Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University , DeKalb , IL , USA.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience, University of Chicago , Chicago , IL , USA.
Soc Neurosci. 2019 Dec;14(6):649-662. doi: 10.1080/17470919.2019.1572031. Epub 2019 Jan 31.
Negative social experiences may influence psychological and physiological health via altered central oxytocin communication. The prairie vole is valuable for investigating the potential influence of oxytocin on responses to social experiences. Prairie voles are socially monogamous, live in pairs or family groups, and respond negatively to changes in the social environment. This study investigated the hypothesis that disruptions of oxytocin in one prairie vole of a cohabitating male-female pair would alter social behavior in that specific animal; and these behavioral changes in turn would influence the untreated partner's behavior and physiology. Pharmacological antagonism of oxytocin with the receptor antagonist L-368,899 in the male prairie vole disrupted social behaviors between the male and his untreated female partner. This manipulation also negatively influenced the behavior and cardiovascular function in the untreated female partner, including increased: (a) depression-relevant behaviors in two behavioral stressors, (b) basal mean arterial pressure and heart rate, and (c) cardiovascular reactivity to the behavioral stressors. These results suggest that disruptions of oxytocin and social behavior in one animal may produce indicators of social stress in an untreated social partner. This preliminary research provides a foundation for future studies to investigate mechanisms underlying responses to social experiences in humans.
负面的社会经历可能会通过改变中枢催产素的交流来影响心理和生理健康。草原田鼠是研究催产素对社会经历反应的潜在影响的有价值的模型。草原田鼠是社会一夫一妻制的，生活在一对或家庭群体中，对社会环境的变化会做出负面反应。本研究假设在一对同居的雌雄草原田鼠中，破坏一只田鼠的催产素会改变该特定动物的社会行为；而这些行为的变化反过来又会影响未处理的伴侣的行为和生理。用受体拮抗剂 L-368,899 对雄性草原田鼠的催产素进行药理学拮抗，破坏了雄性与未处理的雌性伴侣之间的社会行为。这种操作还会对未处理的雌性伴侣的行为和心血管功能产生负面影响，包括增加：（a）两种行为应激源中与抑郁相关的行为，（b）基础平均动脉压和心率，以及（c）对行为应激源的心血管反应性。这些结果表明，一种动物的催产素和社会行为的破坏可能会导致未处理的社会伴侣产生社会应激的指标。这项初步研究为未来研究人类对社会经历的反应机制提供了基础。
