Laura I. Zimmerman

Effects of chronic and acute cocaine treatment on the onset of maternal behavior and aggression in Sprague-Dawley rats

Pregnant rats were treated either throughout gestation (GD 1-20) with 30 mg/kg per day (chronic cocaine) or with one 15-mg/kg dose immediately following parturition (acute cocaine). Chronic and acute cocaine treatment delayed or diminished the postpartum onset of some components of maternal behavior, and chronically treated dams were significantly more aggressive toward a male intruder than acute cocaine-treated or saline-treated dams. Cocaine increased the latency to crouch over pups and decreased crouch duration during a 30-min observation period that immediately followed parturition. Latencies to nest build were also longer in more chronic cocaine-treated dams than in saline controls. On Day 6 postpartum, 83% of chronic cocaine-treated dams pinned and attacked an intruder male 8 or more times during a 10-min observation period, whereas only 4% of acute cocaine-treated and none of the saline-treated dams exhibited this much aggression.

Effects of Short- and Long-Term Withdrawal from Gestational Cocaine Treatment on Maternal Behavior and Aggression in Sprague-Dawley Rats

Pregnant rats were treated with 30 mg/kg per day cocaine or normal saline either throughout gestation (GD 1-20, cocaine and saline withdrawal) or throughout the gestation and continuing into lactation for 10 days postpartum (cocaine and saline nonwithdrawal). All cocaine-treated dams exhibited more disruptions in the onset of maternal behavior (retrieval, licking, crouching) and were more aggressive (threats and attacks) towards an intruder on postpartum day 6 than saline-treated dams. There were no significant differences in these behaviors between withdrawn and nonwithdrawn cocaine-treated dams. These findings indicate that changes in maternal behavior following chronic moderate cocaine treatment are not simply the result of withdrawal from cocaine treatment following gestation and that other possible mechanisms should be examined.

Recreation and the retention decisions of armed forces personnel

Abstract This article proposes a theoretical model that describes the effects of recreation on an individuals decision to remain in a career, specifically in the U.S. Navy. A second purpose is to develop and test an empirical model that includes a variety of leisure and recreation factors that potentially impact on the retention decisions. The findings of this analysis are compared with previous studies on retention, recreation, and the Armed Forces. Partial Least Squares (PLS) is the structural modeling technique ultimately imposed and empirically tested on a random stratified subsample (n = 869) of active duty Navy personnel. The instrument from which the data are drawn, the U.S. Navy Leisure Needs Survey, is a researcher‐constructed, self‐reported, forced‐choice questionnaire. Generally, the model of the effects of recreation tested in the study tended to be confirmed, supporting the proposition that perceptions of Navy recreation and club programs and facilities indirectly, but positively, influence ...