Michael Numan
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- July 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780190848675
- eISBN:
- 9780190848705
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190848675.003.0006
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Development
Chapter 6 explores the neural mechanisms that regulate the decrease in anxiety and increase in maternal aggression that co-occur in postpartum mammals. Too much anxiety antagonizes maternal ...
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Chapter 6 explores the neural mechanisms that regulate the decrease in anxiety and increase in maternal aggression that co-occur in postpartum mammals. Too much anxiety antagonizes maternal aggression. Therefore, postpartum anxiety reduction promotes maternal aggression. The neural circuitry of maternal aggression includes projections from the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus to the periaqueductal gray and to other brainstem sites. Anxiety-related behaviors are mediated by corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) neurons, and the projection of central nucleus of amygdala (CeA) CRF neurons to the dorsal bed nucleus of the stria terminalis is involved. Neural circuits are described to show how enhanced CRF release can depress maternal aggression. These circuits are typically downregulated in postpartum females, and oxytocin (OT) is involved. OT exerts anxiolytic effects and one mechanism of OT action is to depress the output of CeA.Less
Chapter 6 explores the neural mechanisms that regulate the decrease in anxiety and increase in maternal aggression that co-occur in postpartum mammals. Too much anxiety antagonizes maternal aggression. Therefore, postpartum anxiety reduction promotes maternal aggression. The neural circuitry of maternal aggression includes projections from the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus to the periaqueductal gray and to other brainstem sites. Anxiety-related behaviors are mediated by corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) neurons, and the projection of central nucleus of amygdala (CeA) CRF neurons to the dorsal bed nucleus of the stria terminalis is involved. Neural circuits are described to show how enhanced CRF release can depress maternal aggression. These circuits are typically downregulated in postpartum females, and oxytocin (OT) is involved. OT exerts anxiolytic effects and one mechanism of OT action is to depress the output of CeA.
Michael Numan
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- July 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780190848675
- eISBN:
- 9780190848705
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190848675.003.0005
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Development
Chapter 5 reviews the brain circuits that regulate maternal behavior in nonhuman mammals. The medial preoptic area (MPOA) is essential for both the onset and maintenance of maternal behavior. ...
More
Chapter 5 reviews the brain circuits that regulate maternal behavior in nonhuman mammals. The medial preoptic area (MPOA) is essential for both the onset and maintenance of maternal behavior. Hormones and oxytocin act on the MPOA to stimulate the onset of maternal behavior. The neurotransmitters contained within MPOA neurons that may regulate maternal behavior are described, as are several neural inputs to the MPOA that regulate its output. A defensive neural circuit that inhibits maternal behavior in most virgin female mammals is described. MPOA output stimulates maternal behavior by depressing the defensive circuit while also activating neural circuits that underpin maternal motivation. MPOA output to the mesolimbic dopamine system is essential for appetitive maternal responses, while its output to the periaqueductal gray regulates consummatory responses. Synaptic plasticity within the MPOA-to-mesolimbic DA circuit is involved in the development of an enduring mother–infant bond.Less
Chapter 5 reviews the brain circuits that regulate maternal behavior in nonhuman mammals. The medial preoptic area (MPOA) is essential for both the onset and maintenance of maternal behavior. Hormones and oxytocin act on the MPOA to stimulate the onset of maternal behavior. The neurotransmitters contained within MPOA neurons that may regulate maternal behavior are described, as are several neural inputs to the MPOA that regulate its output. A defensive neural circuit that inhibits maternal behavior in most virgin female mammals is described. MPOA output stimulates maternal behavior by depressing the defensive circuit while also activating neural circuits that underpin maternal motivation. MPOA output to the mesolimbic dopamine system is essential for appetitive maternal responses, while its output to the periaqueductal gray regulates consummatory responses. Synaptic plasticity within the MPOA-to-mesolimbic DA circuit is involved in the development of an enduring mother–infant bond.
