Myron A Hofer
Biographic Data
| ID | 5804295 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Myron A Hofer |
| GIVEN NAMES | Myron A |
| FAMILY NAME | Hofer |
| SIGNATURE | HOFER M A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Albert Einstein College of Medicine |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 26 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 3 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 26 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1964 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Family nurture intervention for preterm infants facilitates positive mother–infant face-to-face engagement at 4 months
Although preterm infants are at risk for social deficits, interventions to improve mother-infant interaction in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are not part of standard care (SC). Study participants were a subset from a randomized controlled trial of a new intervention for premature infants, the Family Nurture Intervention (FNI), designed to help mothers and infants establish an emotional connection. At infants' 4 months corrected age, mo…
Animal Models in Psychosomatic Research
On the Nature and Consequences of Early Loss
OBJECTIVE: To describe how an animal model system can be used to explore basic questions about the nature of loss and the effects of early loss on later vulnerability to disease. METHOD: The physiological and behavioral responses of infant rats to separation from their mothers are first described and then analyzed experimentally into component mechanisms. RESULTS: These studies have revealed an extensive layer of processes underlying the psycholo…
Relationships as Regulators
New Members
Minutes of the 1983 Business Meeting
The Effects of Maternal Deprivation and of Refeeding on the Blood Pressure of Infant Rats1
Blood pressure regulation was explored in infant rats 12-14 days of age during the 30-40% changes in cardiac rate that accompany nutrient (maternal) deprivation and refeeding at this age. Using specially modified tail cuff and intraarterial cannulation techniques, blood pressure was found to be maintained at stable levels (65-75 mm Hg) throughout these marked changes in pumping rate. The results suggest that adrenergic vasoconstrictor tone is con…
Some Thoughts on “The Transduction of Experience” from a Developmental Perspective
From the Departments of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Montefiore Hospital & Medical Center, 111 East 210th Street, Bronx, New York 10467
Effects of Reserpine and Amphetamine on the Development of Hyperactivity in Maternally Deprived Rat Pups
Maternal deprivation for 24 hr is known to produce hyperactivity in 2-week-old infant rats kept at nest temperature. Pretreatment with reserpine (0.5 mg/kg), at the time of separation, prevented the development of hyperactivity over the ensuing 24-hr, whereas the same dose in mothered littermates had no residual effects on behavior the next day. d-Amphetamine (0.25 and 2.0 mg/kg) produced dose-dependent increases in locomotion and rearing and dec…
Sleep and Temperature Regulation During Restraint Stress in Rats is Affected by Prior Maternal Separation
During restraint stress, 30-day-old rats uniformly show an abrupt and persistent decrease in activity with a corresponding increase in quiet wakefulness. However, the effect of restraint on sleep and body temperature depends on whether maternal separation had previously occurred at the customary age (day 22) or 7 days earleir (day 15). If maternal separation took place on day 22, subsequent restraint on day 30 has no effect on the amount of time …
Survival and Development of Maternally Deprived Rats
Rat pups, 10-12 days old, survived maternal deprivation if kept warm at 35 degrees, but died within 6 days if allowed to become hypothermic at a room temperature of 23 degrees. Normal body temperatures facilitated feeding, but even without food, warm pups survived starvation longer than cool ones. Increased survival could not be attributed to decreased oxygen consumption, and warm pups lost more body water and solids than cool pups. Striking diff…
Studies on How Early Maternal Separation Produces Behavioral Change in Young Rats
Previously published studies point to the behavioral interaction between the mother and her litter as the origin of the processes responsible for the behavioral hyperactivity following maternal separation in 2-week-old rats. The following experiments explore (1) the time course over which behavioral hyperactivity develops, (2) environmental and social determinants, (3) the role of sensory stimulation in the regulation of behavior and (4) the olfa…
Physiological Mechanisms for Cardiac Control by Nutritional Intake after Early Maternal Separation in the Young Rat
Series of analytic experiments are presented that explore possible physiological mechanisms for the control of cardiac rate by nutritional intake in the pre-weanling rat. The essential properties of the nutrient and the first site of action were studied by using fluids of different pH, osmolality and chemical composition administered intravenously as well as intragastrically. Several probable effector pathways were explored: neuroendocrine (adren…
Imprinting
Age at Maternal Separation and Gastric Erosion Susceptibility in the Rat
The development of susceptibility to immobilization-induced gastric erosions was studied in laboratory rats previously separated from their mothers at 15, 21 or 25 days of age. Early separation (day 15) produced animals whose maximum susceptibility occurred at a much younger age, generated a susceptibility curve over life that was the inverse of the curve for animals separated later and led to severe gastrointestinal hemorrhage as a common and di…
The Role of Nutrition in the Physiological and Behavioral Effects of Early Maternal Separation on Infant Rats
Two week old rat pups were separated from their mothers and fed milk through previously implanted gastric cannulas at 3 different constant infusion rates for 24 h. A 4th group remained unfed. Cardiac and respiratory rates fell 40% in the unfed group and were maintained by the higher infusion rates. A close overall relationship was found between weight change and changes in cardiac rate (r = 0.79) and respiratory rate (r = 0.54). In contrast, the …
Behavioral and Physiologic Effects of Littermate Removal on the Remaining Single Pup and Mother During the Pre-Weaning Period in Rats
Wistar rat litters were reduced to a single pup shortly after birth. Prior to 10 days of age, this procedure generally resulted in inanition and death of the remaining pup, but by the 12th postnatal day 100% survived. Mothers increased the proportion of time spent with ‘singletons’ to 70-100% and showed more licking of the singleton and maintenance of a nursing posture than controls. Single pups showed increased stimulation of the mother, self-gr…
Biological Rhythms in Psychiatry and Medicine
A Psychoendocrine Study of Bereavement
This study reports 17-hydroxycorticosteroid excretion rates of 40 parents during the 2 years following the death of their children from leukemia. Overall group mean rates remained unchanged, but this apparent stability was the result of an interaction between individuals with low rates during the child's illness, who significantly increased their rates at follow-up return visits to NIH, and those with high values pre-loss, who showed a significan…
A Psychoendocrine Study of Bereavement
This paper reports psychologic observations on previously studied parents of leukemic children during the period of bereavement. Thirty-six parents returned to the hospital after 6 months and 21 returned at 2 years after their child's death for interviewing and urine collections. Extensive notes on structured interviews made without knowledge of the biochemical data revealed reliable differences between those parents in the highest quartile of ad…
Development and Mechanisms of Cardiorespiratory Responses to Maternal Deprivation in Rat Pups
Cardiac and respiratory rates and an index of activity were recorded in rat pups separated from their mothers for 24 hours at 4, 14 and 21 days after birth. The cardiac and respiratory rates of pups separated at 14 days fell by 40%, while he percentage of time they were active was unchanged. In younger pups, the major response was respiratory, while 3-week-old pups showed only marginal trends in these measures. Experiments on 2-week-old pups with…
Cardiac and Respiratory Function During Sudden Prolonged Immobility in Wild Rodents
Recently captured wild rodents of six different species were tested in a standard “open field” arena where they were subjected to sudden visual and auditory stimulation as well as to a natural predator. Periods of prolonged immobility ranging from 2 to more than 60 minutes' duration were elicited in 21 members of four species. This behavioral state was accompanied by very low heart rates and a high incidence of cardiac arrhythmias. Nine members o…
The Development of Cardiac Rate Regulation in Preweanling Rats
Cardiac rate was recorded by lightweight leads from unrestrained pups under 4 conditions: in the home cage litter situation, while being picked up by the experimenter, during 6 min alone in a novel environment, and in response to a startle stimulus. Resting heart rates in the litter showed evidence of high sympathetic activity during the second week of life; cardiac responses to stimulation were consistently deceleratory. By 20 days, the adult pa…
Relationship Between Psychological Defenses and Mean Urinary 17-Hydroxycorticosteroid Excretion Rates
Thirty-one parents of children suffering from fatal illnesses were studied psychologically. Urinary 17-hydroxycorticosteroid (17-OHCS) levels were measured concurrently. Throughout the extended crisis, these parents had characteristic mean 17-OHCS excretion rates along the continuum from high to low excretion. The hypothesis was tested that the more effectively a parent defends against the threat of loss, the lower will be his mean 17-OHCS excret…
Conditioned Diuresis in Man
It has been possible to produce water diuresis in human subjects by the repetition of certain portions of a sequence which had repeatedly accompanied the ingestion of 750-cc. water loads. The environment used during conditioning was important for elicitation of the response. “Anticipatory” responses rarely occurred under conditions of regular reinforcement, but when the subjects became aroused during the experiments, or when schedules of reinforc…
Family nurture intervention for preterm infants facilitates positive mother–infant face-to-face engagement at 4 months
Although preterm infants are at risk for social deficits, interventions to improve mother-infant interaction in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are not part of standard care (SC). Study participants were a subset from a randomized controlled trial of a new intervention for premature infants, the Family Nurture Intervention (FNI), designed to help mothers and infants establish an emotional connection. At infants' 4 months corrected age, mo…
Relationship Between Psychological Defenses and Mean Urinary 17-Hydroxycorticosteroid Excretion Rates
Thirty-one parents of children suffering from fatal illnesses were studied psychologically. Urinary 17-hydroxycorticosteroid (17-OHCS) levels were measured concurrently. Throughout the extended crisis, these parents had characteristic mean 17-OHCS excretion rates along the continuum from high to low excretion. The hypothesis was tested that the more effectively a parent defends against the threat of loss, the lower will be his mean 17-OHCS excret…
Conditioned Diuresis in Man
It has been possible to produce water diuresis in human subjects by the repetition of certain portions of a sequence which had repeatedly accompanied the ingestion of 750-cc. water loads. The environment used during conditioning was important for elicitation of the response. “Anticipatory” responses rarely occurred under conditions of regular reinforcement, but when the subjects became aroused during the experiments, or when schedules of reinforc…
Relationship Between Psychological Defenses and Mean Urinary 17-Hydroxycorticosteroid Excretion Rates
The previous paper reported that it was possible to predict the mean urinary 17-hydroxycorticosteroid (17-OHCS) excretion rates of parents of fatally ill children on the basis of an evaluation of the effectiveness of their defenses. This report presents in detail the methods used to make predictions. The criteria of effective defense and the interviewing methods are described, and the process of predicting and the problems related to it are discu…
The Development of Cardiac Rate Regulation in Preweanling Rats
Cardiac rate was recorded by lightweight leads from unrestrained pups under 4 conditions: in the home cage litter situation, while being picked up by the experimenter, during 6 min alone in a novel environment, and in response to a startle stimulus. Resting heart rates in the litter showed evidence of high sympathetic activity during the second week of life; cardiac responses to stimulation were consistently deceleratory. By 20 days, the adult pa…
Cardiac and Respiratory Function During Sudden Prolonged Immobility in Wild Rodents
Recently captured wild rodents of six different species were tested in a standard “open field” arena where they were subjected to sudden visual and auditory stimulation as well as to a natural predator. Periods of prolonged immobility ranging from 2 to more than 60 minutes' duration were elicited in 21 members of four species. This behavioral state was accompanied by very low heart rates and a high incidence of cardiac arrhythmias. Nine members o…
Development and Mechanisms of Cardiorespiratory Responses to Maternal Deprivation in Rat Pups
Cardiac and respiratory rates and an index of activity were recorded in rat pups separated from their mothers for 24 hours at 4, 14 and 21 days after birth. The cardiac and respiratory rates of pups separated at 14 days fell by 40%, while he percentage of time they were active was unchanged. In younger pups, the major response was respiratory, while 3-week-old pups showed only marginal trends in these measures. Experiments on 2-week-old pups with…
Biological Rhythms in Psychiatry and Medicine
A Psychoendocrine Study of Bereavement
This study reports 17-hydroxycorticosteroid excretion rates of 40 parents during the 2 years following the death of their children from leukemia. Overall group mean rates remained unchanged, but this apparent stability was the result of an interaction between individuals with low rates during the child's illness, who significantly increased their rates at follow-up return visits to NIH, and those with high values pre-loss, who showed a significan…
A Psychoendocrine Study of Bereavement
This paper reports psychologic observations on previously studied parents of leukemic children during the period of bereavement. Thirty-six parents returned to the hospital after 6 months and 21 returned at 2 years after their child's death for interviewing and urine collections. Extensive notes on structured interviews made without knowledge of the biochemical data revealed reliable differences between those parents in the highest quartile of ad…
The Role of Nutrition in the Physiological and Behavioral Effects of Early Maternal Separation on Infant Rats
Two week old rat pups were separated from their mothers and fed milk through previously implanted gastric cannulas at 3 different constant infusion rates for 24 h. A 4th group remained unfed. Cardiac and respiratory rates fell 40% in the unfed group and were maintained by the higher infusion rates. A close overall relationship was found between weight change and changes in cardiac rate (r = 0.79) and respiratory rate (r = 0.54). In contrast, the …
Behavioral and Physiologic Effects of Littermate Removal on the Remaining Single Pup and Mother During the Pre-Weaning Period in Rats
Wistar rat litters were reduced to a single pup shortly after birth. Prior to 10 days of age, this procedure generally resulted in inanition and death of the remaining pup, but by the 12th postnatal day 100% survived. Mothers increased the proportion of time spent with ‘singletons’ to 70-100% and showed more licking of the singleton and maintenance of a nursing posture than controls. Single pups showed increased stimulation of the mother, self-gr…
Studies on How Early Maternal Separation Produces Behavioral Change in Young Rats
Previously published studies point to the behavioral interaction between the mother and her litter as the origin of the processes responsible for the behavioral hyperactivity following maternal separation in 2-week-old rats. The following experiments explore (1) the time course over which behavioral hyperactivity develops, (2) environmental and social determinants, (3) the role of sensory stimulation in the regulation of behavior and (4) the olfa…
Physiological Mechanisms for Cardiac Control by Nutritional Intake after Early Maternal Separation in the Young Rat
Series of analytic experiments are presented that explore possible physiological mechanisms for the control of cardiac rate by nutritional intake in the pre-weanling rat. The essential properties of the nutrient and the first site of action were studied by using fluids of different pH, osmolality and chemical composition administered intravenously as well as intragastrically. Several probable effector pathways were explored: neuroendocrine (adren…
Imprinting
Age at Maternal Separation and Gastric Erosion Susceptibility in the Rat
The development of susceptibility to immobilization-induced gastric erosions was studied in laboratory rats previously separated from their mothers at 15, 21 or 25 days of age. Early separation (day 15) produced animals whose maximum susceptibility occurred at a much younger age, generated a susceptibility curve over life that was the inverse of the curve for animals separated later and led to severe gastrointestinal hemorrhage as a common and di…
Survival and Development of Maternally Deprived Rats
Rat pups, 10-12 days old, survived maternal deprivation if kept warm at 35 degrees, but died within 6 days if allowed to become hypothermic at a room temperature of 23 degrees. Normal body temperatures facilitated feeding, but even without food, warm pups survived starvation longer than cool ones. Increased survival could not be attributed to decreased oxygen consumption, and warm pups lost more body water and solids than cool pups. Striking diff…
Sleep and Temperature Regulation During Restraint Stress in Rats is Affected by Prior Maternal Separation
During restraint stress, 30-day-old rats uniformly show an abrupt and persistent decrease in activity with a corresponding increase in quiet wakefulness. However, the effect of restraint on sleep and body temperature depends on whether maternal separation had previously occurred at the customary age (day 22) or 7 days earleir (day 15). If maternal separation took place on day 22, subsequent restraint on day 30 has no effect on the amount of time …
Effects of Reserpine and Amphetamine on the Development of Hyperactivity in Maternally Deprived Rat Pups
Maternal deprivation for 24 hr is known to produce hyperactivity in 2-week-old infant rats kept at nest temperature. Pretreatment with reserpine (0.5 mg/kg), at the time of separation, prevented the development of hyperactivity over the ensuing 24-hr, whereas the same dose in mothered littermates had no residual effects on behavior the next day. d-Amphetamine (0.25 and 2.0 mg/kg) produced dose-dependent increases in locomotion and rearing and dec…
Some Thoughts on “The Transduction of Experience” from a Developmental Perspective
From the Departments of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Montefiore Hospital & Medical Center, 111 East 210th Street, Bronx, New York 10467
New Members
Minutes of the 1983 Business Meeting
The Effects of Maternal Deprivation and of Refeeding on the Blood Pressure of Infant Rats1
Blood pressure regulation was explored in infant rats 12-14 days of age during the 30-40% changes in cardiac rate that accompany nutrient (maternal) deprivation and refeeding at this age. Using specially modified tail cuff and intraarterial cannulation techniques, blood pressure was found to be maintained at stable levels (65-75 mm Hg) throughout these marked changes in pumping rate. The results suggest that adrenergic vasoconstrictor tone is con…
Relationships as Regulators
Animal Models in Psychosomatic Research
On the Nature and Consequences of Early Loss
OBJECTIVE: To describe how an animal model system can be used to explore basic questions about the nature of loss and the effects of early loss on later vulnerability to disease. METHOD: The physiological and behavioral responses of infant rats to separation from their mothers are first described and then analyzed experimentally into component mechanisms. RESULTS: These studies have revealed an extensive layer of processes underlying the psycholo…
Medicine (19 works) · Psychology (18 works) · Internal Medicine (16 works) · Internal Medicine (16 works) · Stress Responses and Cortisol (13 works) · Endocrinology (12 works) · Endocrinology (12 works) · Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior (8 works) · Adipose Tissue and Metabolism (7 works) · Biology (7 works)