.Comp. Med.2011614314321 22330246
     [Google Scholar]
  5. JašarevićE. BaileyD.H. CrosslandJ.P. Evolution of monogamy, paternal investment, and female life history in Peromyscus.J. Comp. Psychol.201312719110210.1037/a0027936 22545763
     [Google Scholar]
  6. NelsonR.J. MarinovicA.C. MoffattC.A. KriegsfeldL.J. KimS. The effects of photoperiod and food intake on reproductive development in male deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus).Physiol. Behav.199762594595010.1016/S0031‑9384(97)00136‑4 9333185
     [Google Scholar]
  7. SmithA.L. CorrowD.J. Modifications to husbandry and housing conditions of laboratory rodents for improved well-being.ILAR J.200546214014710.1093/ilar.46.2.140 15775023
     [Google Scholar]
  8. WeberJ.N. PetersonB.K. HoekstraH.E. Discrete genetic modules are responsible for complex burrow evolution in Peromyscus mice.Nature2013493743240240510.1038/nature11816 23325221
     [Google Scholar]
  9. CrosslandJ.P. DeweyM.J. BarlowS.C. VranaP.B. FelderM.R. SzalaiG.J. Caring for Peromyscus spp. in research environments.Lab Anim. (NY)201443516216610.1038/laban.504 24751850
     [Google Scholar]
  10. JoynerC.P. MyrickL.C. CrosslandJ.P. DawsonW.D. Deer mice as laboratory animals.ILAR J.199839432233010.1093/ilar.39.4.322 11406688
     [Google Scholar]
  11. KingJ.A. MaasD. WeismanR.G. Geographic variation in nest size among species of Peromyscus. Evolution196418223023410.1111/j.1558‑5646.1964.tb01594.x
     [Google Scholar]
  12. NumanM. Medial preoptic area and maternal behavior in the female rat.J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol.197487474675910.1037/h0036974 4426995
     [Google Scholar]
  13. KimJ.J. ShihJ.C. ChenK. Selective enhancement of emotional, but not motor, learning in monoamine oxidase A-deficient mice.Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA199794115929593310.1073/pnas.94.11.5929 9159177
     [Google Scholar]
  14. DeaconR.M. Assessing nest building in mice.Nat. Protoc.2006131117111910.1038/nprot.2006.170 17406392
     [Google Scholar]
  15. KleinM.O. BattagelloD.S. CardosoA.R. HauserD.N. BittencourtJ.C. CorreaR.G. Dopamine: Functions, signaling, and association with neurological diseases.Cell. Mol. Neurobiol.2019391315910.1007/s10571‑018‑0632‑3 30446950
     [Google Scholar]
  16. HessS.E. RohrS. DufourB.D. GaskillB.N. PajorE.A. GarnerJ.P. Home improvement: C57BL/6J mice given more naturalistic nesting materials build better nests.J. Am. Assoc. Lab. Anim. Sci.20084762531 19049249
     [Google Scholar]
  17. JirkofP. FleischmannT. CesarovicN. RettichA. VogelJ. ArrasM. Assessment of postsurgical distress and pain in laboratory mice by nest complexity scoring.Lab Ani201347315316110.1177/0023677213475603 23563122
     [Google Scholar]
  18. BarlowS.M. KnightA.F. SullivanF.M. Delay in postnatal growth and development of offspring produced by maternal restraint stress during pregnancy in the rat.Teratology197818221121810.1002/tera.1420180206 715726
     [Google Scholar]
  19. KinsleyC. SvareB. Prenatal stress alters maternal aggression in mice.Physiol. Behav.198842171310.1016/0031‑9384(88)90252‑1 3387480
     [Google Scholar]
  20. MeekL.R. BurdaK.M. PasterE. Effects of prenatal stress on development in mice: Maturation and learning.Physiol. Behav.200071554354910.1016/S0031‑9384(00)00368‑1 11239673
     [Google Scholar]
  21. WakshlakA. WeinstockM. Neonatal handling reverses behavioral abnormalities induced in rats by prenatal stress.Physiol. Behav.199048228929210.1016/0031‑9384(90)90315‑U 2255733
     [Google Scholar]
  22. FrideE. WeinstockM. The effects of prenatal exposure to predictable or unpredictable stress on early development in the rat.Dev. Psychobiol.198417665166010.1002/dev.420170607 6542535
     [Google Scholar]
  23. BeeryA.K. KauferD. Stress, social behavior, and resilience: Insights from rodents.Neurobiol. Stress2015111612710.1016/j.ynstr.2014.10.004 25562050
     [Google Scholar]
  24. GonzalezA. LovicV. WardG.R. WainwrightP.E. FlemingA.S. Intergenerational effects of complete maternal deprivation and replacement stimulation on maternal behavior and emotionality in female rats.Dev. Psychobiol.2001381113210.1002/1098‑2302(2001)38:1<11:AID‑DEV2>3.0.CO;2‑B 11150058
     [Google Scholar]
  25. BeeryA.K. FrancisD.D. Adaptive significance of natural variations in maternal care in rats: A translational perspective.Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev.20113571552156110.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.03.012 21458485
     [Google Scholar]
  26. CurleyJ.P. JordanE.R. SwaneyW.T. IzraelitA. KammelS. ChampagneF.A. The meaning of weaning: Influence of the weaning period on behavioral development in mice.Dev. Neurosci.200931431833110.1159/000216543 19546569
     [Google Scholar]
  27. ChampagneF.A. FrancisD.D. MarA. MeaneyM.J. Variations in maternal care in the rat as a mediating influence for the effects of environment on development.Physiol. Behav.200379335937110.1016/S0031‑9384(03)00149‑5 12954431
     [Google Scholar]
  28. WeberEM Maternal Behaviour in the Laboratory Mice C57BL/6J Housed in a Furnished Environment: A Pilot Study2005
  29. BridgesR.S. Neuroendocrine regulation of maternal behavior.Front. Neuroendocrinol.20153617819610.1016/j.yfrne.2014.11.007 25500107
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Angoa-PérezM. KuhnD.M. Neuronal serotonin in the regulation of maternal behavior in rodents.Neurotransmitter (Houst.)20152: e615. 27148594
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/cam/10.2174/2666731201666220331085608
Loading
Role of Cotton as Nesting Material in Female Mice as a Behavioral Indicator for Pup’s Health
Curr. Appl. Mat. 1, e310322202882 (2022); https://doi.org/10.2174/2666731201666220331085608
/content/journals/cam/10.2174/2666731201666220331085608
/content/journals/cam/10.2174/2666731201666220331085608
Loading

Data & Media loading...


  • Article Type:     Other
Keyword(s): cotton; maternal; mice; Monogamous; nesting; neuropsychological; nurturing

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test