IIMYC   23581
INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES MARINAS Y COSTERAS
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Thermoregulatory development and behavior of Ctenomys talarum pups during brief repeated posnatal isolation
Autor/es:
BALDO MB; LUNA F; SCHLEICH CE; ANTENUCCI CD
Revista:
COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY A-MOLECULAR AND INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY
Editorial:
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
Referencias:
Año: 2014 vol. 173 p. 35 - 41
ISSN:
1095-6433
Resumen:
In altricial mammals, the role of the mother and siblings throughout pup´s early ontogeny are critical to determine ?normal? development in neonates. It has been reported that variations in parental investment during pups´ development affect thermoregulatory capacity, growth patterns, brain development and behavior during lifetime, such as spatial learning and memory in adults. Ctenomys talarum (tuco-tucos) is a solitary subterranean rodent, who inhabits complex burrows and exhibits developed spatial orientation abilities. Tuco-tuco´s pups display an altricial development, spending more than 80% of the time in contact with the mother. Throughout weaning period, pups display active exploratory behavior and improvements in their spatial capabilities. Then, we determined the effect of repeated brief postnatal isolations on the acquisition of physiological thermoregulation and the development of spatial learning capabilities in tuco-tuco?s pups. As occurs in wild animals, daily brief isolations (30 min) did not affect the acquisition of adult´s body temperature nor resting metabolic rate´s development pattern. Moreover, behavioral response and adult spatial abilities of isolated pups were similar to the observed in not separated ones. Then, during periods of mother´s absence, minor physiological and behavioral adjustments, such as shivering and postural changes, are required to keep C. talarum pups within allostasis.