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Chronic Sleep Deprivation in Mouse Pups by Means of Gentle Handling
Published on: October 11, 2018
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Is sleep critical for lactation in rat?
Florencia Peña1, Mayda Rivas1, Diego Serantes1
1Departamento de Fisiolog.ía, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la Rep..blica, General Flores 2125, Montevideo 11800, Uruguay.
Physiology & Behavior
|November 2, 2022
Summary
Sleep and nursing are compatible in mother rats, and sleep is not essential for milk ejection or pup weight gain. Gentle handling sleep deprivation disrupted maternal behavior more than deep brain electrical stimulation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Biology
- Reproductive Science
Background:
- Postpartum sleep deprivation is common in mammals.
- Previous studies suggested sleep is essential for milk ejection in rats.
- Common sleep deprivation methods involve aversive stimuli, causing stress.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between sleep and nursing in lactating rats.
- To compare the impact of two sleep deprivation methods on nursing and lactation.
- To challenge the necessity of sleep for milk ejection in postpartum rats.
Main Methods:
- Correlated sleep/waking states with nursing parameters in undisturbed rats.
- Administered sleep deprivation using gentle handling (GH) and deep brain electrical stimulation (DBES).
- Assessed maternal behavior, milk ejection, and pup weight gain.
Main Results:
- Sleeping time positively correlated with nursing time, but not milk ejection or pup weight gain.
- Sleep deprivation fragmented maternal behavior, with GH causing more disruption than DBES.
- Lactating rats could eject milk and pups gained weight despite sleep deprivation; GH reduced these parameters, while DBES did not differ from controls.
Conclusions:
- Sleep and nursing are behaviorally compatible during the postpartum period.
- Sleep is not essential for milk ejection or pup weight gain in lactating rats.
- DBES is a less disruptive method for sleep deprivation compared to GH, with implications for animal modeling.
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