Researchers discover neural mechanism involved in learning maternal behavior

Researchers discover neural mechanism involved in learning maternal behavior

Various illnesses such as postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis can lead to a change in maternal behavior and disrupt the mother-child bonding process. In a study, a research team led by Daniela Pollak from the Center for Physiology and Pharmacology at MedUni Vienna has identified the neural circuits in the brain that are activated when learning maternal behavior. The findings published in “The EMBO Journal” can serve as a basis for the development of therapeutic interventions.

As part of their preclinical study, the scientists led by Daniela Pollak from the Clinical Department of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology at the Center for Physiology and Pharmacology at MedUni Vienna analyzed the maternal behavior of female mice towards newborn puppies. While the neural processes involved in the development of maternal care behavior in postpartum female mice have been previously described, the current study addressed the question of which brain circuits are activated during the learning of care behavior in nulliparous virgin females who have not been pregnant.

The researchers found the answer in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a region in the prefrontal lobe of the brain that is associated, among other things, with recognizing and evaluating social processes and the development of emotional awareness. The mouse model showed that in females who have not been pregnant or given birth, the ACC is activated when they acquire maternal behavior upon first contact with pups.

Our observations have shown that through repeated experiences with pups, the virgin females are able to learn maternal behavior that is completely similar to that of their mothers after birth.”

Daniela Pollak, project manager

The study found that ACC activity during this learning process is controlled by an excitatory feedback circuit involving a specific group of neurons in a central brain region (the thalamus).

Learning through repeated experience

Maternal behavior is defined, among other things, by sensitivity and responsiveness to signals of child needs. It is displayed instinctively in virtually all mammals and upon first contact with newborns immediately after birth. In some species, such as rodents, even animals that have never given birth can exhibit maternal care behavior toward newborns. In this case, caring behavior, such as returning displaced pups from outside the nest back to the nest area where they are warm and protected from predators, is acquired through repeated experience with the pups.

We know, for example, from observations of adoptive parents that people can also learn parental behaviors. Various pathological conditions such as postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis can lead to changes in maternal behavior and disrupt the mother-infant bonding process.

“By showing that maternal behavior can be acquired and identifying the underlying neural circuits in the brain that control this acquisition, we create a potential basis for developing therapeutic options for these clinical situations,” says Daniela Pollak, outlining the translational relevance of the study results, which were achieved in collaboration with Tibor Harkany from the Department of Molecular Neurosciences at the Center for Brain Research at MedUni Vienna.

Source:

Medical University of Vienna

Reference:

Glat, M., et al. (2022) An accessory prefrontal cortex-thalamic circuit shapes maternal behavior in virgin female mice. The EMBO Journal. doi.org/10.15252/embj.2022111648.

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