Comparative neurotranscriptomics reveal widespread species differences associated with bonding.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Pair bonding with a reproductive partner is rare among mammals but is an important feature of human social behavior. Decades of research on monogamous prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), along with comparative studies using the related non-bonding meadow vole (M. pennsylvanicus), have revealed many of the neural and molecular mechanisms necessary for pair-bond formation in that species. However, these studies have largely focused on just a few neuromodulatory systems. To test the hypothesis that neural gene expression differences underlie differential capacities to bond, we performed RNA-sequencing on tissue from three brain regions important for bonding and other social behaviors across bond-forming prairie voles and non-bonding meadow voles. We examined gene expressi

SUBMITTER: Tripp JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8165761 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature