scholarly journals The effects of stress on social preferences are sexually dimorphic in prairie voles.

1996 ◽  
Vol 93 (21) ◽  
pp. 11980-11984 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. C. DeVries ◽  
M. B. DeVries ◽  
S. E. Taymans ◽  
C. S. Carter
Keyword(s):  
Social Preferences ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Effects Of Stress

Effects of stress on parental care are sexually dimorphic in prairie voles

2006 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 424-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen L. Bales ◽  
Kristin M. Kramer ◽  
Antoniah D. Lewis-Reese ◽  
C. Sue Carter
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Effects Of Stress

scholarly journals The effects of psychosocial stress on intergroup resource allocation

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Schweda ◽  
Nadira Sophie Faber ◽  
Molly J. Crockett ◽  
Tobias Kalenscher
Keyword(s):  
Social Preferences ◽  
Social Dilemma ◽  
Opposite Pattern ◽  
Physiological Factors ◽  
Prosocial Motives ◽  
Tend And Befriend ◽  
Stress Changes ◽  
Effects Of Stress ◽  
Other Regarding ◽  
Fight Or Flight

AbstractStress changes our social behavior. Traditionally, stress has been associated with “fight-or-flight” – the tendency to attack an aggressor, or escape the stressor. But stress may also promote the opposite pattern, i.e., “tend-and-befriend” – increased prosociality toward others. It is currently unclear which situational or physiological factors promote one or the other. Here, we hypothesized that stress stimulates both tendencies, but that fight-or-flight is primarily directed against a potentially hostile outgroup, moderated by rapid-acting catecholamines, while tend-and-befriend is mainly shown towards a supportive ingroup, regulated by cortisol. To test this hypothesis, we measured stress-related neurohormonal modulators and sex hormones in male and female participants who were exposed to a psychosocial stressor, and subsequently played an intergroup social dilemma game in which they could reveal prosocial motives towards an ingroup (ingroup-love) and hostility towards an outgroup (outgroup-hate). We found no significant effects of stress on social preferences, but stress-related heart-rate increases predicted outgroup-hostile behavior. Furthermore, when controlling for testosterone, cortisol was associated with increased ingroup-love. Other-regarding behavior was overall higher in male than female participants. Our mixed results are of interest to scholars of the effects of stress on prosocial and aggressive behavior, but call for refinement in future replications.

Familiarity and gender influence social preferences in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)

1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Courtney DeVries ◽  
Camron L. Johnson ◽  
C. Sue Carter
Keyword(s):  
Social Preference ◽  
Social Preferences ◽  
Group Cohesion ◽  
Gonadal Hormones ◽  
Microtus Ochrogaster ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Sex Preferences ◽  
Opposite Sex

The physiological mechanisms influencing group cohesion and social preferences are largely unstudied in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). In nature, prairie vole family groups usually consist of an adult male and female breeding pair, one or more litters of their offspring, and occasionally unrelated adults. Pair bonds, defined by heterosexual preferences, develop in male and female prairie voles following cohabitation or mating. However, social preferences between members of the same sex also may be important to the maintenance of communal groups. In the present study we compared the development of social preferences for conspecific strangers of the same sex versus preferences for the opposite sex, and examined the effect of the gonadal status of the stimulus animal on initial social preference. The present study revealed that reproductively naive males, but not females, showed initial preferences for partners of the opposite sex. In both sexes preferences for the opposite sex were not influenced by the presence or absence of gonadal hormones. Heterosexual and same-sex preferences for a familiar individual formed following 24 h of nonsexual cohabitation in both males and females. Male and female same-sex preferences, however, were no longer stable when the stranger in the preference test was of the opposite sex to the experimental animal. The development of same-sex preferences may help to maintain group cohesion, but same-sex preferences formed by cohabitation do not withstand the challenge of an opposite-sex stranger.

Sex differences in temporal parameters of partner preference in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (6) ◽  
pp. 885-889 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Courtney DeVries ◽  
C Sue Carter
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Reproductive Strategies ◽  
Social Preferences ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Microtus Ochrogaster ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Temporal Parameters ◽  
Partner Preferences ◽  
Males And Females

Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) are monogamous rodents in which both sexes form social preferences for a familiar partner. This species exhibits many of the characteristics of monogamy, including long-term social bonds, mate guarding, and biparental care. Although the behaviors associated with the development of partner preferences are superficially similar in males and females, the present study documents sex differences in the temporal parameters of partner preferences in prairie voles. Following nonsexual cohabitation, female prairie voles formed partner preferences more quickly and these preferences lasted longer than in males. These data indicate that sex differences exist in the development and maintenance of social preferences and may reflect differences in the reproductive strategies of male and female prairie voles.

scholarly journals Social selectivity and social motivation in voles

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annaliese K Beery ◽  
Sarah A Lopez ◽  
Katrina L Blandino ◽  
Nicole S Lee ◽  
Natalie S Bourdon
Keyword(s):  
Social Preference ◽  
Social Preferences ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Preference Test ◽  
Social Motivation ◽  
Oxytocin Receptor ◽  
Social Reward ◽  
Social Monogamy ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Meadow Voles

Selective relationships are fundamental to humans and many other animals, but relationships between mates, family members, or peers may be mediated differently. We examined connections between social reward and social selectivity, aggression, and oxytocin receptor signaling pathways in rodents that naturally form enduring, selective relationships with mates and peers (monogamous prairie voles) or peers (group-living meadow voles). Female prairie and meadow voles worked harder to access familiar vs. unfamiliar individuals, regardless of sex, and huddled extensively with familiar subjects. Male prairie voles displayed strongly selective huddling preferences for familiar animals, but only worked harder to repeatedly access females vs. males, with no difference in effort by familiarity. This reveals a striking sex difference in pathways underlying social monogamy, and demonstrates a fundamental disconnect between motivation and social selectivity in males-a distinction not detected by the partner preference test. Meadow voles exhibited social preferences but low social motivation, consistent with tolerance rather than reward supporting social groups in this species. Natural variation in oxytocin receptor binding predicted individual variation in prosocial and aggressive behaviors. These results provide a basis for understanding species, sex, and individual differences in the mechanisms underlying the role of social reward in social preference.

scholarly journals Social selectivity and social motivation in voles

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annaliese K Beery ◽  
Sarah A Lopez ◽  
Katrina L Blandino ◽  
Nicole S Lee ◽  
Natalie S Bourdon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Variation ◽  
Social Preference ◽  
Social Preferences ◽  
Social Motivation ◽  
Oxytocin Receptor ◽  
Social Reward ◽  
Social Monogamy ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Meadow Voles

Selective relationships are fundamental to humans and many other animals, but relationships between mates, family members, or peers may be mediated differently. We examined connections between social reward and social selectivity, aggression, and oxytocin receptor signaling pathways in rodents that naturally form enduring, selective relationships with mates and peers (prairie voles) or peers (meadow voles). Female prairie and meadow voles worked harder to access familiar vs. unfamiliar individuals, regardless of sex, and huddled extensively with familiar subjects. Male prairie voles also displayed strongly selective huddling preferences for familiar animals, but worked hardest to repeatedly access females vs. males, with no difference in effort by familiarity. This demonstrates a fundamental disconnect between motivation and social selectivity in males, and reveals a striking sex difference in pathways underlying social monogamy. Meadow voles exhibited social preferences but low social motivation, consistent with tolerance rather than reward supporting social groups in this species. Natural variation in oxytocin receptor genotype was associated with oxytocin receptor density, and both genotype and receptor binding predicted individual variation in prosocial and aggressive behaviors. These results provide a basis for understanding species, sex, and individual differences in the mechanisms underlying the role of social reward in social preference.

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