Biology subjects

Beery, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Beery, A..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Acute partner loss enhances social motivation and nucleus accumbens dopamine release in prairie voles

The loss of close social relationships leads to profound mental and physical health consequences across social species. We utilized the socially selective prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) to investigate how 5-day separation from a bonded mate or peer partner shapes social motivation and dopamine release kinetics in males and females. Prior to partner loss, baseline social motivation to access a partner or a novel object differed by sex and relationship type (mate vs. peer). Across all groups, however, separation induced heightened partner-seeking. Partner loss also enhanced dopamine signaling in the nucleus accumbens, increasing evoked dopamine release, the number of putative dopamine release sites, and tyrosine hydroxylase abundance, regardless of sex or relationship type. These findings suggest that mesolimbic reward circuitry adapts rapidly to the loss of a bonded partner, potentially signaling a critical social deficit across relationship types. Further, by leveraging high-resolution synthetic nanosensors, this study provides subcellular insights into presynaptic dopaminergic plasticity following partner loss, linking relationship loss to heightened social motivation and shifts in reward signaling.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Oxytocin receptor absence reduces selectivity in peer relationships and alters neurochemical release dynamics in prairie voles

Abstract/SummaryFriendships, or selective peer relationships, are a vital component of healthy social functioning in humans, while deficits in these relationships are associated with negative physical and mental health consequences. Like humans, prairie voles are among the few mammalian species that form selective social bonds with both peers and mates, making them an excellent model for the mechanistic investigation of selective social attachment. Here, we explored the role of oxytocin receptors in selective peer attachment using prairie voles lacking a functional oxytocin receptor gene (Oxtr1-/-). We found that Oxtr1-/- animals exhibited significant delays in peer relationship formation compared to wildtype animals. Oxytocin receptor function also contributed to the maintenance of peer bonds, as Oxtr1-/- voles displayed reduced relationship stability and lost selective attachments rapidly in a multi-chamber, group-living habitat. Oxtr1-/- voles also showed deficits in both general social reward as well as selective social reward for a peer partner over an unfamiliar conspecific. Evoked oxytocin release in the nucleus accumbens was reduced in Oxtr1-/- animals compared to their wildtype counterparts, indicating that these voles do not have a compensatory increase in oxytocinergic signaling. Together, these data indicate that oxytocin receptors influence the formation, persistence, and reward value of peer relationships.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2024

Oxytocin receptor controls distinct components of pair bonding and development in prairie voles

Oxytocin receptor (Oxtr) signaling influences complex social behaviors in diverse species, including social monogamy in prairie voles. How Oxtr regulates specific components of social attachment behaviors and the neural mechanisms mediating them remains unknown. Here, we examine prairie voles lacking Oxtr and demonstrate that pair bonding comprises distinct behavioral modules: the preference for a bonded partner, and the rejection of novel potential mates. Our longitudinal study of social attachment shows that Oxtr sex-specifically influences early interactions between novel partners facilitating the formation of partner preference. Additionally, Oxtr suppresses promiscuity towards novel potential mates following pair bonding, contributing to rejection. Oxtr function regulates coordinated patterns of gene expression in regions implicated in attachment behaviors and regulates the expression of oxytocin in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, a principal source of oxytocin. Thus, Oxtr controls genetically separable components of pair bonding behaviors and coordinates development of the neural substrates of attachment.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

Oxytocin receptor is not required for social attachment in prairie voles

Prairie voles are among a small group of mammals that display long-term social attachment between mating partners. Many pharmacological studies show that signaling via the oxytocin receptor (OxtR) is critical for the display of social monogamy in these animals. We used CRISPR-mutagenesis to independently generate three different OxtR null mutant prairie vole lines. OxtR mutants displayed social attachment such that males and females showed a behavioral preference for their mating partners over a stranger of the opposite sex when assayed using different paradigms. Mothers lacking OxtR delivered viable pups, and parents displayed care of their young and raised them to the weanling stage. Together, our studies unexpectedly reveal that OxtR-mediated signaling is genetically dispensable for social attachment, parturition, and parental behavior.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2021

Contrasting processing tomato cultivars unlink yield and pollen viability under heat stress

The occurring climate change is causing temperature increment in crop production areas worldwide, generating conditions of heat stress that negatively affect crop productivity. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), a major vegetable crop, is highly susceptible to conditions of heat stress. When tomato plants are exposed to ambient day/night temperatures that exceed 32{degrees}C/20{degrees}C respectively during the reproductive phase, fruit set and fruit weight are reduced, leading to a significant decrease in yield. Processing tomato cultivars are cultivated in open fields, where environmental conditions are not controlled, therefore plants are exposed to multiple abiotic stresses, including heat stress. Understanding the physiological response of modern processing tomato cultivars to heat stress may facilitate the development of thermotolerant cultivars. Here, we compared two tomato processing cultivars, H4107 and H9780, that we found to be constantly differing in yield performance. Using field and temperature-controlled greenhouse experiments, we show that the observed difference in yield is attributed to the occurrence of heat stress conditions. In addition, fruit-set and seed production were significantly improved in the thermotolerant cultivar H4107, compared with H9780. Despite the general acceptance of pollen viability as a measure of thermotolerance, there was no difference in the percentage of viable pollen between H4107 and H9780 under either of the conditions tested. Therefore, processing tomato cultivars may present a particular case, in which other factors are central for heat stress tolerance. Our results also demonstrate the value of combining controlled with uncontrolled experimental settings, in order to identify heat stress related responses and facilitate the development of thermotolerant processing tomato cultivars.

plant biology↗