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Neuroendocrine Mechanisms Underlying the Intergenerational Transmission of Maternal Behavior and Infant Abuse in Rhesus Macaques

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Hormones and Social Behaviour

Part of the book series: Research and Perspectives in Endocrine Interactions ((RPEI))

Abstract

Parenting style in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) can vary dramatically among individuals along the two orthogonal dimensions of maternal protectiveness and maternal rejection. High rates of maternal rejection can be accompanied by infant abuse. We investigated the effects of exposure to variable parenting styles on offspring behavioral and neuroendocrine development to identify the possiblemechanisms underlying the intergenerational transmission of maternal behavior and infant abuse. Forty-three non-crossfostered male and female infants and 16 crossfostered female infants were followed through their first three years of life or until they reproduced for the first time. Half of the infants were reared by abusive mothers and half by nonabusive controls. Cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of the serotonin metabolite, 5-HIAA, were measured at six-month intervals. Abused infants were rejected more by their mothers than controls, and infants exposed to higher rates of maternal rejection had significantly lower CSF 5-HIAA in the first three years of life.When the crossfostered females gave birth for the first time, their rates of maternal rejection matched those of their fostermothers and were negatively correlated with CSF 5-HIAA. Approximately half of the females reared by the abusive mothers exhibited abusive parenting, whereas none of the females reared by controls did. The abused females who became abusivemothers had lower CSF 5-HIAA than the abused females who did not. These findings provide evidence that maternal rejection and infant abuse are transmitted across generations and suggest that experience-induced, long-termalterations in brain serotonergic function may play an important role in the intergenerational transmission of normal and abnormal parenting.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Comparative Human Development, The University of Chicago, 60637, Chicago, IL, USA

    Dario Maestripieri

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  1. Dario Maestripieri
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Lab. Neurobiology & Behavior, Rockefeller University, 1230 York Ave, 10021, New York, NY, USA

    Donald W. Pfaff

  2. Institut Necker, 156, rue de Vaugirard, 75015, Paris, France

    Claude Kordon

  3. Endocrinology and Reproductive Diseases, University Hospital Bicêtre, 78, rue du Général Leclerc, 94275, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France

    Philippe Chanson

  4. Pour la Recherche Thérapeutique, Fondation IPSEN, 24, rue Erlanger, 75781, Paris, France

    Yves Christen

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Maestripieri, D. (2008). Neuroendocrine Mechanisms Underlying the Intergenerational Transmission of Maternal Behavior and Infant Abuse in Rhesus Macaques. In: Pfaff, D., Kordon, C., Chanson, P., Christen, Y. (eds) Hormones and Social Behaviour. Research and Perspectives in Endocrine Interactions. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79288-8_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79288-8_9

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