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The oxytocin receptors of the female prairie vole brain are located more densely in the reward system, and have more receptors than other species, which causes 'addiction' to the social behavior. [ 10 ] [ 11 ] [ 12 ] In the male prairie vole, the gene for the vasopressin receptor has a longer segment, as opposed to the montane vole, which has a ...
In collaboration with zoologist Lowell Getz, Carter documented the occurrence of social monogamy in prairie voles. Her studies in rodents helped to lay the foundation for the studies of behavioral and developmental effects of oxytocin and vasopressin in humans which are in progress.
The genetic alteration changed the mating behaviour of the prairie vole, turning a once promiscuous prairie vole, monogamous. The change in mating behaviour, while genetic in nature, was caused by an increase in the receptiveness of the prairie voles brain to the neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin.
In the prairie vole, oxytocin released into the brain of the female during sexual activity is important for forming a pair bond with her sexual partner. Vasopressin appears to have a similar effect in males. [99] Oxytocin has a role in social behaviors in many species, so it likely also does in humans.
Finally, vasopressin activity results in "postmating aggression" that allows prairie voles to protect their mate. [17] Oxytocin is a hormone that regulates pair bond formation along with vasopressin. [18] Blocking either oxytocin or vasopressin prevents formation of the pair bond but continues to allow for social behavior. [19]
The prairie around you. The Rolling Plains of Texas and Oklahoma are located between the tallgrass prairies of the east and the shortgrass prairies farther west and are mixed grass prairie ecosystems.
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Prairie voles have a greater number of oxytocin and vasopressin receptors compared to montane voles, and are therefore more sensitive to those two neurohormones. It's believed that it's the quantity of receptors, rather than the quantity of the hormones, that determines the mating system and bond-formation of either species.