Table 1.
Means ± SEM behavioral data during 30-min maternal care tests on lactation days 3, 10 and 17. Retrieval data were not collected on day 17 as pups were often active and moving about the cage. Data in bold represent significant differences between saline and AVP treated animals.
| Behavior Variable a | Day 3 | Day 10 | Day 17 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saline (n = 16) | AVP (n = 26) | p | Saline (n = 14) | AVP (n = 25) | p | Saline (n = 13) | AVP (n = 25) | p | |
| Pup Grooming | 139.9 ± 33.5 | 162.7 ± 17.4 | 0.23 | 313.8 ± 44.7 | 399.3 ± 29.8 | 0.05 | 362.6 ± 43.7 | 328.5 ± 29.3 | 0.26 |
| Nursing | 744.2 ± 118.5 | 781.8 ± 74.4 | 0.39 | 969.2 ± 135.2 | 1116.9 ± 62.2 | 0.13 | 884.5 ± 140.1 | 926.1 ± 80.0 | 0.39 |
| Nursing Latency | 684.7 ± 123.7 | 649.8 ± 73.7 | 0.40 | 544.3 ± 121.1 | 411.0 ± 44.1 | 0.11 | 640.4 ± 135.5 | 580.0 ± 55.4 | 0.31 |
| Total Maternal Care | 884.1 ± 137.5 | 944.5 ± 81.1 | 0.34 | 1283.1 ± 169.1 | 1516.3 ± 65.1 | 0.07 | 1247.0 ± 171.5 | 1254.6 ± 90.9 | 0.48 |
| Nesting | 124.7 ± 17.1 | 144.0 ± 19.4 | 0.25 | 75.4 ± 14.0 | 69.2 ± 8.5 | 0.34 | 30.7 ± 12.3 | 41.6 ± 8.0 | 0.22 |
| Self Grooming | 160.0 ± 34.5 | 169.6 ± 23.9 | 0.41 | 65.6 ± 13.0 | 81.2 ± 17.4 | 0.27 | 79.9 ± 19.1 | 65.9 ± 13.6 | 0.28 |
| Retrieval | 55.8 ± 11.1 | 51.0 ± 7.0 | 0.35 | 67.1 ± 16.6 | 36.8 ± 8.2 | 0.04 | -- | -- | -- |
| Full Retrieval | 415.7 ± 121.5 | 357.7 ± 49.6 | 0.31 | 397.1 ± 111.9 | 352.8 ± 76.5 | 0.37 | -- | -- | -- |
| Activity | 100.1 ± 13.6 | 102.4 ± 12.7 | 0.45 | 88.1 ± 12.5 | 82.3 ± 7.4 | 0.34 | 108.6 ± 14.1 | 103.3 ± 8.0 | 0.36 |
a Behavioral durations are presented in seconds (s).