ADVANCE Fellows Award: Effects of Early Experience on Parental Behavior in Voles

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This project will examine the effects of early social experience onmale parental care in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). Prairie voles are amonogamous, cooperatively breeding species in which males display high levelsof spontaneous parental and alloparental behavior (taking care of infants not their own). However, the principal investigator has previously observed marked differences in paternal behavior as a function of differential handling during the postnatal period. Experiences during the postnatal period and the availability of neuropeptide hormones, including oxytocin (OT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP), may contribute to the expression of positive behaviors toward pups as well. In this project the researcher will study the neurobiology underlying the effects of varying levels of early experience on male alloparental care. Pups will receive different levels of handling during the first week of life. Later variables measured will include alloparental care and anxiety, as well as long-term changes in peptide receptor systems (OT, AVP, and CRH, corticotropin-releasing hormone), mRNA expression for these receptors, and short-term peptide changes in the brain and blood when exposed to a pup. This project will help us to understand the biology of male parenting. Prairie voles are a monogamous species of rodent in which males participate in infant care. This project will investigate the effects of early experiences on later male parental care and its underlying neurobiology.