Dataset Information

Social selectivity and social motivation in voles.

ABSTRACT: Selective relationships are fundamental to humans and many other animals, but relationships between mates, family members, or peers may be mediated differently. We examined connections between social reward and social selectivity, aggression, and oxytocin receptor signaling pathways in rodents that naturally form enduring, selective relationships with mates and peers (monogamous prairie voles) or peers (group-living meadow voles). Female prairie and meadow voles worked harder to access familiar versus unfamiliar individuals, regardless of sex, and huddled extensively with familiar subjects. Male prairie voles displayed strongly selective huddling preferences for familiar animals, but only worked harder to repeatedly access females versus males, with no difference in effort by familiarity. This reveals a striking sex difference in pathways underlying social monogamy and demonstrates a fundamental disconnect between motivation and social selectivity in males-a distinction not detected by the partner preference test. Meadow voles exhibited social preferences but low social motivation, consistent with tolerance rather than reward supporting social groups in this species. Natural variation in oxytocin receptor binding predicted individual variation in prosocial and aggressive behaviors. These results provide a basis for understanding species, sex, and individual differences in the mechanisms underlying the role of social reward in social preference.

SUBMITTER: Beery AK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8594915 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Social selectivity and social motivation in voles.

Beery Annaliese K AK Lopez Sarah A SA Blandino Katrina L KL Lee Nicole S NS Bourdon Natalie S NS

eLife 20211102

Selective relationships are fundamental to humans and many other animals, but relationships between mates, family members, or peers may be mediated differently. We examined connections between social reward and social selectivity, aggression, and oxytocin receptor signaling pathways in rodents that naturally form enduring, selective relationships with mates and peers (monogamous prairie voles) or peers (group-living meadow voles). Female prairie and meadow voles worked harder to access familiar ...[more]

PMID: 34726153

Similar Datasets

Project description:Cesarean delivery is associated with diminished plasma levels of several 'birth-signaling' hormones, such as oxytocin and vasopressin. These same hormones have been previously shown to exert organizational effects when acting in early life. For example, our previous work found a broadly gregarious phenotype in prairie voles exposed to oxytocin at birth. Meanwhile, cesarean delivery has been previously associated with changes in social behavior and metabolic processes related to oxytocin and vasopressin. In the present study, we investigated the long-term neurodevelopmental consequences of cesarean delivery in prairie voles. After cross-fostering, vole pups delivered either via cesarean or vaginal delivery were studied throughout development. Cesarean-delivered pups responded to isolation differently in terms of their vocalizations (albeit in opposite directions in the two experiments), huddled in less cohesive groups under warmed conditions, and shed less heat. As young adults, we observed no differences in anxiety-like or alloparental behavior. However, in adulthood, cesarean-delivered voles of both sexes failed to form partner preferences with opposite sex conspecifics. In a follow-up study, we replicated this deficit in partner-preference formation among cesarean-delivered voles and were able to normalize pair-bonding behavior by treating cesarean-delivered vole pups with oxytocin (0.25 mg/kg) at delivery. Finally, we detected minor differences in regional oxytocin receptor expression within the brains of cesarean-delivered voles, as well as microbial composition of the gut. Gene expression changes in the gut epithelium indicated that cesarean-delivered male voles have altered gut development. These results speak to the possibility of unintended developmental consequences of cesarean delivery, which currently accounts for 32.9 % of deliveries in the U.S. and suggest that further research should be directed at whether hormone replacement at delivery influences behavioral outcomes in later life.

Dataset Information

Social selectivity and social motivation in voles.

Publications

Social selectivity and social motivation in voles.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets