Neural mechanisms of mother-infant bonding and pair bonding: Similarities, differences, and broader implications

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Michael Numan, Rio Rancho; Larry Young, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2016-01-01
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2015 Elsevier Inc.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2015.05.015
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Hormones and Behavior
• ISSN: 0018-506X
• Volume: 77
• Start Page: 98
• End Page: 112
• 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.
• Keywords: Amygdala; Endocrinology & Metabolism; DISRUPTS MATERNAL-BEHAVIOR; Vasopressin; VENTRAL TEGMENTAL AREA; MICROTUS-OCHROGASTER; Nucleus accumbens; AXON-SPARING LESIONS; PARTNER-PREFERENCE FORMATION; Social attachment; Behavioral Sciences; MEDIAL PREOPTIC AREA; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Dopamine; Medial preoptic area; Monogamy; OXYTOCIN RECEPTOR DENSITY; Science & Technology; Oxytocin; SOCIAL RECOGNITION; NUCLEUS-ACCUMBENS DOPAMINE; Ventral pallidum; FEMALE PRAIRIE VOLES
• Research Categories: Psychology, Behavioral; Psychology, Cognitive; Psychology, General

Abstract

This article is part of a Special Issue "Parental Care". Mother-infant bonding is a characteristic of virtually all mammals. The maternal neural system may have provided the scaffold upon which other types of social bonds in mammals have been built. For example, most mammals exhibit a polygamous mating system, but monogamy and pair bonding between mating partners occur in ~ 5% of mammalian species. In mammals, it is plausible that the neural mechanisms that promote mother-infant bonding have been modified by natural selection to establish the capacity to develop a selective bond with a mate during the evolution of monogamous mating strategies. Here we compare the details of the neural mechanisms that promote mother-infant bonding in rats and other mammals with those that underpin pair bond formation in the monogamous prairie vole. Although details remain to be resolved, remarkable similarities and a few differences between the mechanisms underlying these two types of bond formation are revealed. For example, amygdala and nucleus accumbens-ventral pallidum (NA-VP) circuits are involved in both types of bond formation, and dopamine and oxytocin actions within NA appear to promote the synaptic plasticity that allows either infant or mating partner stimuli to persistently activate NA-VP attraction circuits, leading to an enduring social attraction and bonding. Further, although the medial preoptic area is essential for maternal behavior, its role in pair bonding remains to be determined. Our review concludes by examining the broader implications of this comparative analysis, and evidence is provided that the maternal care system may have also provided the basic neural foundation for other types of strong social relationships, beyond pair bonding, in mammals, including humans.