同伴社会环境对草原田鼠(Microtus ochrogaster)的行为和多巴胺 D1 受体密度的影响。
Peer Social Environment Impacts Behavior and Dopamine D1 Receptor Density in Prairie Voles (Microtus ochrogaster).
机构信息
Neuroscience and Behavior Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA; Department of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Smith College, Northampton, MA 01063, USA.
出版信息
Neuroscience. 2023 Apr 1;515:62-70. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.02.002. Epub 2023 Feb 14.
Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) are socially monogamous rodents that form selective, long-lasting relationships with mates and with same-sex peers. It is unknown to what extent mechanisms supporting 'peer relationships' are similar to those involved in mate relationships. The formation of pair bonds is dependent on dopamine neurotransmission, whereas the formation of peer relationships is not, providing evidence of relationship type-specificity. The current study assessed endogenous structural changes in dopamine D1 receptor density in male and female voles across different social environments, including long-term same-sex partnerships, new same-sex partnerships, social isolation, and group housing. We also related dopamine D1 receptor density and social environment to behavior in social interaction and partner preference tests. Unlike prior findings in mate pairs, voles paired with new same-sex partners did not exhibit upregulated D1 binding in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) relative to controls paired from weaning. This is consistent with differences in relationship type: D1 upregulation in pair bonds aids in maintaining exclusive relationships through selective aggression, and we found that formation of new peer relationships did not enhance aggression. Isolation led to increases in NAcc D1 binding, and even across socially housed voles, individuals with higher D1 binding exhibited increased social avoidance. These findings suggest that elevated D1 binding may be both a cause and a consequence of reduced prosociality. These results highlight the neural and behavioral consequences of different non-reproductive social environments and contribute to growing evidence that the mechanisms underlying reproductive and non-reproductive relationship formation are distinct. Elucidation of the latter is necessary to understand mechanisms underlying social behavior beyond a mating context.
草原田鼠(Microtus ochrogaster)是一种具有社会一夫一妻制的啮齿动物,它们与伴侣和同性同伴形成选择性的、持久的关系。目前尚不清楚支持“同伴关系”的机制在多大程度上与配偶关系中涉及的机制相似。伴侣关系的形成依赖于多巴胺神经传递,而同伴关系的形成则不然,这为关系类型特异性提供了证据。本研究评估了不同社会环境中雄性和雌性田鼠多巴胺 D1 受体密度的内源性结构变化,包括长期的同性伴侣关系、新的同性伴侣关系、社会隔离和群体饲养。我们还将多巴胺 D1 受体密度和社会环境与社会互动和伴侣偏好测试中的行为相关联。与之前在配偶对中的发现不同,与新的同性伴侣配对的田鼠在伏隔核(NAcc)中没有表现出相对对照组(从断奶开始配对)上调的 D1 结合。这与关系类型的差异一致:伴侣关系中的 D1 上调有助于通过选择性攻击维持排他性关系,而我们发现形成新的同伴关系不会增强攻击性。隔离导致 NAcc D1 结合增加,即使在社会饲养的田鼠中,D1 结合较高的个体也表现出更多的社交回避。这些发现表明,升高的 D1 结合可能既是社交回避减少的原因,也是结果。这些结果突出了不同非生殖社会环境的神经和行为后果,并为越来越多的证据做出了贡献,即生殖和非生殖关系形成的机制是不同的。阐明后者对于理解交配背景以外的社会行为的机制是必要的。