Paternal social enrichment effects on maternal behavior and offspring growth.

ABSTRACT: Paternal environmental experiences are significant predictors of developmental outcomes in offspring and can occur even in the absence of paternal care. Although there has been a recent focus on the role of environmentally induced changes in the male germline in producing these effects, the potential mediating role of mothers has not been investigated. A role for mothers in the transmission of paternal effects has been well acknowledged in behavioral ecology, which predicts that females will dynamically adjust their reproductive investment in response to the qualities of their mate. In the present study, we show that a lifetime of socially enriched compared with impoverished housing conditions shifts anxiety-like behavior and gene expression of male mice. Females that mate with enriched-re

SUBMITTER: Mashoodh R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3477388 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature