Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Medicine and Health Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Psychiatry and Psychology

Psychology: Faculty Publications

Social behavior

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Specificity In Sociality: Mice And Prairie Voles Exhibit Different Patterns Of Peer Affiliation, Annaliese K. Beery, Jennifer D. Christensen, Nicole S. Lee, Katrina L. Blandino Mar 2018

Specificity In Sociality: Mice And Prairie Voles Exhibit Different Patterns Of Peer Affiliation, Annaliese K. Beery, Jennifer D. Christensen, Nicole S. Lee, Katrina L. Blandino

Psychology: Faculty Publications

Social behavior is often described as a unified concept, but highly social (group- living) species exhibit distinct social structures and may make different social decisions. Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) are socially monogamous rodents that often reside in extended family groups, and exhibit robust preferences for familiar social partners (same- and opposite-sex) during extended choice tests, although short-term preferences are not known. Mice (Mus musculus) are gregarious and colonial, but in brief laboratory tests of social preference they typically prefer social novelty. This preference for novel vs. familiar peers may represent a species-specific difference in social decision-making between mice and prairie …


Life In Groups: The Roles Of Oxytocin In Mammalian Sociality, Allison M.J. Anacker, Annaliese K. Beery Dec 2013

Life In Groups: The Roles Of Oxytocin In Mammalian Sociality, Allison M.J. Anacker, Annaliese K. Beery

Psychology: Faculty Publications

In recent decades, scientific understanding of the many roles of oxytocin (OT) in social behavior has advanced tremendously. The focus of this research has been on maternal attachments and reproductive pair-bonds, and much less is known about the substrates of sociality outside of reproductive contexts. It is now apparent that OT influences many aspects of social behavior including recognition, trust, empathy, and other components of the behavioral repertoire of social species. This review provides a comparative perspective on the contributions of OT to life in mammalian social groups. We provide background on the functions of OT in maternal attachments and …