Oxytocin receptor is not required for social attachment in prairie voles

Kristen M Berendzen; Ruchira Sharma; Maricruz Alvarado Mandujano; Yichao Wei; Forrest D Rogers; Trenton C Simmons; Adele M H Seelke; Jessica M Bond; Rose Larios; Nastacia L Goodwin; Michael Sherman; Srinivas Parthasarthy; Isidero Espineda; Joseph R Knoedler; Annaliese Beery; Karen L Bales; Nirao M Shah; Devanand S Manoli

doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2022.12.011

Oxytocin receptor is not required for social attachment in prairie voles

Neuron. 2023 Mar 15;111(6):787-796.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.12.011. Epub 2023 Jan 27.

Authors

Kristen M Berendzen¹, Ruchira Sharma¹, Maricruz Alvarado Mandujano², Yichao Wei², Forrest D Rogers³, Trenton C Simmons³, Adele M H Seelke³, Jessica M Bond³, Rose Larios⁴, Nastacia L Goodwin¹, Michael Sherman¹, Srinivas Parthasarthy², Isidero Espineda⁵, Joseph R Knoedler², Annaliese Beery⁶, Karen L Bales⁷, Nirao M Shah⁸, Devanand S Manoli⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
² Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
³ Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 95158, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁶ Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
⁷ Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Electronic address: nirao@stanford.edu.
⁹ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. Electronic address: devanand.manoli@ucsf.edu.

Abstract

Prairie voles are among a small group of mammals that display long-term social attachment between mating partners. Many pharmacological studies show that signaling via the oxytocin receptor (Oxtr) is critical for the display of social monogamy in these animals. We used CRISPR mutagenesis to generate three different Oxtr-null mutant prairie vole lines. Oxtr mutants displayed social attachment such that males and females showed a behavioral preference for their mating partners over a stranger of the opposite sex, even when assayed using different experimental setups. Mothers lacking Oxtr delivered viable pups, and parents displayed care for their young and raised them to the weanling stage. Together, our studies unexpectedly reveal that social attachment, parturition, and parental behavior can occur in the absence of Oxtr signaling in prairie voles.

Keywords: CRISPR; monogamy; nursing; oxytocin receptor; pair-bonding; parental behavior; partner preference; prairie vole; social attachment.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Arvicolinae
Female
Grassland*
Male
Mammals
Oxytocin
Receptors, Oxytocin* / genetics
Social Behavior

Substances

Receptors, Oxytocin
Oxytocin

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding