Cortisol Concentrations in the Milk of Rhesus Monkey Mothers are Associated with Confident Temperament in Sons, but not Daughters

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Dev Psychobiol
• Personal Author:
  Sullivan, Erin ; Hinde, Katie ; Mendoza, Sally P. ; Capitanio, John P.
• Description:
  One pathway by which infant mammals gain information about their environment is through ingestion of milk. We assessed the relationship between stress-induced cortisol concentrations in milk, maternal and offspring plasma, and offspring temperament in rhesus monkeys. Milk was collected from mothers after a brief separation from their infants at 3-4 months postpartum, and blood was drawn at this time for both mothers and infants. Offspring temperament was measured at the end of a 25-hr assessment. Cortisol concentrations in milk were in a range comparable to those found in saliva, and were positively correlated with maternal plasma levels. Mothers of males had higher cortisol concentrations in milk than did mothers of females, and cortisol concentrations in maternal milk were related to a Confident temperament factor in sons, but not daughters. This study provides the first evidence that naturally occurring variation in endogenous glucocorticoid concentrations in milk are associated with infant temperament.
• Subjects:
  Animals Article Behavior, Animal Female Hydrocortisone Infant Development Lactation Macaca Mulatta Male Maternal Programming Milk Personality Sex Characteristics Temperament

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• Source:
  Dev Psychobiol. 53(1):96-104
• Pubmed ID:
  20730788
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC3188439
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  RR000169/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/United States ; R24 RR019970-07/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/United States ; R24 RR019970/NCRR NIH HHS/National Center for Research Resources/United States ; R24 OD010962/ODCDC CDC HHS/Office of the Director/United States ; P51 RR000169-49/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/United States ; P51 RR000169/NCRR NIH HHS/National Center for Research Resources/United States ; RR019970/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/United States
• Volume:
  53
• Issue:
  1
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:28e1ec18607d0fda00955dd596face6c4179ff78b50458ee1f3ba075ab5bdfca
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/80227/cdc_80227_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 368.75 KB ]