June 27 - 11:00 AM - Alexandr Ophir: The Cognitive Ecology of Monogamy
Channel: Institut des sciences cognitives - UQAM
Date: 27/06/2018

Perhaps no neuromodulatory system is more important for social behavior than nonapeptides (oxytocin and vasopressin) and no behavior is more complex than reproductive strategy. I will discuss how early experience shapes reproductive decisions in prairie voles. The motivation toward monogamy or polygamy, with memory modulated by nonapeptides, depends on early experience and individual ability to assess the social and spatial landscape.

Ophir AG (2017) Navigating monogamy: Nonapeptide sensitivity in a memory neural circuit may shape social behavior and mating decisions. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 11, 397. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2017.00397. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2017.00397/full 

Prounis GS, Foley L, Rehman A, Ophir AG (2015) Perinatal and juvenile social environments interact to shape cognitive behavior and neural phenotype in prairie voles. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 282, 1819, DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2236. http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/282/1819/20152236 

Ophir AG, Wolff JO, Phelps SM (2008) Variation in neural V1aR predicts sexual fidelity and space use among prairie voles in semi-natural settings. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 105, 1249-1254. [PMID: 18212120]. http://www.pnas.org/content/105/4/1249 

Bartz, J. A., Zaki, J., Bolger, N., & Ochsner, K. N. (2011). Social effects of oxytocin in humans: context and person matter. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15(7), 301-309. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.475.4974&rep=rep1&type=pdf 

Algoe, S. B., Kurtz, L. E., & Grewen, K. (2017). Oxytocin and Social Bonds: The Role of Oxytocin in Perceptions of Romantic Partners’ Bonding Behavior. Psychological science, 28(12), 1763-1772.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5734372/