2026-09-19T14:06:41Z hull-repository.worktribe.com

oai:hull-repository.worktribe.com:4213858 2026-07-21T15:17:31Z 084104101115105115 openaccess

Thesis Maternal pheromone in the rat An integrated series of experiments was conducted to investigate an initial failure to replicate the maternal pheromone effect in the rat. It examined:1. Apparatus parameters (airflow rate)2. Pup factors (age, pre-test maternal deprivation, early experience)3. Maternal factors (diet, strains; PVG/C, Wistar, Sprague-Dawley)Publications on the maternal pheromone present a miriad of problems; methodological, conceptual and statistical, and a visit to two of the North American laboratories, where work on the pheromone is being pursued, failed to resolve these difficulties. The phenomenon is not as robust as the literature would suggest.Final experiments, using a simplified method, showed that pre-weanling rats are influenced by olfactory cues; throughout the whole study the young had shown a slight preference for maternally derived odours.Use of the term "pheromone", in connection with mammalian behaviour, is criticised. In particular it is concluded, that there is insufficient evidence to support the existence of a maternal pheromone in the rat. Clegg, Frances Margaret PhD Doctoral 1979-05-01 Williams, D. I. (David Islwyn) University of Hull oai:hull-repository.worktribe.com:4213858 https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/4213858/1/Thesis University of Hull British Federation of Women Graduates Psychology https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4213858 1979 en openAccess Public