Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2023 Jul 31.
Published in final edited form as: Trends Neurosci. 2022 Nov 8;46(4):260–262. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2022.10.009

Figure 1. Adult prairie voles exhibit distinctive shifts in social behavior once they form a pair bond.

Figure 1.

(A) When prairie voles form a pair bond, they are frequently observed together engaging in their characteristic ‘huddling’ behavior. Bonded prairie voles are also more aggressive than their sexually naive counterparts, but this heightened aggression is directed towards non-partner animals. Photo courtesy of Vanessa Gutzeit (laboratory of Z.R.D.). (B) A pair bond is operationalized by measuring the amount of time a subject spends huddling with either of two other-sex animals in a three-chamber apparatus. A pair-bonded prairie vole will demonstrate a robust preference to spend time with their partner versus a novel stimulus animal.