Alexander Ophir: The cognitive ecology of monogamy
My Session Status
What:
Talk
When:
11:00 AM, Wednesday 27 Jun 2018
(1 hour 30 minutes)
Where:
Université du Québec à Montréal
- DS-R510
mate choiceneurobiologygenesbrainmonogamy
Alexander G. Ophir
Cornell University
Cornell University
Perhaps no neuromodulatory system is more important for social behavior than nonapeptides (oxytocin and vasopressin) and no behavior is more complex than reproductive strategy. I will discuss how early experience shapes reproductive decisions in prairie voles. The motivation toward monogamy or polygamy, with memory modulated by nonapeptides, depends on early experience and individual ability to assess the social and spatial landscape.
Ophir AG (2017) Navigating monogamy: Nonapeptide sensitivity in a memory neural circuit may shape social behavior and mating decisions. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 11, 397. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2017.00397
Prounis GS, Foley L, Rehman A, Ophir AG (2015) Perinatal and juvenile social environments interact to shape cognitive behavior and neural phenotype in prairie voles. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 282, 1819, DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2236
Ophir AG, Wolff JO, Phelps SM (2008) Variation in neural V1aR predicts sexual fidelity and space use among prairie voles in semi-natural settings. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 105, 1249-1254. [PMID: 18212120]
Bartz, J. A., Zaki, J., Bolger, N., & Ochsner, K. N. (2011). Social effects of oxytocin in humans: context and person matter. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15(7), 301-309
Algoe, S. B., Kurtz, L. E., & Grewen, K. (2017). Oxytocin and Social Bonds: The Role of Oxytocin in Perceptions of Romantic Partners’ Bonding Behavior. Psychological science, 28(12), 1763-1772