Drinking alcohol has sex-dependent effects on pair bond formation in prairie voles.
Alcohol use and abuse profoundly influences a variety of behaviors, including social interactions. In some cases, it erodes social relationships; in others, it facilitates sociality. Here, we show that voluntary alcohol consumption can inhibit male partner preference (PP) formation (a laboratory proxy for pair bonding) in socially monogamous prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). Conversely, female PP is not inhibited, and may be facilitated by alcohol. Behavior and neurochemical analysis suggests that the effects of alcohol on social bonding are mediated by neural mechanisms regulating pair bond formation and not alcohol's effects on mating, locomotor, or aggressive behaviors. Several neuropeptide systems involved in the regulation of social behavior (especially neuropeptide Y and corticotropin-releasing factor) are modulated by alcohol drinking during cohabitation. These findings provide the first evidence to our knowledge that alcohol has a direct impact on the neural systems involved in social bonding in a sex-specific manner, providing an opportunity to explore the mechanisms by which alcohol affects social relationships.
Departments of Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239.
Allison M J
AM
Anacker
Todd H
TH
Ahern
Caroline M
CM
Hostetler
Brett D
BD
Dufour
Monique L
ML
Smith
Davelle L
DL
Cocking
Ju
J
Li
Larry J
LJ
Young
Jennifer M
JM
Loftis
Andrey E
AE
Ryabinin
D000374:Aggression; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000818:Animals; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D052586:Mating Preference, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000378:metabolism; D010152:Pair Bond; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism; D012727:Sex Characteristics
D009479:Neuropeptides; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos
anxiety; ethanol; oxytocin; substance use; vasopressin