The neural mechanisms and circuitry of the pair bond

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Hasse Walum, Emory University; Larry Young, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2018-11-01
• Publisher: Nature Research (part of Springer Nature): Review Journals
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2018, Springer Nature Limited.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41583-018-0072-6
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Nature Reviews Neuroscience
• ISSN: 1471-003X
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 11
• Start Page: 643
• End Page: 654
• Grant/Funding Information: Preparation of this manuscript was supported by US National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants R01MH096983, R01MH112788 and 1P50MH100023 to L.J.Y.; and P51OD11132 to the Yerkes National Primate Research Center (YNPRC).
• Keywords: OXYTOCIN RECEPTOR GENE; MICROTUS-OCHROGASTER; Neurosciences & Neurology; OLFACTORY-BULB; PARTNER PREFERENCE FORMATION; PHARMACOLOGICAL PARALLELS; LONG-TERM POTENTIATION; Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; SOCIAL RECOGNITION MEMORY; CORTICOTROPIN-RELEASING-FACTOR; Neurosciences; FEMALE PRAIRIE VOLES; NUCLEUS-ACCUMBENS OXYTOCIN
• Research Categories: Biology, Neuroscience; Psychology, Behavioral

Abstract

Love is one of our most powerful emotions, inspiring some of the greatest art, literature and conquests of human history. Although aspects of love are surely unique to our species, human romantic relationships are displays of a mating system characterized by pair bonding, likely built on ancient foundational neural mechanisms governing individual recognition, social reward, territorial behaviour and maternal nurturing. Studies in monogamous prairie voles and mice have revealed precise neural mechanisms regulating processes essential for the pair bond. Here, we discuss current viewpoints on the biology underlying pair bond formation, its maintenance and associated behaviours from neural and evolutionary perspectives.