親密さと交尾が脳をどのように変化させるか、初の脳全体マップが示す(First Brainwide Map Shows How Intimacy and Mating Rewire the Brain)

20224-02-22 テキサス大学オースチン校(UT Austin)

A pair of prairie voles. Credit: Aubrey Kelly.

<関連情報>

• https://news.utexas.edu/2024/02/22/first-brainwide-map-shows-how-intimacy-and-mating-rewire-the-brain/
• https://elifesciences.org/articles/87029

プレーリーネズミのペア結合の全脳マップにおける性的協調性 Sexual coordination in a whole-brain map of prairie vole pair bonding

Morgan L Gustison ,Rodrigo Muñoz-Castañeda,Pavel Osten,Steven M Phelps
eLife  Published:Feb 21, 2024
DOI:https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.87029.3

Abstract

Sexual bonds are central to the social lives of many species, including humans, and monogamous prairie voles have become the predominant model for investigating such attachments. We developed an automated whole-brain mapping pipeline to identify brain circuits underlying pair-bonding behavior. We identified bonding-related c-Fos induction in 68 brain regions clustered in seven major brain-wide neuronal circuits. These circuits include known regulators of bonding, such as the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, paraventricular hypothalamus, ventral pallidum, and prefrontal cortex. They also include brain regions previously unknown to shape bonding, such as ventromedial hypothalamus, medial preoptic area, and the medial amygdala, but that play essential roles in bonding-relevant processes, such as sexual behavior, social reward, and territorial aggression. Contrary to some hypotheses, we found that circuits active during mating and bonding were largely sexually monomorphic. Moreover, c-Fos induction across regions was strikingly consistent between members of a pair, with activity best predicted by rates of ejaculation. A novel cluster of regions centered in the amygdala remained coordinated after bonds had formed, suggesting novel substrates for bond maintenance. Our tools and results provide an unprecedented resource for elucidating the networks that translate sexual experience into an enduring bond.