Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Neurobiology

To care or not to care

Nature volume 509, pages 294–295 (2014)Cite this article

Subjects

The behaviour of adult mice towards pups varies depending on gender and sexual experience. The activity of a population of neurons in the hypothalamus of the brain has now been found to regulate these differing responses. See Article p.325

The survival of vertebrates depends on their ability to display appropriate behaviour towards nearby individuals — for example, towards predators, prey or members of their own species. In some cases, escaping death depends on being able to trigger stereotyped responses in others. The immediate survival of newborn mammals, for instance, relies on their ability to induce a caring social response in their parents. On page 325 of this issue, Wu et al.1 identify a subset of neurons in the hypothalamus of the mouse brain that is essential for parental care.

Your institute does not have access to this article

Access options

Buy article

Get time limited or full article access on ReadCube.

$32.00

Buy

All prices are NET prices.

Figure 1: Modulating parenting behaviours in the presence of pups.

References

  1. Wu, Z., Autry, A. E., Bergan, J. F., Watabe-Uchida, M. & Dulac, C. G. et al. Nature 509, 325–330 (2014).

    ADS  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Lefèvre, C. F., Sharp, J. A. & Nicholas, K. R. Annu. Rev. Genom. Hum. Genet. 11, 219–238 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Bridges, R. S., DiBiase, R., Loundes, D. D. & Doherty, P. C. Science 227, 782–784 (1985).

    ADS  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Ferris, C. F., Delville, Y., Bonigut, S. & Miller, M. A. Brain Res. 832, 1–6 (1999).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Pusey, A. E. & Packer, C. in Infanticide and Parental Care (eds Parmigiani, S. & Vom Saal, F. S.) 277–299 (Harwood, 1994).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Perrigo, G., Belvin, L. & Vom Saal, F. S. Chronobiol. Int. 9, 421–433 (1992).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Bruce, H. M. Nature 184, 105 (1959).

    ADS  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Kimchi, T., Xu, J. & Dulac, C. Nature 448, 1009–1014 (2007).

    ADS  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Ferrero, D. M. et al. Nature 502, 368–371 (2013).

    ADS  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ivan Rodriguez is in the Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, CH-1205 Geneva, Switzerland.,

    Ivan Rodriguez

Authors
  1. Ivan Rodriguez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ivan Rodriguez.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Rodriguez, I. To care or not to care. Nature 509, 294–295 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/509294a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/509294a

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing