Epigenetics of Social Bonding

描述(申请人提供)：社交依恋是人类健康行为的重要组成部分，无法形成这种依恋被视为精神障碍的一种症状，如精神分裂症和自闭症。研究社会依恋背后的机制需要一个动物模型，该模型表现出与人类社会依恋相似的行为。草原田鼠(Microtus Ochrogaster)已成为研究社会依恋神经生物学的重要模型。在田野里，雄性和雌性草原田鼠结成长期纽带，在整个繁殖季节共享一个巢。这样的配对通常会一直在一起，直到其中一只动物死亡。对于草原田鼠，已经证明交配24小时可靠地导致伴侣偏好的形成，而在没有交配的情况下同居6小时不会诱导这种行为。鉴于草原田鼠的交配诱导神经适应，最终导致结合，我们建议在这里调查交配诱导的社会联系是否具有潜在的表观遗传学基础。我们的初步数据支持这一假设。 公共卫生相关性：草原田鼠已经成为研究社会依恋的神经生物学的重要模型。鉴于草原田鼠的交配会诱导特定大脑区域的适应，最终导致结合，在这项建议中，我们建议研究草原田鼠社会结合发展的一些机制。了解社会纽带的机制对于理解一些精神病态如自闭症和精神分裂症是非常相关的。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Social attachments are a vital part of healthy human behavior and an inability to form such attachments is regarded as a symptom of mental disorders such as schizophrenia and autism. Studying the mechanisms underlying social attachment requires an animal model that displays behaviors similar to that of human social attachment. Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) have become an important model for the study of the neurobiology of social attachment. In the field, male and female prairie voles form long-term bonds and share a nest throughout the breeding season. Such a breeding pair typically remains together until one animal dies. For prairie voles, it has been demonstrated that 24 h of mating reliably results in partner preference formation, whereas 6 h of cohabitation in the absence of mating does not induce this behavior. Given that mating in prairie voles induces neuroadaptations that eventually lead to bonding, we propose here to investigate whether mating induced social bonding has an underlying epigenetic basis. Our preliminary data support this hypothesis. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Prairie voles have become an important model for the study of the neurobiology of social attachment. Given that mating in prairie voles induces adaptations in specific brain regions that eventually lead to bonding, we propose in this proposal to investigate some of mechanisms that underlie the development of social bonding in prairie voles. Understanding the mechanisms of social bonding is very relevant to understanding some psychopathologies like autism and schizophrenia.