Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted ascending) Filter |
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| inhaled oxytocin amplifies both vicarious reinforcement and self reinforcement in rhesus macaques (macaca mulatta). | people attend not only to their own experiences, but also to the experiences of those around them. such social awareness profoundly influences human behavior by enabling observational learning, as well as by motivating cooperation, charity, empathy, and spite. oxytocin (ot), a neurosecretory hormone synthesized by hypothalamic neurons in the mammalian brain, can enhance affiliation or boost exclusion in different species in distinct contexts, belying any simple mechanistic neural model. here we ... | 2012 | 22215593 |
| bac-based sequencing of behaviorally-relevant genes in the prairie vole. | the prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster) is an important model organism for the study of social behavior, yet our ability to correlate genes and behavior in this species has been limited due to a lack of genetic and genomic resources. here we report the bac-based targeted sequencing of behaviorally-relevant genes and flanking regions in the prairie vole. a total of 6.4 mb of non-redundant or haplotype-specific sequence assemblies were generated that span the partial or complete sequence of 21 beh ... | 2012 | 22238603 |
| oxytocin receptor density is associated with male mating tactics and social monogamy. | despite its well-described role in female affiliation, the influence of oxytocin on male pairbonding is largely unknown. however, recent human studies indicate that this nonapeptide has a potent influence on male behaviors commonly associated with monogamy. here we investigated the distribution of oxytocin receptors (otr) throughout the forebrain of the socially monogamous male prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster). because males vary in both sexual and spatial fidelity, we explored the extent to ... | 2012 | 22285648 |
| neuroendocrine and behavioural responses to exposure to an infant in male prairie voles. | paternal behaviour and pair-bond formation are defining characteristics of social monogamy. however, in comparison to pair-bonding, the endocrine factors associated with the male care of young are not well studied. in the present study, plasma concentrations of oxytocin, vasopressin and corticosterone (cort) were measured in reproductively naïve male prairie voles as a function of exposure to an infant or control manipulations (i.e. handling or exposure to a wooden dowel). plasma oxytocin concen ... | 2012 | 22356098 |
| buffering and plasticity in vital rates of oldfield rodents. | 1. under the hypothesis of environmental buffering, populations are expected to minimize the variance of the most influential vital rates; however, this may not be a universal principle. species with a life span <1 year may be less likely to exhibit buffering because of temporal or seasonal variability in vital rate sensitivities. further, plasticity in vital rates may be adaptive for species in a variable environment with reliable cues. 2. we tested for environmental buffering and plasticity in ... | 2012 | 22375923 |
| deltafosb is increased in the nucleus accumbens by amphetamine but not social housing or isolation in the prairie vole. | the nucleus accumbens is a key region that mediates aspects of immediate and long-term adaptations to various stimuli. for example, both repeated amphetamine and pair-bonding increase dopamine d1 receptor binding in the nucleus accumbens of the monogamous prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster). this upregulation has significant and stimulus-dependent behavioral consequences. a promising candidate for these and other adaptations is the transcription factor δfosb. δfosb is a highly stable protein tha ... | 2012 | 22450232 |
| social isolation impairs adult neurogenesis in the limbic system and alters behaviors in female prairie voles. | disruptions in the social environment, such as social isolation, are distressing and can induce various behavioral and neural changes in the distressed animal. we conducted a series of experiments to test the hypothesis that long-term social isolation affects brain plasticity and alters behavior in the highly social prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster). in experiment 1, adult female prairie voles were injected with a cell division marker, 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (brdu), and then same-sex pair-hou ... | 2012 | 22465453 |
| chronic social isolation in the prairie vole induces endothelial dysfunction: implications for depression and cardiovascular disease. | humans with depression show impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation; one recent demonstration of which was in the form of a reduced acetylcholine (ach)-induced relaxation of adrenergically-precontracted small arteries biopsied from older depressed patients. results from such uses of ach in general have been validated as the most predictive marker of endothelium-related cardiovascular diseases. accordingly, we examined vascular reactivity to ach in the socially isolated prairie vole, a new an ... | 2012 | 22469565 |
| is it all in the family? the effects of early social structure on neural-behavioral systems of prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster). | the transition to parenthood is generally associated with a reduction in anxiety or anxiety-like behavior across a wide range of species. in some species, juveniles provide supplementary parental care for younger siblings, a behavior known as alloparenting. although the fitness consequences of alloparenting behavior have been a focus of evolutionary research, less is known about how alloparenting behavior impacts affective states. in the socially monogamous prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster), m ... | 2012 | 22561732 |
| κ-opioid receptors within the nucleus accumbens shell mediate pair bond maintenance. | the prairie vole is a socially monogamous species in which breeder pairs typically show strong and selective pair bonds. the establishment of a pair bond is associated with a behavioral transition from general affiliation to aggressive rejection of novel conspecifics. this "selective aggression" is indicative of mate guarding that is necessary to maintain the initial pair bond. in the laboratory, the neurobiology of this behavior is studied using resident-intruder testing. although it is well es ... | 2012 | 22593047 |
| generation of induced pluripotent stem cells from the prairie vole. | the vast majority of animals mate more or less promiscuously. a few mammals, including humans, utilize more restrained mating strategies that entail a longer term affiliation with a single mating partner. such pair bonding mating strategies have been resistant to genetic analysis because of a lack of suitable model organisms. prairie voles are small mouse-like rodents that form enduring pair bonds in the wild as well as in the laboratory, and consequently they have been used widely to study soci ... | 2012 | 22675440 |
| the role of early life experience and species differences in alcohol intake in microtine rodents. | social relationships have important effects on alcohol drinking. there are conflicting reports, however, about whether early-life family structure plays an important role in moderating alcohol use in humans. we have previously modeled social facilitation of alcohol drinking in peers in socially monogamous prairie voles. we have also modeled the effects of family structure on the development of adult social and emotional behaviors. here we assessed whether alcohol intake would differ in prairie v ... | 2012 | 22745824 |
| the integration of depressive behaviors and cardiac dysfunction during an operational measure of depression: investigating the role of negative social experiences in an animal model. | there is a bidirectional association between depression and cardiovascular disease. the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this association may involve an inability to cope with disrupted social bonds. this study investigated in an animal model the integration of depressive behaviors and cardiac dysfunction after a disrupted social bond and during an operational measure of depression, relative to the protective effects of intact social bonds. | 2017 | 22753634 |
| monogamous and promiscuous rodent species exhibit discrete variation in the size of the medial prefrontal cortex. | limbic-associated cortical areas, such as the medial prefrontal and retrosplenial cortex (mpfc and rs, respectively), are involved in the processing of emotion, motivation, and various aspects of working memory and have been implicated in mating behavior. to determine whether the independent evolution of mating systems is associated with a convergence in cortical mechanisms, we compared the size of mpfc and rs between the monogamous prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster) and the promiscuous meadow ... | 2012 | 22759599 |
| circulating plasma testosterone during early neonatal life in the socially monogamous and biparental prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster). | adult male prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster) are highly gregarious and socially monogamous, which is dissimilar to most other male rodents but reminiscent of many primates, including humans. this has resulted in prairie voles becoming a premier model in which to study the neural and hormonal basis of complex social behaviors, as well as the atypical development of these behaviors. this research is impeded by the complete lack of knowledge about the gonadal steroid environment during early dev ... | 2013 | 22770983 |
| identification of variables contributing to superovulation efficiency for production of transgenic prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster). | the prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster) is an emerging animal model for biomedical research because of its rich sociobehavioral repertoire. recently, lentiviral transgenic technology has been used to introduce the gene encoding the green fluorescent protein (gfp) into the prairie vole germline. however, the efficiency of transgenesis in this species is limited by the inability to reliably produce large numbers of fertilized embryos. here we examined several factors that may contribute to variabi ... | 2012 | 22839095 |
| social housing and alcohol drinking in male-female pairs of prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster). | social environment influences alcohol consumption in humans; however, animal models have only begun to address biological underpinnings of these effects. | 2012 | 22903359 |
| exploring the role of intra-nasal oxytocin on the partner preference effect in humans. | previous studies with prairie voles suggest that the hormone oxytocin is crucial for bond formation - indicated when a partner preference is formed towards the target vole. in this study, we conduct the first empirical test of whether oxytocin likewise promotes partner preferences in humans. seventy-six undergraduate students received either oxytocin or placebo before being introduced to a male and female persona (via pre-recorded videoclips). one day later, participants were assessed for a part ... | 2013 | 22920910 |
| correlated basal expression of immediate early gene egr1 and tyrosine hydroxylase in zebrafish brain and downregulation in olfactory bulb after transitory olfactory deprivation. | imprinting on kin occurs during the sixth day of larval development in zebrafish and depends on olfactory signals. in rodents, the immediate early gene egr1 is involved in maintaining the dopaminergic phenotype of periglomerular olfactory bulb cells in an activity dependent way. furthermore, egr1 is upregulated in medial amygdalar dopamine cells in some rodents (prairie voles) dependent on social pheromone interactions. thus, we aimed to investigate whether egr1 is involved in imprinting process ... | 2012 | 23022747 |
| dendritic arbor of neurons in the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus in female prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster). | female mating behavior in rats is associated with hormone-induced changes in the dendritic arbor of neurons in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (vmh), particularly the ventrolateral portion. regulation of mating behavior in female prairie voles differs substantially from that in rats; therefore, we examined the dendritic morphology of vmh neurons in this species. sexually naïve adult female prairie voles were housed with a male to activate the females' reproductive endocrine system. ... | 2013 | 23058474 |
| chronic intranasal oxytocin causes long-term impairments in partner preference formation in male prairie voles. | oxytocin (ot) is a hormone shown to be involved in social bonding in animal models. intranasal ot is currently in clinical trials for use in disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. we examined long-term effects of intranasal ot given developmentally in the prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster), a socially monogamous rodent, often used as an animal model to screen drugs that have therapeutic potential for social disorders. | 2013 | 23079235 |
| oxytocin-like receptors mediate pair bonding in a socially monogamous songbird. | although many species form socially monogamous pair bonds, relevant neural mechanisms have been described for only a single species, the prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster). in this species, pair bonding is strongly dependent upon the nonapeptides oxytocin (ot) and vasopressin, in females and males, respectively. because monogamy has evolved many times in multiple lineages, data from additional species are required to determine whether similar peptide mechanisms modulate bonding when monogamy ev ... | 2013 | 23173212 |
| comparative distribution of central neuropeptide y (npy) in the prairie (microtus ochrogaster) and meadow (m. pennsylvanicus) vole. | neuropeptide y (npy) has been implicated as a modulator of social behavior, often in a species-specific manner. comparative studies of closely related vole species are particularly useful for identifying neural systems involved in social behaviors in both voles and humans. in the present study, immunohistochemistry was performed to compare npy-like immunoreactivity (-ir) in brain tissue of the socially monogamous prairie vole and non-monogamous meadow vole. species differences in npy-ir were obs ... | 2012 | 23262357 |
| aversive motivation and the maintenance of monogamous pair bonding. | social bonds are important for human health and well-being, and a crucial component of these bonds is the ability to maintain a bond once it has been formed. importantly, although bond maintenance is required for social attachments, very little is known about the neural mechanisms that mediate this behavior. recently, laboratory studies utilizing the socially monogamous prairie vole (an excellent animal model for the neurobiology of selective social attachment), have allowed the neural correlate ... | 2013 | 23314526 |
| progesterone receptor expression in the brain of the socially monogamous and paternal male prairie vole. | differences in the social organization and behavior of male mammals are attributable to species differences in neurochemistry, including differential expression of steroid hormone receptors. however, the distribution of progestin receptors (pr) in a socially monogamous and spontaneously parental male rodent has never been examined. here we determined if pr exists and is regulated by testicular hormones in forebrain sites traditionally influencing socioreproductive behaviors in male prairie voles ... | 2013 | 23318255 |
| variation in vasopressin receptor (avpr1a) expression creates diversity in behaviors related to monogamy in prairie voles. | polymorphisms in noncoding regions of the vasopressin 1a receptor gene (avpr1a) are associated with a variety of socioemotional characteristics in humans, chimpanzees, and voles, and may impact behavior through a site-specific variation in gene expression. the socially monogamous prairie vole offers a unique opportunity to study such neurobiological control of individual differences in complex behavior. vasopressin 1a receptor (v1ar) signaling is necessary for the formation of the pair bond in m ... | 2013 | 23370363 |
| associations between innate immune function and ectoparasites in wild rodent hosts. | immune function is an important component of host fitness, and high investment in immunity should occur when the benefits outweigh the costs, such as when risk of parasitism is high. we sampled two rodent hosts, white-footed mice (peromyscus leucopus), and prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster), and their tick, flea, and mite ectoparasites. a bacterial killing assay was used to measure the host's innate immune function. we hypothesized that classes of hosts (species, sexes, or age classes) with ov ... | 2013 | 23417097 |
| exposure to chronic isolation modulates receptors mrnas for oxytocin and vasopressin in the hypothalamus and heart. | the goal of our study was to explore the effect of social isolation stress of varying durations on the plasma oxytocin (ot), messenger ribonucleic acid (mrna) for oxytocin receptor (otr), plasma arginine vasopressin (avp) and mrna for v1a receptor of avp (v1ar) expression in the hypothalamus and heart of socially monogamous female and male prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster). continuous isolation for 4 weeks (chronic isolation) increased plasma ot level in females, but not in males. one hour of ... | 2013 | 23439320 |
| female alternative mating tactics, reproductive success and nonapeptide receptor expression in the social decision-making network. | the decision to mate may be one of the most important decisions that animals make. for monogamous species, this decision can carry the added weight of limiting future mating opportunities. the mechanisms that govern these decisions have presumably been shaped by evolution in ways that optimize decision-making processes. in particular, a so-called social decision-making network (sdm) has been proposed, which integrates brain structures comprising the 'social behavior network' with a neural system ... | 2013 | 23500897 |
| natural variation in early parental care correlates with social behaviors in adolescent prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster). | natural variation in early parental care may contribute to long-term changes in behavior in the offspring. here we investigate the role of variable early care in biparental prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster). total amounts of parental care were initially quantified for 24 breeder pairs and pairs were ranked in relation to one another based on total contact. consistency in key components of care suggested a trait-like quality to parental care. based on this ranking, breeder pairs from the top ( ... | 2013 | 23515227 |
| neuroanatomical distribution of μ-opioid receptor mrna and binding in monogamous prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster) and non-monogamous meadow voles (microtus pennsylvanicus). | the opiate system has long been implicated in the rewarding properties of social interactions. in particular, the μ-opioid receptor (mor) mediates multiple forms of social attachment, including the attachment of offspring to the mother and social bonding between mates. we have previously shown that mor in the caudate-putamen is involved in partner preference formation in monogamous prairie voles. here, using in situ hybridization and receptor autoradiography, we mapped in detail the distribution ... | 2013 | 23537838 |
| behavioral and physiological responses of female prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster) to various stressful conditions. | stressful life events elicit hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (hpa) axis activation, which may alter psychological states or behavioral routines. therefore, the current study focused on the hpa axis response to better understand such manifestations in female prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster). in experiment 1, females were stressed for 1 h via one of the four stressors: exposure to a novel environment, immobilization ("plastic mesh"), brief social defeat, or prolonged social defeat. following a ... | 2013 | 23647082 |
| stability and dynamics of forebrain vasopressin receptor and oxytocin receptor during pregnancy in prairie voles. | during pregnancy, females undergo several physiologically driven changes that facilitate adaptive behaviours and prepare the mother to care for her developing offspring. the nonapeptide hormone oxytocin is best recognised for its involvement in mammalian pregnancy and has been tightly associated with maternal care, in addition to its roles in pregnancy, parturition and lactation. a closely-related nonapeptide hormone, arganine vasopressin, has received considerably less attention for its role in ... | 2013 | 23656585 |
| volume transmission and its different forms in the central nervous system. | volume transmission (vt) is a widespread mode of intercellular communication that occurs in the extracellular fluid (ecf) and in the cerebrospinal fluid (csf) of the brain with vt signals moving from source to target cells via energy gradients leading to diffusion and convection (flow). the vt channels are diffuse forming a plexus in the extracellular space, while in wiring transmission (wt) the channels (axons, terminals) are private. the speed is slow (seconds-minutes) in vt while rapid in the ... | 2013 | 23674109 |
| μ-opioid receptors within subregions of the striatum mediate pair bond formation through parallel yet distinct reward mechanisms. | the prairie vole is a socially monogamous rodent that is an excellent animal model for studies of the neurobiology of social attachment. such studies have demonstrated that activation of reward circuitry during social interactions facilitates pair bond formation. within this circuitry, μ-opioid receptors (mors) modulate naturally rewarding behavior in an anatomically segregated manner; mors located throughout the striatum (dorsal striatum, nac core, and the entire nac shell) are implicated in ge ... | 2013 | 23699524 |
| histone deacetylase inhibitors facilitate partner preference formation in female prairie voles. | in the socially monogamous prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster), mating induces enduring pair-bonds that are initiated by partner preference formation and regulated by a variety of neurotransmitters, including oxytocin, vasopressin and dopamine. we examined potential epigenetic mechanisms mediating pair-bond regulation and found that the histone deacetylase inhibitors sodium butyrate and trichostatin a (tsa) facilitated partner preference formation in female prairie voles in the absence of mating ... | 2013 | 23727821 |
| the crf system and social behavior: a review. | the corticotropin-releasing factor (crf) system plays a key role in a diversity of behaviors accompanying stress, anxiety and depression. there is also substantial research on relationships between social behaviors and the crf system in a variety of taxa including fish, birds, rodents, and primates. some of these relationships are due to the broad role of crf and urocortins in stress and anxiety, but these peptides also modulate social behavior specifically. for example, the social interaction ( ... | 2013 | 23754975 |
| prairie voles pair up. | 2013 | 23783308 | |
| identification of subpopulations of prairie voles differentially susceptible to peer influence to decrease high alcohol intake. | peer influences are critical in the decrease of alcohol (ethanol) abuse and maintenance of abstinence. we previously developed an animal model of inhibitory peer influences on ethanol drinking using prairie voles and here sought to understand whether this influential behavior was due to specific changes in drinking patterns and to variation in a microsatellite sequence in the regulatory region of the vasopressin receptor 1a gene (avpr1a). adult prairie voles' drinking patterns were monitored in ... | 2013 | 23847535 |
| sexual dimorphism in the brain of the monogamous california mouse (peromyscus californicus). | sex differences in behavior and morphology are usually assumed to be stronger in polygynous species compared to monogamous species. a few brain structures have been identified as sexually dimorphic in polygynous rodent species, but it is less clear whether these differences persist in monogamous species. california mice are among the 5% or less of mammals that are considered to be monogamous and as such provide an ideal model to examine sexual dimorphism in neuroanatomy. in the present study we ... | 2013 | 23881046 |
| fatherhood reduces the survival of adult-generated cells and affects various types of behavior in the prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster ). | motherhood has profound effects on physiology, neuronal plasticity, and behavior. we conducted a series of experiments to test the hypothesis that fatherhood, similarly to motherhood, affects brain plasticity (such as cell proliferation and survival) and various behaviors in the highly social prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster). in experiment 1, adult males were housed with their same-sex cage mate (control), single-housed (isolation), or housed with a receptive female to mate and produce offspr ... | 2013 | 23899240 |
| autonomic substrates of the response to pups in male prairie voles. | caregiving by nonparents (alloparenting) and fathers is a defining aspect of human social behavior, yet this phenomenon is rare among mammals. male prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster) spontaneously exhibit high levels of alloparental care, even in the absence of reproductive experience. in previous studies, exposure to a pup was selectively associated with increased activity in oxytocin and vasopressin neurons along with decreased plasma corticosterone. in the present study, physiological, phar ... | 2013 | 23940535 |
| influence of global atmospheric change on the feeding behavior and growth performance of a mammalian herbivore, microtus ochrogaster. | global atmospheric change is influencing the quality of plants as a resource for herbivores. we investigated the impacts of elevated carbon dioxide (co2) and ozone (o3) on the phytochemistry of two forbs, solidago canadensis and taraxacum officinale, and the subsequent feeding behavior and growth performance of weanling prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster) feeding on those plants. plants for the chemical analyses and feeding trials were harvested from the understory of control (ambient air), ele ... | 2013 | 23977345 |
| does mating prevent monogamous males from seeking other females? a study in prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster). | male prairie voles form pair bonds under laboratory conditions, but show a variety of mating tactics in nature. we tested them in the laboratory to determine if their decision to reproduce with a single or multiple females is related to how they process sensory information from females. three groups of mated males were tested for their attentiveness toward two females and their odors. males given a choice to investigate a box holding their mate or a box holding a sexually receptive female spent ... | 2013 | 24140461 |
| disruption of social bonds induces behavioral and physiological dysregulation in male and female prairie voles. | the social disruption of losing a partner may have particularly strong adverse effects on psychological and physiological functioning. more specifically, social stressors may play a mediating role in the association between mood disorders and cardiovascular dysfunction. this study investigated the hypothesis that the disruption of established social bonds between male and female prairie voles would produce depressive behaviors and cardiac dysregulation, coupled with endocrine and autonomic nervo ... | 2014 | 24161576 |
| hypothalamic oxytocin mediates social buffering of the stress response. | while stressful life events can enhance the risk of mental disorders, positive social interactions can propagate good mental health and normal behavioral routines. still, the neural systems that promote these benefits are undetermined. oxytocin is a hormone involved in social behavior and stress; thus, we focus on the impact that social buffering has on the stress response and the governing effects of oxytocin. | 2014 | 24183103 |
| the effects of chronic tannic acid intake on prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster) reproduction. | the hypothesis was tested that the reproductive performance of voles would be reduced when fed diets containing tannins either because of increased metabolic rates, decreased intake, or decreased digestive efficiency. we fed a ration containing 4% tannic acid (ta) (dry mass basis) to 24 pair of prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster) and compared reproductive performance (litter size, birth weights, body mass of the young until weaning, and mass changes in the dams) to that of 24 pair of prairie vo ... | 1993 | 24249184 |
| social recognition is context dependent in single male prairie voles. | single males might benefit from knowing the identity of neighbouring males when establishing and defending boundaries. similarly, males should discriminate between individual females if this leads to more reproductive opportunities. contextual social cues may alter the value of learning identity. knowing the identity of competitors that intrude into an animal's territory may be more salient than knowing the identity of individuals on whose territory an animal is trespassing. hence, social and en ... | 2013 | 24273328 |
| social partners prevent alcohol relapse behavior in prairie voles. | there is robust evidence for a protective role of interpersonal factors such as social support on alcohol relapse, but research on the mechanisms that social factors may be acting on to effectively protect individuals against relapse is lacking. prairie voles are highly social, monogamous rodents that freely self-administer ethanol in high amounts, and are a useful model for understanding social influences on alcohol drinking. here we investigated whether prairie voles can be used to model socia ... | 2014 | 24275014 |
| sex, drugs, and violence: neuromodulation of attachment and conflict in voles. | prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster) are a rodent species that display socially monogamous pair-bonds, a behavior illustrated by several types of social interactions such as mating-induced partner preference, selective aggression toward conspecific strangers, and bi-parental care. therefore, this species has provided an excellent opportunity for the study of pair-bonding and its underlying neurochemical mechanisms. this chapter discusses the utility of this unique rodent in the study of attachme ... | 2014 | 24301199 |
| lespedeza phenolics and penstemon alkaloids: effects on digestion efficiencies and growth of voles. | lespedeza cuneata contains high levels of phenolics and is a common food plant of the meadow vole (microtus pennsylvanicus);penstemon digitalis contains substantial quantities of alkaloids and is a common food plant of meadow voles and prairie voles (m. ochrogaster). we investigated the palatability of these plants and the effects of their secondary compounds on the digestion efficiencies and growth of both species of voles. voles ate very little of either plant when alternative food was present ... | 1986 | 24306910 |
| plant phenolics as chemical defenses: effects of natural phenolics on survival and growth of prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster). | very few studies have shown experimentally that plant chemical defenses actually reduce the performance of individual mammalian herbivores, much less the density of mammalian populations. we investigated the effects of representatives of three classes of plant phenoiics on the survival and growth of prairie voles by incorporating the compounds into artificial diets and feeding them to weanlings for three weeks. at low levels of protein, both quercetin (a flavonoid) and tannic acid (a hydrolyzabl ... | 1984 | 24318492 |
| neurogenetics of aggressive behavior: studies in rodents. | aggressive behavior is observed in many animal species, such as insects, fish, lizards, frogs, and most mammals including humans. this wide range of conservation underscores the importance of aggressive behavior in the animals' survival and fitness, and the likely heritability of this behavior. although typical patterns of aggressive behavior differ between species, there are several concordances in the neurobiology of aggression among rodents, primates, and humans. studies with rodent models ma ... | 2014 | 24318936 |
| autonomic, behavioral and neuroendocrine correlates of paternal behavior in male prairie voles. | socially monogamous prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster) are biparental and alloparental. in the present study, we compared behavioral, cardiovascular and neuroendocrine parameters in male prairie voles with experience caring for pups (fathers), versus reproductively inexperienced virgin males. father and virgins showed generally similar responses to unrelated pups. however, in the fathers studied prior to and during pup exposure, heart rate was lower and respiratory sinus arrhythmia tended to b ... | 2014 | 24534169 |
| breaking bonds in male prairie vole: long-term effects on emotional and social behavior, physiology, and neurochemistry. | social relationships are essential for many fundamental aspects of life while bond disruption can be detrimental to mental and physical health. male prairie voles form enduring social bonds with their female partners, allowing the evaluation of partner loss on behavior, physiology, and neurochemistry. males were evaluated for partner preference formation induced by 24h of mating, and half were separated from their partner for 4 wk. in experiment 1, partner loss significantly increased anxiety-li ... | 2014 | 24561258 |
| growing up in the family or growing up alone influences behavior and hormones, but not arginine vasopressin receptor 1a expression in male african striped mice. | in many species males display alternative reproductive tactics (arts). while males of different tactics differ behaviorally in the field, it is often not known whether these behavioral differences would also occur under standardized laboratory conditions, nor how arts are regulated by the brain. in the present study we kept male african striped mice (rhabdomys pumilio) in captivity either in family groups or solitary, to mimic arts observed in the field. this allowed us to study these males beha ... | 2014 | 24631307 |
| chemosensory cues affect amygdaloid neurogenesis and alter behaviors in the socially monogamous prairie vole. | the current study examined the effects of pheromonal exposure on adult neurogenesis and revealed the role of the olfactory pathways on adult neurogenesis and behavior in the socially monogamous prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster). subjects were injected with a cell proliferation marker [5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (brdu)] and then exposed to their own soiled bedding or bedding soiled by a same- or opposite-sex conspecific. exposure to opposite-sex bedding increased brdu labeling in the amygdala (amy ... | 2014 | 24641515 |
| hypothalamic oxytocin and vasopressin neurons exert sex-specific effects on pair bonding, gregariousness, and aggression in finches. | antagonism of oxytocin (ot) receptors (otrs) impairs the formation of pair bonds in prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster) and zebra finches (taenioypygia guttata), and also reduces the preference for the larger of two groups ("gregariousness") in finches. these effects tend to be stronger in females. the contributions of specific peptide cell groups to these processes remain unknown, however. this issue is complicated by the fact that otrs in finches and voles bind not only forms of ot, but also ... | 2014 | 24711411 |
| drinking alcohol has sex-dependent effects on pair bond formation in prairie voles. | alcohol use and abuse profoundly influences a variety of behaviors, including social interactions. in some cases, it erodes social relationships; in others, it facilitates sociality. here, we show that voluntary alcohol consumption can inhibit male partner preference (pp) formation (a laboratory proxy for pair bonding) in socially monogamous prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster). conversely, female pp is not inhibited, and may be facilitated by alcohol. behavior and neurochemical analysis suggest ... | 2014 | 24711424 |
| the effects of environmental enrichment on depressive and anxiety-relevant behaviors in socially isolated prairie voles. | social isolation is associated with depression, anxiety, and negative health outcomes. environmental enrichment, including environmental and cognitive stimulation with inanimate objects and opportunities for physical exercise, may be an effective strategy to include in treatment paradigms for affective disorders as a function of social isolation. in a rodent model-the socially monogamous prairie vole-we investigated the hypothesis that depression- and anxiety-related behaviors after social isola ... | 2014 | 24804886 |
| effects of sex and reproductive experience on the number of orexin a-immunoreactive cells in the prairie vole brain. | large populations of cells synthesizing the neuropeptide orexin (ox) exist in the caudal hypothalamus of all species examined and are implicated in physiological and behavioral processes including arousal, stress, anxiety and depression, reproduction, and goal-directed behaviors. hypothalamic ox expression is sexually dimorphic in different directions in laboratory rats (f>m) and mice (m>f), suggesting different roles in male and female physiology and behavior that are species-specific. we here ... | 2014 | 24874707 |
| reproductive activation of virgin female prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster) by paired and unpaired males. | virgin female microtus ochrogaster were exposed to paired and unpaired unfamiliar adult males in semi-natural arenas. although females were reproductively activated by both types of males, more than twice as many were activated by unpaired (51.6%) as by paired (18.2%) males. our results suggest that, in natural populations of prairie voles, the proportion of philopatric females becoming reproductive is related to the abundance of unpaired males within the population. | 1993 | 24895934 |
| multiple exposures to adult males and reproductive activation of virgin female microtus ochrogaster. | virgin female microtus ochrogaster living in family groups were reproductively activated by twelve 1-hr exposures over a 3-day period to unrelated sexually experienced males. reproductive activation among virgin females receiving six or eight exposures over a 2- or 3-day period did not differ significantly from that of unexposed control females. thus, frequent multiple exposures to unfamiliar males (and repeated stimulation by a male urinary chemosignal) can override the reproductive suppression ... | 1988 | 24896910 |
| female prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster) fail to form a new pair after loss of mate. | we tested experimentally the hypothesis that failure to acquire a new mate by monogamously paired female microtus ochrogaster that lose their mate represents pair-bonding behavior, not a lack of available males. males were removed from reproductive male-female pairs and the females provided an opportunity to pair with unfamiliar sexually inexperienced or experienced males in a semi-natural arena. only three of 22 (13.6%) females formed a new pair, two with inexperienced males and one with an exp ... | 1998 | 24897643 |
| neonatal melanocortin receptor agonist treatment reduces play fighting and promotes adult attachment in prairie voles in a sex-dependent manner. | the melanocortin receptor (mcr) system has been studied extensively for its role in feeding and sexual behavior, but effects on social behavior have received little attention. α-msh interacts with neural systems involved in sociality, including oxytocin, dopamine, and opioid systems. acute melanotan-ii (mtii), an mc3/4r agonist, potentiates brain oxytocin (ot) release and facilitates ot-dependent partner preference formation in socially monogamous prairie voles. here we examined the long-term im ... | 2014 | 24923239 |
| suppression of reproductive maturation in male-stimulated virgin female microtus by a female urinary chemosignal. | urine from female microtus ochrogaster possesses a chemosignal that suppresses reproductive maturation in other females. uterine enlargement in virgin females stimulated by a male was suppressed by subsequent association with another female or by application of female urine on the nose. females so suppressed are not able to achieve estrus. urine from virgin sibling and non-sibling females and from pregnant females possesses the suppressing effect. | 1983 | 24923608 |
| oxytocin reverses amphetamine-induced deficits in social bonding: evidence for an interaction with nucleus accumbens dopamine. | drug addiction has devastating consequences on social behaviors and can lead to the impairment of social bonding. accumulating evidence indicates that alterations in oxytocin (ot) and dopamine (da) neurotransmission within brain reward circuitry may be involved. we investigated this possibility, as well as the therapeutic potential of ot for drug-induced social deficits, using the prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster)-a socially monogamous rodent that forms enduring pair bonds between adult mates. ... | 2014 | 24948805 |
| sex differences in the influence of social context, salient social stimulation and amphetamine on ultrasonic vocalizations in prairie voles. | prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster) are a socially monogamous rodent species and their cooperative behaviors require extensive communication between conspecifics. rodents use ultrasonic vocalizations (usvs) to communicate and because a prairie vole breeder pair must engage in extensive cooperation for successful reproduction, auditory communication may be critical for this species. therefore, we sought to characterize usvs in adult male and female prairie voles, and to determine how these calls ... | 2014 | 24952968 |
| establishment of stable dominance interactions in prairie vole peers: relationships with alcohol drinking and activation of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. | dominance hierarchies are an important aspect of group-living as they determine individual access to resources. the existence of dominance ranks in access to space has not been described in socially monogamous, communally nesting prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster). here, we tested whether dominance could be assessed using the tube test. we also tested whether dominance related to alcohol intake, similar to what has been demonstrated in nonmonogamous species. same-sex pairs of unfamiliar peers ... | 2014 | 24963825 |
| a novel model for neuroendocrine toxicology: neurobehavioral effects of bpa exposure in a prosocial species, the prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster). | impacts on brain and behavior have been reported in laboratory rodents after developmental exposure to bisphenol a (bpa), raising concerns about possible human effects. epidemiological data suggest links between prenatal bpa exposure and altered affective behaviors in children, but potential mechanisms are unclear. disruption of mesolimbic oxytocin (ot)/vasopressin (avp) pathways have been proposed, but supporting evidence is minimal. to address these data gaps, we employed a novel animal model ... | 2014 | 25051448 |
| translational implications of oxytocin-mediated social buffering following immobilization stress in female prairie voles. | 2014 | 25060784 | |
| centrally-administered oxytocin promotes preference for familiar objects at a short delay in ovariectomized female rats. | oxytocin has been previously associated with social attachment behaviors in various species, however, most studies focused on partner preference in the socially-monogamous prairie vole. in these, oxytocin treatment was shown to promote partner preference, such that females receiving either central or pulsatile peripheral administration would spend more time with a familiar male. this behavioral outcome was blocked by oxytocin receptor antagonist treatment. the aim of the current study was to fur ... | 2014 | 25127685 |
| oxytocin and object preferences in the male prairie vole. | the neuropeptide oxytocin has been previously associated with social attachment behaviors in various species. studies in socially monogamous prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster) and other species have implicated oxytocin in partner preferences and other social behaviors. in the present study male prairie voles were injected intraperitoneally with either oxytocin or the selective oxytocin antagonist, l-368,899, and were assessed for object preference (for small inanimate toys) 30-min after inject ... | 2014 | 25219944 |
| altered connexin 43 and connexin 45 protein expression in the heart as a function of social and environmental stress in the prairie vole. | exposure to social and environmental stressors may influence behavior as well as autonomic and cardiovascular regulation, potentially leading to depressive disorders and cardiac dysfunction including elevated sympathetic drive, reduced parasympathetic function, and ventricular arrhythmias. the cellular mechanisms that underlie these interactions are not well understood. one mechanism may involve alterations in the expression of connexin43 (cx43) and connexin45 (cx45), gap junction proteins in th ... | 2015 | 25338193 |
| long-term exposure to intranasal oxytocin in a mouse autism model. | oxytocin (ot) is a neuropeptide involved in mammalian social behavior. it is currently in clinical trials for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder (asd). previous studies in healthy rodents (prairie voles and c57bl/6j mice) have shown that there may be detrimental effects of long-term intranasal administration, raising the questions about safety and efficacy. to investigate the effects of ot on the aspects of asd phenotype, we conducted the first study of chronic intranasal ot in a well-val ... | 2014 | 25386957 |
| acoustic features of prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster) ultrasonic vocalizations covary with heart rate. | vocalizations serve as a conspecific social communication system among mammals. modulation of acoustic features embedded within vocalizations is used by several mammalian species to signal whether it is safe or dangerous to approach conspecific and heterospecific mammals. as described by the polyvagal theory, the phylogenetic shift in the evolution of mammals involved an adaptive neuroanatomical link between the neural circuits regulating heart rate and the muscles involved in modulating the aco ... | 2015 | 25447483 |
| early rearing experience is related to altered aggression and vasopressin production following chronic social isolation in the prairie vole. | parent-offspring interactions early in life can permanently shape the developmental path of those offspring. manipulation of maternal care has long been used to alter the early-life environment of infants and impacts their later social behavior, aggression, and physiology. more recently, naturally occurring variation in maternal licking and grooming behavior has been shown to result in differences in social behavior and stress physiology in adult offspring. we have developed a model of natural v ... | 2015 | 25623420 |
| behavioral comparisons of male and female pups of prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster) and meadow voles (m. pennsylvanicus). | sexual dimorphism in mammals typically is reduced in monogamous species relative to polygynous species, with promiscuous species being intermediate. this pattern of dimorphism characterizes adult behavior and body mass of prairie voles, a monogamous species, when compared with meadow voles, a closely related polygynous or promiscuous species. we examined whether the pattern also applies to young of the two species by observing individual pups living in family groups in seminatural environments. ... | 2015 | 25631873 |
| spontaneous emergence of overgrown molar teeth in a colony of prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster). | continuously growing incisors are common to all rodents, which include the microtus genus of voles. however, unlike many rodents, voles also possess continuously growing molars. here, we report spontaneous molar defects in a population of prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster). we identified bilateral protuberances on the ventral surface of the mandible in several voles in our colony. in some cases, the protuberances broke through the cortical bone. the mandibular molars became exposed and infecte ... | 2015 | 25634121 |
| social isolation disrupts innate immune responses in both male and female prairie voles and enhances agonistic behavior in female prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster). | psychosocial stress, specifically social isolation, is an important risk factor for the development of a variety of psychological and physiological disorders. changes in immune function have been hypothesized to mediate this relationship. the current study used the prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster) model of isolation-induced depressive-like behavior to test whether social isolation led to changes in innate immune function. specifically, we used hemolytic complement (ch50) and bacteria killing ... | 2015 | 25639952 |
| melanocortin receptor agonists facilitate oxytocin-dependent partner preference formation in the prairie vole. | the central melanocortin (mc) system has been widely studied for its effects on food intake and sexual behavior. however, the mc system, and more specifically the mc4 receptor (mc4r), also interacts with neurochemical systems that regulate socioemotional behaviors, including oxytocin (ot) and dopamine. in monogamous prairie voles, ot and dopamine interact to promote partner preference formation, a laboratory measure of an enduring social bond between mates. here we investigated the effects of mc ... | 2015 | 25652247 |
| cardioacceleration in alloparents in response to stimuli from prairie vole pups: the significance of thermoregulation. | autonomic responses, including changes in heart rate and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (rsa) can provide indications of emotional reactivity to social stimuli in mammals. we have previously reported that male prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster) spontaneously care for unfamiliar infants, showing a robust and sustained increase in heart rate in the presence of a pup, thus providing an opportunity to examine the physiology of care-giving in reproductively naïve animals. however, the purpose of such ... | 2015 | 25721742 |
| ghs-r1a antagonism reduces alcohol but not sucrose preference in prairie voles. | ghrelin has been shown to mediate food and drug reward in rats and mice, and the rewarding properties of sweet foods and alcohol are known to contribute to overconsumption of these substances. | 2015 | 25843741 |
| rnai knockdown of oxytocin receptor in the nucleus accumbens inhibits social attachment and parental care in monogamous female prairie voles. | oxytocin modulates many aspects of social cognition and behaviors, including maternal nurturing, social recognition and bonding. natural variation in oxytocin receptor (oxtr) density in the nucleus accumbens (nacc) is associated with variation in alloparental behavior, and artificially enhancing oxtr expression in the nacc enhances alloparental behavior and pair bonding in socially monogamous prairie voles. furthermore, infusion of an oxtr antagonist into the nacc inhibits alloparental behavior ... | 2015 | 25874849 |
| early rearing experience is associated with vasopressin immunoreactivity but not reactivity to an acute non-social stressor in the prairie vole. | the early life experiences of an organism have the potential to alter its developmental trajectories. perhaps one of the most powerful influences during this period is the parent-offspring relationship. previous work in several mammalian species has demonstrated that parental care in early life and specifically maternal behavior can influence several adult outcomes in offspring, including affiliative and aggressive behavior, parental behavior, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (hpa) functioning and ... | 2015 | 25890274 |
| neuroendocrine regulation of long-term pair maintenance in the monogamous zebra finch. | this article is part of a special issue "sbn 2014". understanding affiliative behavior is critical to understanding social organisms. while affiliative behaviors are present across a wide range of taxa and contexts, much of what is known about the neuroendocrine regulation of affiliation comes from studies of pair-bond formation in prairie voles. this leaves at least three gaps in our current knowledge. first, little is known about long-term pair-bond maintenance. second, few studies have examin ... | 2015 | 25935729 |
| escalated aggression in animal models: shedding new light on mesocorticolimbic circuits. | recent developments promise to significantly advance the understudied behavioral and neurobiology of aggression: (1) animal models that capture essential features of human violence and callousness have been developed. these models range from mice that have been selectively bred for short attack latencies, monogamous prairie voles, and glucocorticoid-compromised rats to rodents and non-human primates that escalate their aggression after consuming or when withdrawing from alcohol. (2) optogenetic ... | 2015 | 25938130 |
| neural mechanisms of mother-infant bonding and pair bonding: similarities, differences, and broader implications. | this article is part of a special issue "parental care". mother-infant bonding is a characteristic of virtually all mammals. the maternal neural system may have provided the scaffold upon which other types of social bonds in mammals have been built. for example, most mammals exhibit a polygamous mating system, but monogamy and pair bonding between mating partners occur in ~5% of mammalian species. in mammals, it is plausible that the neural mechanisms that promote mother-infant bonding have been ... | 2016 | 26062432 |
| in vitro culture and in vitro fertilization techniques for prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster). | prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster) is a highly social animal and is a commonly used animal model for neuropsychopharmacological and psychiatric studies. to date, only a few reports on the development of transgenic prairie voles which was primarily due to the suboptimal development of assisted reproductive technology (art) in prairie voles. limitations in art further hinder the development of genetically modified prairie voles such as the application of conventional gene targeting technologies u ... | 2015 | 26071353 |
| immunoglobulin genomics in the prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster). | in science, the prairie voles are ideal models for studying the regulatory mechanisms of social behavior in humans. the utility of the prairie vole as a biology model can be further enhanced by characterization of the genes encoding components of the immune system. here, we report the genomic organization of the prairie vole immunoglobulin heavy and light chain genes. the prairie vole igh locus on chromosome 1 spans over 1600kb, and consists of at least 79 vh segments (28 potentially functional ... | 2015 | 26073565 |
| individual differences in cortical connections of somatosensory cortex are associated with parental rearing style in prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster). | early-life sensory experiences have a profound effect on brain organization, connectivity, and subsequent behavior. in most mammals, the earliest sensory inputs are delivered to the developing brain through tactile contact with the parents, especially the mother. prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster) are monogamous and, like humans, are biparental. within the normal prairie vole population, both the type and the amount of interactions, particularly tactile contact, that parents have with their of ... | 2016 | 26101098 |
| voluntary locomotor activity mitigates oxidative damage associated with isolation stress in the prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster). | organismal performance directly depends on an individual's ability to cope with a wide array of physiological challenges. for social animals, social isolation is a stressor that has been shown to increase oxidative stress. another physiological challenge, routine locomotor activity, has been found to decrease oxidative stress levels. because we currently do not have a good understanding of how diverse physiological systems like stress and locomotion interact to affect oxidative balance, we studi ... | 2015 | 26179798 |
| the oxytocin system promotes resilience to the effects of neonatal isolation on adult social attachment in female prairie voles. | genes and social experiences interact to create variation in social behavior and vulnerability to develop disorders of the social domain. socially monogamous prairie voles display remarkable diversity in neuropeptide receptor systems and social behavior. here, we examine the interaction of early-life adversity and brain oxytocin receptor (otr) density on adult social attachment in female prairie voles. first, pups were isolated for 3 h per day, or unmanipulated, from postnatal day 1-14. adult su ... | 2015 | 26196439 |
| effects of postnatal estrogen manipulations on juvenile alloparental behavior. | sex- and species-specific patterns of estrogen receptor (er)-α expression are established early in development, which may contribute to sexual differentiation of behavior and determine male social organization. the current study investigated the effects of erα and erβ activation during the second postnatal week on subsequent alloparental behavior and erα expression in juvenile prairie voles. male and female pups were treated daily with 17β-estradiol (e2, erα/erβ agonist), ppt (selective erα agon ... | 2015 | 26222494 |
| intergenerational transmission of alloparental behavior and oxytocin and vasopressin receptor distribution in the prairie vole. | variation in the early environment has the potential to permanently alter offspring behavior and development. we have previously shown that naturally occurring variation in biparental care of offspring in the prairie vole is related to differences in social behavior of the offspring. it was not, however, clear whether the behavioral differences seen between offspring receiving high compared to low amounts of parental care were the result of different care experiences or were due to shared geneti ... | 2015 | 26257619 |
| the first complete mitochondrial genome of the microtus ochrogaster. | microtus ochrogaster, a small vole, found in central north america. recently the genome sequencing had been done, but no more information of its mitochondrial reported. herein, we first assembled the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of microtus ochrogaster. it is a 16 292 bp long sequence with most mitogenome's characteristic structure, 13 protein-coding genes, two of rrna genes, 22 of trna genes, one d-loop region, one repeat region, and three sts regions. the gc-content of our fresh sequ ... | 2016 | 26305486 |
| neonatal exposure to amphetamine alters social affiliation and central dopamine activity in adult male prairie voles. | the prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster) is a socially monogamous rodent species that forms pair bonds after mating. recent data have shown that amphetamine (amph) is rewarding to prairie voles as it induces conditioned place preferences. further, repeated treatment with amph impairs social bonding in adult prairie voles through a central dopamine (da)-dependent mechanism. the present study examined the effects of neonatal exposure to amph on behavior and central da activity in adult male prairie ... | 2015 | 26321240 |
| neuropeptidergic regulation of pair-bonding and stress buffering: lessons from voles. | this article is part of a special issue "sbn 2014". interpersonal attachment is a critical component of the human experience. pair-bonding ameliorates the severity of several mental and physical diseases. thus, a better understanding of how the central nervous system responds to and encodes social-buffering during stress is a valuable research enterprise. the prairie vole (microtus ochrogaster), as a laboratory animal model, provides the gold standard for the investigation of the neurobiology un ... | 2015 | 26335886 |
| effects of population density on corticosterone levels of prairie voles in the field. | high population density is often associated with increased levels of stress-related hormones, such as corticosterone (cort). prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster) are a socially monogamous species known for their large population density fluctuations in the wild. although cort influences the social behavior of prairie voles in the lab, the effect of population density on cort has not previously been quantified in this species in the field. we validated a non-invasive hormone assay for measuring c ... | 2016 | 26342968 |
| social recognition in paired but not single male prairie voles. | social recognition is an integral component of behavior that underlies many much larger behavioral suites. for example, monogamous pair bonding is relatively meaningless if an individual cannot recall with whom the bond was with. prairie voles (microtus ochrogaster) are a socially monogamous rodent, well known for their long-term pair bonds between males and females. although previous work has shown that bonded males reliably spend more time with their pair-mate over an unfamiliar female, recent ... | 2015 | 26365995 |