THE INTERACTION OF SLEEP-WAKE STATES AND SUCKING BEHAVIOR IN YOUNG RATS (FEEDING, EEG, MOTIVATION).
Item
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Title
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THE INTERACTION OF SLEEP-WAKE STATES AND SUCKING BEHAVIOR IN YOUNG RATS (FEEDING, EEG, MOTIVATION).
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Identifier
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AAI8614700
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identifier
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8614700
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Creator
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SHAIR, HARRY N.
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Contributor
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Myron A. Hofer
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Date
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1986
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Psychobiology
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Abstract
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The fine structure of nursing behavior in mammals is largely unknown and the processes by which the motivational changes of deprivation affect this early feeding system are as yet poorly understood. This disseration explores these two areas using novel methods devised for this purpose.;A series of three experiments were conducted examining the relationship between sleep-wake states and feeding behavior in two-week-old rats. Electrophysiological and behavioral measurements were performed for two hour periods on pups either interacting with their normal mother and littermates or while attached to the teat of their anesthetized dam. After the baseline period in each experiment, pups were separated from their mothers for 22 hours, then tested during a two hour reunion period under identical conditions.;Contrary to general belief, rat pups were found to be asleep much of the time while being nursed by their mothers. They fell asleep prior to receiving any milk. Another unexpected finding was that sucking by the pups, which has been shown to be necessary to elicit milk ejections (ME), occurred at appreciable levels while asleep. Pups were virtually always asleep at the onset of ME, were awakened briefly, and returned rapidly to sleep.;Sucking was increased with deprivation, as expected, but the rates of sucking in each state did not increase. Instead, the proportion of time spent in states with high rates of sucking (awake and slow wave sleep) increased, while time spent in the state with lowest rates (paradoxical sleep) decreased. Even after deprivation, the pups were always asleep just prior to ME. They sucked more in response to milk upon reunion, but again mainly by shifting states.;This study provides one of the first demonstrations of an organized, essential behavior that is embedded in sleep, and suggests a novel role for altered sleep-wake state organization as a mediator of changes in motivated behavior in the infant rat.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
