Maternal influences on body temperature in the infant primate

Abstract

The following study investigated the diurnal variation in body temperature of the young monkey infant and assessed the role that the mother plays in the development of the temperature rhythm. Using an implantable biotelemetry system, core body temperature and motoric activity were evaluated in maternally-reared and hand-reared rhesus monkey infants across the first several months of life. Our results indicated that the nocturnal temperatures of hand-reared infants are lower than those of mother-reared infants at one month of age, and that there are persistant differences in the orientation and shape of the diurnal temperature rhythm. The initial thermal challenge and the prolonged rhythm shift may have implications for the normal development of several physiological systems in the hand-reared infant monkey.