Reviving-like prosocial behavior in response to unconscious or dead conspecifics in rodents

Science, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 387(6736)

Published: Feb. 20, 2025

Whereas humans exhibit emergency responses to assist unconscious individuals, how nonhuman animals react unresponsive conspecifics is less well understood. We report that mice stereotypic behaviors toward or dead social partners, which escalate from sniffing and grooming more forceful actions such as mouth tongue biting pulling. The latter intense actions, prominent in familiar pairs, begin after prolonged immobility unresponsiveness cease when the partner regains activity. Their consequences, including improved airway opening clearance accelerated recovery unconsciousness, suggest rescue-like efforts. Oxytocin neurons hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus respond differentially presence of versus active their activation, along with oxytocin signaling, required for reviving-like actions. This tendency members may enhance group cohesion survival species.

Language: Английский

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Vocal recognition of partners by female prairie voles

iScience, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 28(2), P. 111796 - 111796

Published: Jan. 11, 2025

Recognizing conspecifics is vital for differentiating mates, offspring, and social threats. Individual recognition often reliant upon chemical or visual cues but can also be facilitated by vocal signatures in some species. In common laboratory rodents, playback studies have uncovered communicative functions of vocalizations, scant behavioral evidence exists individual recognition. Here, we find that the socially monogamous prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) emits behavior-dependent vocalizations communicate identity. Vocalizations males change after bonding with a female; however, acoustic variation across individuals greater than within-individual variation. Critically, females behaviorally discriminate their partner's from stranger's, even if emitted to another stimulus female. These results establish foundation voles, where neurobiological tools enable future revealing its causal neural mechanisms.

Language: Английский

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A review of the effects of different types of social behaviors on the recruitment of neuropeptides and neurotransmitters in the nucleus accumbens

Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: unknown, P. 101175 - 101175

Published: Jan. 1, 2025

Language: Английский

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Neural connectivity of oxytocin receptor-expressing neurons in the nucleus accumbens and their role in social attachment

Hormones and Behavior, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 171, P. 105726 - 105726

Published: March 29, 2025

Language: Английский

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Oxytocin does not stand alone

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2022, Volume and Issue: 377(1858)

Published: July 11, 2022

Language: Английский

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Melanocortin agonism in a social context selectively activates nucleus accumbens in an oxytocin-dependent manner

Neuropharmacology, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 247, P. 109848 - 109848

Published: Jan. 20, 2024

Language: Английский

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Vocal recognition of partners by female prairie voles

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: July 24, 2024

ABSTRACT Recognizing conspecifics is vitally important for differentiating kin, mates, offspring and social threats. 1 Although often reliant upon chemical or visual cues, individual recognition across the animal kingdom also facilitated by unique acoustic signatures in vocalizations. 2–4 However, amongst large Muroidea superfamily of rodents that encompasses laboratory species amenable to neurobiological studies, there scant behavioral evidence vocal despite variation. 5–10 Playback studies have found coarse communicative functions like mate attraction territorial defense, but limited finer ability discriminate known individuals’ 11–17 Such a capacity would be adaptive form lifelong pair bonds requiring partner identification timescales, distances sensory modalities, so improve chance finding Muroid rodent, we investigated communication prairie vole ( Microtus ochrogaster ) – one few socially monogamous mammals. 18 We ultrasonic vocalizations adult voles can communicate identity. Even though males change after cohabitating with female bond, variation individuals greater than within an different common context are identifiable above chance. Critically, females behaviorally their partner’s over stranger’s, even if emitted another stimulus female. These results establish foundation voles, where tools 19–22 enable future revealing its causal neural mechanisms. Highlights display Adult USVs more variable experience Individual identity decoded from Carefully constructed protocol sustains vole’s interest playback Female recognize mate’s

Language: Английский

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Distribution of vasopressin 1a and oxytocin receptor protein and mRNA in the basal forebrain and midbrain of the spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus)

Brain Structure and Function, Journal Year: 2022, Volume and Issue: 228(2), P. 413 - 431

Published: Oct. 21, 2022

Language: Английский

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Developmental trajectory of social reward motivation from early adolescence into adulthood in female and male Long‐Evans rats

Developmental Psychobiology, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 66(4)

Published: April 20, 2024

Abstract Most studies of adolescent and adult behavior involved one age group each, whereas the dynamic changes in brain development suggest that there may be behavioral flux adolescence. In two studies, we investigated developmental social reward motivation female male Long‐Evans rats from prepuberty to early adulthood a operant conditioning task. Given earlier onset puberty females than males, predicted course would differ between sexes. Overall, pattern results both suggests trajectory across adolescence is characterized by upward downward shifts do not depend on sex rats. During training, mean number gate openings percentage was higher at P30 (prepubertal, adolescence) P50 (late P40 (mid P70 (adulthood) irrespective sex. Nevertheless, specific comparisons were significant depended study. had greater levels did adults accessing when increased effort required (progressive ratio tests). an extinction test, only continued show more nose‐pokes previously nonsocial gate, suggesting resistance extinction. The highlight importance characterizing several timepoints understand neural mechanisms, many which similar discontinuities as they develop

Language: Английский

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Effects of oxytocin receptor agonism on acquisition and expression of pair bonding in male prairie voles

Translational Psychiatry, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 14(1)

Published: July 15, 2024

Abstract There is much interest in targeting the activity oxytocin system to regulate social bonding. However, studies with exogenous administration of face caveats its low stability, poor brain permeability and insufficient receptor specificity. The use a small-molecule receptor-specific agonist could overcome these caveats. Prior testing potential effects brain-penetrant clinical settings, it important assess how such an would affect bonds animal models. facultatively monogamous prairie voles ( Microtus ochrogaster ), capable forming long-term attachments between adult individuals, are ideal rodent model for testing. Therefore, series experiments we investigated recently developed LIT-001 on acquisition expression partner preference, well-established pair bonding, voles. (10 mg/kg, intraperitoneal), as expected, facilitated preference when administered prior 4hr cohabitation. In contrast, while animals injected vehicle after cohabitation exhibited significant that were did not show preference. This result suggests OXTR activation during bonding can inhibit difference versus was due basal differences experiments, had no if following shorter (2hr-long) Instead, this agrees hypothesis receptors acts signal presence partner. Our results indicate pharmacological crucially depend phase attachments.

Language: Английский

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