Schaepe Ciara A, Hiura Lisa C
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, United States of America.
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, United States of America.
Horm Behav. 2025 Jul;173:105778. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2025.105778. Epub 2025 Jun 17.
Convergent evidence across foundational and clinical research has demonstrated the expansive functions and health consequences of adult pair bonding. For decades now, study of the socially monogamous prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) has provided valuable mechanistic insights into the neuromolecular substrates that enable adult pair bond formation and maintenance. Despite this rapidly growing literature, substantially less is known about the lifespan development of pair bonding behavior and the organization of the monogamous brain. To characterize the age at which prairie voles are capable of pair bonding, we tested if male and female prairie voles between juvenile and adult stages of development could exhibit an other-sex partner preference after 48 h of cohabitation. We found that females paired by early adolescence (P31-36) preferred to huddle with their partner over a novel male conspecific, but this selective social preference was not observed in males until adulthood (P60+). Further, the degree of preference for the pair bond partner was greater in females compared to males, suggesting that there is a robust sex difference in the developmental onset and strength of pair bonding in this species. Identifying the typical developmental trajectories of sex-specific pair bonding behavior will enable novel inquiries into the neuroscience and endocrinology of age-specific social attachments.
基础研究和临床研究的趋同证据表明，成年伴侣关系具有广泛的功能和对健康的影响。几十年来，对社会一夫一妻制的草原田鼠（Microtus ochrogaster）的研究为促成成年伴侣关系形成和维持的神经分子基础提供了有价值的机制性见解。尽管这方面的文献迅速增加，但对于伴侣关系行为的终生发展以及一夫一妻制大脑的组织，人们了解得仍然少得多。为了确定草原田鼠能够形成伴侣关系的年龄，我们测试了处于幼年和成年发育阶段之间的雄性和雌性草原田鼠在同居48小时后是否会表现出对异性伴侣的偏好。我们发现，青春期早期（P31 - 36）配对的雌性更喜欢与它们的伴侣依偎在一起，而不是与陌生的雄性同类，但是直到成年期（P60+）雄性才表现出这种选择性的社会偏好。此外，与雄性相比，雌性对伴侣的偏好程度更高，这表明在这个物种中，伴侣关系发展的起始和强度存在明显的性别差异。确定性别特异性伴侣关系行为的典型发育轨迹将有助于对特定年龄社会依恋的神经科学和内分泌学进行新的探究。
