The DOI matches its Crossref record; 59 of the 59 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Neurobiological mechanisms of social attachment and pair bonding
Open accessAbstract
Species have evolved diverse social behavior and mating strategies in response to selective forces in their environments. While promiscuity is the predominant mating strategy across most vertebrate taxa, convergent evolution of monogamous mating systems has occurred multiple times across distant lineages. Monogamous behavior is thought to be facilitated by a neurobiological capacity to form and maintain selective social attachments, or pair bonds, with a mating partner. The neural mechanisms of pair bonding behavior have been investigated most rigorously in Microtine rodents, which exhibit diverse social organizations. These studies have highlighted mesolimbic dopamine pathways, social neuropeptides (oxytocin and vasopressin), and other neural systems as integral factors in the formation, maintenance, and expression of pair bonds.
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In the citing paper
“In monogamous prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), OT and AVP interact with the dopamine system to facilitate the formation of pair bonds between mates (2,6).”
From Comparative Perspectives on Oxytocin and Vasopressin Receptor Research in Rodents and Primates: Translational Implications (2016) · cites this paper as [6]
In the citing paper
“OXTR affects a range of social behaviors in animals including maternal nurturing and bonding (1, 2), social reward and gregariousness (3, 4), social recognition (5), and pair bonding in monogamous species (6–8).”
From Variation in the Oxytocin Receptor Gene Predicts Brain Region–Specific Expression and Social Attachment (2016) · cites this paper as [8]
In the citing paper
“In a socially monogamous rodent, the prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster), OXTR is enriched in important MLR regions such as the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) that constitute part of a neural network for pair bonding (6, 8, 34).”
From Variation in the Oxytocin Receptor Gene Predicts Brain Region–Specific Expression and Social Attachment (2016) · cites this paper as [8]
In the citing paper
“Central OTRs exhibit extraordinarily diverse expression patterns that are associated with individual and species differences in social behavior.”
From Oxytocin receptors modulate a social salience neural network in male prairie voles (2017) · cites this paper as Johnson and Young, 2015
In the citing paper
“Central distribution patterns and region-specific densities of OT receptors (OTRs) have undergone rapid evolutionary divergence between closely related species of birds and mammals that exhibit divergent social behavior”
From Oxytocin receptors modulate a social salience neural network in male prairie voles (2017) · cites this paper as Johnson and Young, 2015
In the citing paper
“pair bonding behaviors in monogamous species (Hurlemann and Scheele, 2015; Johnson and Young, 2015; Ross and Young, 2009)”
From Central oxytocin receptors mediate mating-induced partner preferences and enhance correlated activation across forebrain nuclei in male prairie voles (2016) · cites this paper as Johnson and Young, 2015
In the citing paper
“It has been hypothesized that OT facilitates social bonding behaviors by modulating neural transmission and encoding of social information across sensory and reward processing brain areas (Johnson and Young, 2015; Numan and Young, 2015).”
From Central oxytocin receptors mediate mating-induced partner preferences and enhance correlated activation across forebrain nuclei in male prairie voles (2016) · cites this paper as Johnson and Young, 2015
In the citing paper
“These results are consistent with the hypothesis that central OTR signaling facilitates social bond formation by coordinating activity across a pair bonding neural network.”
From Central oxytocin receptors mediate mating-induced partner preferences and enhance correlated activation across forebrain nuclei in male prairie voles (2016) · cites this paper as Johnson and Young, 2015
In the citing paper
“The MeA, AON, PFC, NA, PVN and BLA are part of a hypothesized neural network underlying mating induced pair bonds in prairie voles (Johnson and Young, 2015; Numan and Young, 2015).”
From Central oxytocin receptors mediate mating-induced partner preferences and enhance correlated activation across forebrain nuclei in male prairie voles (2016) · cites this paper as Johnson and Young, 2015
In the citing paper
“However, accumulating evidence suggests that species differences in social relationships are not restricted to the OXT system per se but extend to other signaling pathways, including dopamine (DA) and argininevasopressin (AVP), and their reciprocal interactions (14,15).”
From Dissecting the Role of Oxytocin in the Formation and Loss of Social Relationships (2016) · cites this paper as [15]
In the citing paper
“The distribution of OT-ergic and AVP-ergic neurons, and cellular receptors for OT (OTR) and AVP (V1aR, V1bR, V2R) have been well characterized in rodents (Albers, 2015; Johnson and Young, 2015) and other vertebrates (Goodson and Kabelik, 2009; O’Connell and Hofmann, 2012, 2011), and this distribution includes substantial overlap with the social behavior network (SBN; Newman, 1999).”
From Neuropeptide diversity and the regulation of social behavior in New World primates (2016) · cites this paper as Johnson and Young, 2015
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Citations
Cites
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Metadata
- Authors
- Johnson, Z. V., & Young, L. J.
- Affiliations
- Emory University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Johnson, Zachary V
- Young, Larry J
- Venue
- Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-06
- Volume
- 3
- Pages
- 38-44
- ISSN
- 2352-1546 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4486624
- OpenAlex
- W1963831028
- Cited by
- 169
- References
- 59
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 13
- FWCI
- 3.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (R01MH096983, 1P50MH100023, OD P51OD11132)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- pair bonding, social attachment, monogamy, monogamous mating system, mesolimbic dopamine system, oxytocin, vasopressin, microtine rodents, mating strategies, convergent evolution
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