| dc.description | The experiments described in this dissertation investigate the neural control of male and female parental behaviour in California mice, Peromyscus californicus. Chapter 1 describes maternal behaviour in rodents, reviews the literature on the neuroanatomy of maternal behaviour, discusses the importance of male parental care in biparental species, and reviews studies of the neural control of paternal behaviour in rodents. Chapter 1 concludes with a description of the ecology, reproduction, and parental behaviour of California mice. Chapter 2 (experiment 1)shows that medial preoptic area (MPOA) lesions disrupt parental behaviour in male and female California mice, suggesting that the MPOA is important for paternal and maternal behaviour in this species. Chapter 3 (experiment 2) shows that nucleus accumbens (NA) lesions have no effect on parental behaviour, while basolateral amygdala (BA) lesions disrupt male, but not female parental behaviour in this species. Chapter 3 also shows that MPOA lesions consistently produce deficits in parental behaviour in California mice. Chapter 4 (experiment 3) shows that parental behaviour induces c-Fos-immunoreactivity (ir) in the MPOA, MA, and piriform and somatosensory cortices. Parental behaviour, however, does not increase FosB or c-Jun-ir in California mice. Chapter five consists of a general discussion which addresses issues relevant to the three studies, including a comparison of male and female California mice and a description of their behavioural profiles. | en_US |
