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Neurobiology

Why voles stick together

Nature volume 429, pages 711–712 (2004)Cite this article

The tendency for animals to form social bonds after sexual activity varies greatly from species to species. Work with voles illuminates a molecular pathway in the brain that influences such differences.

A report on page 754 of this issue continues a fascinating line of inquiry into the basic brain mechanisms that contribute to social behaviour. There, Lim and colleagues1 show that increasing the expression of a single protein in a particular brain region of male meadow voles makes them more socially cohesive — rather like their close relation the prairie vole.

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  1. the Behavioural Neurosciences Program, McGill University, 1205 Avenue Docteur Penfield, Montreal, H3A 1B1, Canada

    Evan Balaban

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  1. Evan Balaban
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Balaban, E. Why voles stick together. Nature 429, 711–712 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/429711a

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/429711a

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