The effects of stress on social preferences are sexually dimorphic in prairie voles.
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Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) are monogamous rodents that form pair bonds characterized by a preference for a familiar social partner. In male prairie voles, exposure to either the stress of swimming or exogenous injections of corticosterone facilitate the development of a social preference for a female with which the male was paired after injection or swimming. Conversely, adrenalectomy inhibits partner preference formation in males and the behavioral effects of adrenalectomy are reversed by corticosterone replacement. In female prairie voles, swim stress interferes with the development of social preferences and corticosterone treatments inhibit the formation of partner preferences, while adrenalectomized females form preferences more quickly than adrenally intact controls. Because sex differences in both behavior and physiology are typically reduced in monogamous species, we initially predicted that male and female prairie voles would exhibit similar behavioral responses to corticosterone. However, our findings suggest an unanticipated sexual dimorphism in the physiological processes modulating social preferences. This dimorphic involvement of stress hormones in pair bonding provides a proximate mechanism for regulating social organization, while permitting males and females to adapt their reproductive strategies in response to environmental challenges.
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In male prairie voles, forced swim stress or peripheral corticosterone injections enhance subsequent pair bond formation, while these treatments inhibit pair bonding in females.
“In male prairie voles, forced swim stress or peripheral corticosterone injections both enhance the subsequent formation of pair bonds, while these treatments inhibit pair bonding in females (DeVries et al 1996).”
From The behavioral, anatomical and pharmacological parallels between social attachment, love and addiction (2012) · cites this paper as DeVries et al 1996
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- Authors
- DeVries, A. C., DeVries, M. B., Taymans, S. E., & Carter, C. S.
- Affiliations
- University of Maryland, College Park (US)
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 1996-10-15
- Volume
- 93
- Issue
- 21
- Pages
- 11980-11984
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC38169
- OpenAlex
- W2061724623
- Cited by
- 219
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 6.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (9411216)
- National Institutes of Health (5k05mh001050-03, 5r01mh045836-03, 5r01hd032675-06)
- National Institute of Mental Health (MH01050, MH 45836)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD32675)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Keywords
- Microtus ochrogaster, mate preferences, pair bonding, monogamy, stress, corticosterone, adrenalectomy, swim stress, sexual dimorphism, social organization, stress hormones
- MeSH terms
- Adrenalectomy, Animals, Corticosterone, Arvicolinae, Female, Male, Sexual Behavior, Animal, Sex Characteristics, Social Behavior, Stress, Psychological, Swimming
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