Hidden Markov model analysis of maternal behavior patterns in inbred and reciprocal hybrid mice.

ABSTRACT: Individual variation in maternal care in mammals shows a significant heritable component, with the maternal behavior of daughters resembling that of their mothers. In laboratory mice, genetically distinct inbred strains show stable differences in maternal care during the first postnatal week. Moreover, cross fostering and reciprocal breeding studies demonstrate that differences in maternal care between inbred strains persist in the absence of genetic differences, demonstrating a non-genetic or epigenetic contribution to maternal behavior. In this study we applied a mathematical tool, called hidden Markov model (HMM), to analyze the behavior of female mice in the presence of their young. The frequency of several maternal behaviors in mice has been previously described, including nursing/gro

SUBMITTER: Carola V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3050935 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature