Sex differences in the parental behavior of rodents

The reproductive strategy of many mammalian species that give birth to altr icial young involves intense and prolonged care of their offspring. In most cases, the mother provides all nurturance, but in some cases fathers, olde r siblings, or unrelated conspecifics participate in parental care. The dis play of these behaviors by animals other than mothers is affected by numero us factors, including their sex. We herein review the literature on similar ities and/or differences between male and female laboratory rodents (rats, mice, voles, gerbils, and hamsters) in their parental responsiveness and di scuss how the parental behavior of males and females is influenced by hormo nes, developmental processes, and prior social experiences. Understanding t he mechanisms that generate sex differences in the parental responsiveness of rodents may indicate how similar sex differences in parental care are ge nerated in other mammals. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserve d.