Extended amygdala corticotropin-releasing hormone neurons regulate sexually dimorphic changes in pair bond formation following social defeat in prairie voles ().

The neurobiological mechanisms underlying the connection between anxiety brought on by social stressors and the negative impact on relationship formation have remained elusive. In order to address this question, we used the social defeat model in the socially monogamous prairie vole to investigate the impact of this stress on pair bond formation. Social defeat experience inhibited partner preference formation in males but promoted preference in females.

Limbic oxytocin receptor expression alters molecular signaling and social avoidance behavior in female prairie voles ().

Introduction: The social defeat paradigm is the most representative animal model to study social anxiety disorder (SAD) and its underlying neuronal mechanisms. We have previously reported that defeat progressively reduces oxytocin receptors (OXTR) in limbic regions of the brain over an eight-week period in female prairie voles (). Oxytocin receptors activate the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, which has been previously associated with the anxiolytic effects of oxytocin.