Effects of elevated circulating cortisol concentrations on maternal behavior in common marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus)

Abstract

Both acute and chronic stress can impair maternal behavior and increase rates of infant abuse in several species. The mechanisms inducing these effects are unknown, but experimental manipulation of circulating corticosterone levels alters maternal behavior in rats, and circulating or excreted cortisol concentrations have been found to correlate either positively or negatively with maternal behavior in humans and nonhuman primates. In this study, therefore, we experimentally tested the hypothesis that both acute and chronic treatment with exogenous glucocorticoids would alter maternal behavior in a primate, the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). Multiparous females, approximately 3-5 weeks postpartum, received daily injections of either cortisol (hydrocortisone sodium succinate and hydrocortisone acetate; N=7) or vehicle (N=7) for 8 days, and maternal behavior was characterized under baseline conditions as well as during exposure to a noise stressor. Cortisol treatment successfully elevated both morning and afternoon plasma cortisol concentrations and suppressed circulating levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone. In home-cage observations, cortisol-treated females carried their infants significantly less than control mothers, and in noise-stressor tests, several hours after the first cortisol or vehicle treatment, cortisol-treated mothers inspected their infants significantly more often than controls. Aggression towards infants was infrequent and mild, and did not differ between treatment groups. These findings provide the first experimental evidence that cortisol elevations can alter maternal behavior in primates. As these effects were limited in scope, however, they suggest that other stress-responsive hormones or neuropeptides may additionally play a role in mediating the effects of stress on maternal behavior.