Adult, virgin female rats do not spontaneously display maternal behavior, but can be "sensitized" to display such behaviors through 5-7 days of continuous exposure to foster pups. The purpose of this study was to decrease the anxiety of the animals through environmental enrichment, and to determine if the resulting reduced stress would stimulate faster maternal behavior onset, therefore reducing the number of animals needed in the maternal behavior sensitization testing paradigm. However, animals in an enriched environment displayed longer maternal behavior onset latencies.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Gervais, Kristen J.

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• E-project-041107-205412

Advisor

• Adams, David S.

Year

• 2007

Date created

• 2007-04-11

Resource type

• Major Qualifying Project

Major

• Biology & Biotechnology

Rights statement

• In Copyright

License

• All rights reserved