Epigenetics of Social Bonding

描述（由申请人提供）：社会依恋是健康人类行为的重要组成部分，无法形成这种依恋被认为是精神分裂症和自闭症等精神障碍的症状。研究社会依恋的潜在机制需要一个表现出与人类社会依恋相似行为的动物模型。草原田鼠（Microtus ochrogaster）已成为社会依恋神经生物学研究的重要模型。在野外，雄性和雌性草原田鼠形成长期的纽带，并在整个繁殖季节共用一个巢穴。这样的繁殖对通常会一直呆在一起，直到其中一只动物死亡。对于草原田鼠，它已被证明，24小时的交配可靠的结果在合作伙伴的偏好形成，而6小时的同居在没有交配不会诱导这种行为。鉴于草原田鼠交配诱导神经适应，最终导致债券，我们建议在这里调查交配诱导的社会债券是否有一个潜在的表观遗传基础。我们的初步数据支持这一假设。 公共卫生相关性：草原田鼠已经成为社会依恋神经生物学研究的重要模型。鉴于草原田鼠的交配诱导特定脑区的适应，最终导致债券，我们建议在这个建议中调查一些机制，在草原田鼠的社会债券的发展。理解社会联结的机制与理解一些精神病理学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.