DOI: 10.25338/b8n91v
title: Compositional variation in early life parenting structures alters oxytocin and vasopressin 1a receptor development in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)

description: Paternal absence can significantly alter bio-behavioral development in
 many biparental species. This effect has generally been demonstrated by
 comparing the development of offspring reared under biparental care with
 those reared after removal of the father. However, studies employing this
 design conflate two significant modifications to early life experience:
 removal of father-specific qualities and the general reduction of
 offspring-directed care. In the socially monogamous prairie vole (Microtus
 ochrogaster), the experience of paternal absence without substitution
 during development inhibits partner preference formation in adulthood, a
 hallmark of social monogamy, in females and males. Employing alloparents
 as substitutes for fathers, our previous work demonstrated that paternal
 absence affects pair-bond formation in female offspring via reduced
 quantity of care; but it affects pair-bond formation in male offspring by
 means of a missing paternal quality (or qualities).  Here, we
 present evidence that paternal absence (with and without alloparental
 substitution) may alter the ontogeny of neural oxytocin receptor (OXTR)
 and/or vasopressin 1a receptor (AVPR1a) distribution in male and female
 prairie voles.  Compared to biparentally reared controls (BPC),
 male offspring reared in mother only (MON) and maternal-plus-alloparental
 (MPA) conditions show lower densities of OXTR in the central amygdala; and
 MPA males show lower densities of OXTR in the caudate putamen and nucleus
 accumbens. Early life experience was not associated with differences in
 AVPR1a density in males. However, MON and MPA females show greater
 densities of AVPR1a in the medial amygdala than BPC; and MPA females show
 greater densities of AVPR1a in the ventromedial nucleus of the
 hypothalamus. We also demonstrate with baseline corticosterone
 concentrations that MON and MPA offspring are not differentially
 susceptible to social isolation than BPC offspring. Together, these
 findings suggest that paternal absence, while likely not a salient early
 life stressor, has neuroendocrine consequences for offspring, some of
 which may affect partner preference formation.
description: This dataset is composed of a series of data files, delineated by
 biological sex, brain region, and assay (corticosterone concentration,
 oxytocin receptor autoradiography, or arginine vasopressin receptor 1a
 autoradiography).  Files containing corticosterone data contain a set of
 predictors (i.e., id, tube id, family id, biological sex, developmental
 conditions, late life contitions) and corticosterone concentration as an
 outcome (pg/mL). Files associated with autoradiography data contain a
 standard set of predictors / identifiying information (i.e. id, litter,
 treatment, sex) and the outcome measure (optical binding density in
 dpg/mg). Post-hoc correlation data sets contain autoradiographic data
 outcomes as well as behavioral outcomes associated with individuals. All
 subjects were recruited from a colony of laboratory-bred prairie voles
 (<i>Microtus ochrogaster</i>) at the University of California,
 Davis, USA. The prairie vole colony was derived via systematic outbreeding
 of a wild stock captured near Champaign, Illinois, USA. Outliers were
 identified visually with boxplots in R and confirmed as values a distance
 of 1.5 times the inter-quartile range above the 3<sup>rd</sup>
 quartile and/or below the 1<sup>st</sup> quartile (i.e.,
 Q<sub>1</sub> – 1.5×IQR and/or Q<sub>3</sub> +
 1.5×IQR). Data files with the text "outlierremoved" or
 "orm" have already had outliers removed.
description: This data is archived to meet expectations for the purpose of
 peer review and publishing at the Journal of Neuroendocrinology. This data
 was used for the formation and publication of the manuscript now published
 at the Journal of Neuroendocrinology entitled, "Compositional
 variation in early-life parenting structures alters oxytocin and
 vasopressin 1a receptor development in prairie voles (<i>Microtus
 ochrogaster</i>)" (DOI: 10.1111/jne.13001). As a courtesy to
 the authors (Forrest Rogers, Freeman, Anderson, Palumbo, and Karen Bales),
 we would respectfully request to be notified before this data is used for
 the purpose of any future research, publication, etc, and that the data
 and literature be cited appropriately in accordance with ethical reserach
 standards.