Carter C S, DeVries A C, Taymans S E, Roberts R L, Williams J R, Chrousos G P
Department of Zoology, University of Maryland, College Park 20742, USA.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1995 Dec 29;771:82-91. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1995.tb44672.x.
Based on research with prairie voles, we hypothesize that the unusual patterns of reproduction and social behavior associated with mammalian monogamy may arise as a consequence of normal developmental exposure to high levels of glucocorticoids and/or other hormones of the HPA axis. Increased HPA activity could functionally inhibit some of the masculinizing processes expected during the perinatal period. We hypothesize that the unique behavioral, physiological, and anatomical changes associated with monogamy may reflect the adaptive consequences of reduced exposure to the masculinizing actions of HPG hormones, such as testosterone. Reproductively naive, unpaired adult prairie voles also show unusual patterns of adrenal activity, including a marked decline in corticosterone levels within minutes following exposure to novel animals of the opposite sex. In females, this decline in corticosterone may contribute to pair bonding, since corticosterone injections inhibit, and adrenalectomy is associated with a facilitation of pair bond formation. In males, corticosterone injections facilitate pair bonding and adrenalectomy has the opposite effect. In animals from established social pairs corticosterone levels also fluctuate according to the social environment of the animal; the absence of a familiar partner is associated with increased corticosterone secretion, and in the presence of the familiar partner corticosterone levels tend to decline. Prairie voles may offer a valuable source of information regarding the behavioral, anatomical, and physiological consequences of long-term and short-term exposure to high levels of adrenal activity in the absence of pathology.
基于对草原田鼠的研究，我们推测与哺乳动物一夫一妻制相关的异常繁殖模式和社会行为，可能是正常发育过程中暴露于高水平糖皮质激素和/或下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴的其他激素的结果。HPA活性增加可能在功能上抑制围产期预期出现的一些雄性化过程。我们推测，与一夫一妻制相关的独特行为、生理和解剖学变化，可能反映了减少暴露于如睾酮等HPG激素雄性化作用的适应性后果。未配对的成年草原田鼠在生殖上未成熟，也表现出异常的肾上腺活动模式，包括在接触异性新奇动物几分钟内皮质酮水平显著下降。在雌性中，皮质酮水平下降可能有助于形成配偶关系，因为注射皮质酮会抑制配偶关系形成，而肾上腺切除术则与促进配偶关系形成有关。在雄性中，注射皮质酮会促进配偶关系形成，而肾上腺切除术则有相反的效果。在已建立社会配偶关系的动物中，皮质酮水平也会根据动物的社会环境而波动；没有熟悉的伴侣会导致皮质酮分泌增加，而在有熟悉伴侣的情况下，皮质酮水平往往会下降。草原田鼠可能为研究在无病理状态下长期和短期暴露于高水平肾上腺活动的行为、解剖学和生理学后果提供有价值的信息来源。
