Loss of oxytocin receptor function disrupts neural signatures of pair bonding and fidelity in the nucleus accumbens.

In vivo fiber photometry study examining neural activity and behavior in wild-type and oxytocin receptor null prairie voles.

“Here, we utilize in vivo, longitudinal fiber photometry to examine NAc calcium activity across pair bond development in male and female, wild-type (WT) and Oxtr null (Oxtr1−/−) prairie voles.”

Wild-type and Oxtr null (Oxtr1−/−) male and female prairie voles.

“We implemented fiber photometry in WT and Oxtr1−/− voles of both sexes (Fig. 1a).”

Sample sizes varied by assay, including 8 to 11 voles per group for behavioral assays and hundreds of traces for neural recordings.

“WTFemale n = 8 voles, Oxtr1−/−Female n = 9, WTMale n = 11, Oxtr1−/−Male n = 9”

Longitudinal observations spanning from initial introduction to 5 days post-introduction for partner preference testing.

“We therefore examined partner preference in males 5 days after introduction to WT females, a period of cohabitation that is sufficient for partner preference formation in WT males11 (Fig. 3a).”

Loss of Oxtr sex-specifically alters prosocial behaviors and NAc activity during initial interactions with novel partners.

“We demonstrate that the NAc responds to various types of social interaction and that loss of Oxtr signaling alters both pair-bonding behaviors and behavior-related NAc activity in a sex-specific manner.”

In females, Oxtr loss reduces prosocial behavior and NAc activity during initial chemosensory investigation of novel males, but partner-directed affiliation occurs independently of Oxtr.

“In females, loss of Oxtr reduces prosocial behaviors and NAc activity during initial chemosensory investigation of novel males; however, partner-directed affiliative behavior and associated activity increase independently of Oxtr.”

In males, Oxtr loss increases prosocial investigation of novel females, and initial neural activity patterns predict future partner preference.

“In males, loss of Oxtr increases prosocial investigation of novel females, and initial behavioral and neural activity patterns predict future partner preference in Oxtr-null males.”

The study recorded population-level activity rather than cell-type-specific activity, and predictive correlations in males were based on limited group sizes.

“Here, we recorded population-level activity from the NAc, and future experiments with cell-type-specific targeting are needed to determine how subpopulations contribute to the different patterns of activity we observed.”