Neurobiological mechanisms of social attachment and pair bonding

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Zachary V Johnson, Emory University; Larry Young, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2015-06-01
• Publisher: Elsevier: 12 months
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.01.009
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences
• ISSN: 2352-1546
• Volume: 3
• Start Page: 38
• End Page: 44
• Grant/Funding Information: The authors would like to acknowledge support from National Institutes of Health grants R01MH096983 and 1P50MH100023 to LJY; and OD P51OD11132 to YNPRC.
• Research Categories: Biology, Neuroscience; Psychology, Psychobiology

Abstract

Species have evolved diverse social behavior and mating strategies in response to selective forces in their environments. While promiscuity is the predominant mating strategy across most vertebrate taxa, convergent evolution of monogamous mating systems has occurred multiple times across distant lineages. Monogamous behavior is thought to be facilitated by a neurobiological capacity to form and maintain selective social attachments, or pair bonds, with a mating partner. The neural mechanisms of pair bonding behavior have been investigated most rigorously in Microtine rodents, which exhibit diverse social organizations. These studies have highlighted mesolimbic dopamine pathways, social neuropeptides (oxytocin and vasopressin), and other neural systems as integral factors in the formation, maintenance, and expression of pair bonds.