Dopamine D2 receptors in the nucleus accumbens are important for social attachment in female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster).
The prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster), a monogamous rodent that forms long-lasting pair bonds, has proven useful for the neurobiological study of social attachment. In the laboratory, pair bonds can be assessed by testing for a partner preference, a choice test in which pair-bonded voles regularly prefer their partner to a conspecific stranger. Studies reported here investigate the role of dopamine D2-like receptors (i.e., D2, D3, and D4 receptors) in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) for the formation of a partner preference in female voles. Mating facilitated partner preference formation and associated with an approximately 50% increase in extracellular dopamine in the NAcc. Microinjection of the D2 antagonist eticlopride into the NAcc (but not the prelimbic cortex) blocked the formation of a partner preference in mating voles, whereas the D2 agonist quinpirole facilitated formation of a partner preference in the absence of mating. Taken together, these results suggest that D2-like receptors in the NAcc are important for the mediation of social attachments in female voles.
Gingrich
B
B
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.
Liu
Y
Y
Cascio
C
C
Wang
Z
Z
Insel
T R
TR
D000818:Animals; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000502:physiology*; D010152:Pair Bond; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000502:physiology*; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D012919:Social Behavior
D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2