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Monogamy: dopamine ties the knot

Nature Neuroscience volume 9, pages 7–8 (2006)Cite this article

Prairie voles form lasting pair bonds with their mating partners after a single experience of sexual activity, and this reward-related learning depends on dopamine. A new paper reports that two dopamine receptor subtypes contribute differently to the initial formation of pair bonds and to their maintenance by the promotion of selective aggression toward alternative mates.

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Figure 1: Dopamine signaling in the formation and maintenance of pair bonds in male prairie voles.

Debbie Maizels

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  1. Department of Psychiatry, the Seay Center for Basic and Applied Research in Psychiatric Illness, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, 75390-9070, Texas, USA

    Scott Edwards & David W Self

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  1. Scott Edwards
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  2. David W Self
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Edwards, S., Self, D. Monogamy: dopamine ties the knot. Nat Neurosci 9, 7–8 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn0106-7

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