Brain functional networks associated with social bonding in monogamous voles
- Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
- Instituto de Neurobiologia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
- Emory University, United States
- Instituto Nacional de Perinatología Isidro Espinosa de los Reyes, Mexico
Abstract
Previous studies have related pair bonding in Microtus ochrogaster, the prairie vole, with plastic changes in several brain regions. However, the interactions between these socially-relevant regions have yet to be described. In this study, we used resting state magnetic resonance imaging to explore bonding behaviors and functional connectivity of brain regions previously associated with pair bonding. Thirty-two male and female prairie voles were scanned at baseline, 24h and 2 weeks after the onset of cohabitation By using network based statistics, we identified that the functional connectivity of a cortico-striatal network predicted the onset of affiliative behavior, while another predicted the amount of social interaction during a partner preference test. Furthermore, a network with significant changes in time was revealed, also showing associations with the level of partner preference. Overall, our findings revealed the association between network-level functional connectivity changes and social bonding.
Data availability
Data generated or analysed during this study are included in the manuscript and supporting files. Source data files have been provided for Figures 3 to 6 and supplementary source data has been provided for Figure 2. Code for Figure 5 is an R-based package available at https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/NBR/index.html
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Data from: Brain functional networks associated with social bonding in monogamous volesDryad Digital Repository, 10.5061/dryad.1rn8pk0q9.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (252756)
- Wendy Portillo
Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (253631)
- Raúl G Paredes
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (IN202818)
- Wendy Portillo
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (IN212219-3)
- Sarael Alcauter
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (IN203518-3)
- Raúl G Paredes
Instituto Nacional de Perinatología (2018-1-163)
- Nestor F Diaz
National Institutes of Health (P50MH100023)
- Larry J Young
Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (626152)
- María Fernanda López-Gutiérrez
National Institutes of Health (P51OD011132)
- Larry J Young
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Ethics
Animal experimentation: All surgical, experimental and maintenance procedures were carried out in accordance with the "Reglamento de la Ley General de Salud en Materia de Investigación para la Salud" (Health General Law on Health Research Regulation) of the Mexican Health Ministry which follows the National Institutes of Health's "Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals" (NIH Publications No. 8023, revised 1978). The animal research protocols were approved by the bioethics committee of the Instituto de Neurobiología, UNAM (Protocol 072). All fMRI scanning sessions were performed under a mixture of isoflurane and dexmedetomidine anesthesia, and all surgery was performed under sevoflurane or a mixture of ketamine/xylazine/saline anesthesia, with every effort to minimize suffering.
Copyright
© 2021, López-Gutiérrez et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Brain functional networks associated with social bonding in monogamous voles
eLife 10:e55081.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.55081
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