Investigating the role of correlated neural activity in pair bonding using prairie voles

项目总结 浪漫的纽带是人类经历的基本部分，对我们的健康有积极的贡献 通过降低身体和精神疾病的风险来提高幸福感。结对纽带的一个关键特征--和社会 更广泛地说，关系是高度互惠的，作为持续反馈的函数而发展 从另一个人那里。然而，配对结合中神经活动的相互依存性质仍然存在。 研究不足，部分原因是缺乏可在实验室适应的哺乳动物，这些哺乳动物与 它们的交配伙伴。一种很有前途的度量，用于解释动态中交互及其进展的各个方面 社会背景是大脑之间的同步，或相互关联，其中两个人的神经动力学 随着他们的互动，他们会变得更加相似。用关系变量衡量大脑间的相关性；它是 在社会交往中，恋人比陌生人更强势。我发现大脑间的关联是 在草原田鼠身上也很明显，当成对结合的田鼠与它们的 搭档总比和陌生人好。在这份提案中，我将利用现代光学工具来检测和功能 操纵草原田鼠的脑间关联。在我的第一个目标中，我将进行动物内部的比较 确定大脑间的关联如何在不同的行为中变化，并作为配对结合的一个函数。这就做 用纤维光度计法同步实时记录大鼠前额叶内侧皮质钙离子 交互动物，并使用监督和非监督机器学习来进行彻底的行为 交互组件的注释。使用各种分析方法，包括广义线性模型，即 将描述配对结合、从属行为和脑间关联之间的关系。在我的第二天 目的：我将在mPFC中使用同步实时光发生刺激来测试诱导的间脑 相关性可以促进成对键的形成。综合起来，这些结果将表征 不同行为中的脑间关联以及作为结合状态的函数并测试脑间功能 成对键形成中的相关性。这项工作有助于确定治疗方法是否 以脑间关联为靶点将有益于治疗自闭症等损害社会依恋的疾病 谱系障碍。

PROJECT SUMMARY Romantic bonds are a fundamental part of the human experience, positively contributing to our health and well-being by decreasing risk for physical and mental illness. A key feature of pair bonds - and social relationships more generally - is that they are highly reciprocal, evolving as a function of ongoing feedback from the other individual. Yet the interdependent nature of neural activity within pair bonding remains understudied, due in part to the dearth of laboratory-amenable mammals that form selective attachments with their mating partners. One promising metric for explaining aspects of interaction and its progression in dynamic social contexts is interbrain synchronization, or correlation, in which the neural dynamics of two individuals become more similar to each other as they interact. Interbrain correlation scales with relational variables; it is stronger in romantic partners than strangers during social interaction. I have found that interbrain correlation is also evident in prairie voles and that pair bonded voles show stronger correlations when interacting with their partner than with a stranger. In this proposal, I will leverage modern optical tools to detect and functionally manipulate interbrain correlation in prairie voles. In my first aim, I will perform within-animal comparisons to determine how interbrain correlation varies across discrete behaviors and as a function of pair bonding. I will use fiber-photometry to conduct simultaneous real-time calcium recordings in the medial prefrontal cortex of interacting animals, and use supervised and unsupervised machine learning to conduct thorough behavioral annotations of the interaction. Using a variety of analytical approaches, including generalized linear models, I will delineate the relationship between pair bonding, affiliative behavior and interbrain correlation. In my second aim, I will use synchronized real-time optogenetic stimulation in the mPFC to test whether induced interbrain correlation can facilitate pair bond formation. Together these results will characterize the occurrence of interbrain correlation during distinct behaviors and as a function of bond state and test the function of interbrain correlation in pair bond formation. Such work is instrumental for determining whether therapeutic approaches targeting interbrain correlation will be beneficial for treating disorders that impair social attachment like autism spectrum disorders.