ArticlePsychoneuroendocrinology2016
Oxytocin in the nucleus accumbens shell reverses CRFR2-evoked passive stress-coping after partner loss in monogamous male prairie voles.
Article in Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 85 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
85 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 142 citations in OpenAlex.
- The neurobiological reward system in Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD): A systematic review.Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging · 2020Pooled it
- Oxytocin increases eye-gaze towards novel social and non-social stimuli.Social neuroscience · 2019Trial
- On the nature of grief: uncovering the evolutionary roots of loss across the animal realm.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2026Review
- Reduced neural specificity for a romantic partner in the nucleus accumbens over relationship duration.Social cognitive and affective neuroscience · 2026Article
- Reunion with a peer partner reduces PVN oxytocin neuron immunoreactivity in socially selective voles.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- PVN-NAc Shell-VP Circuit OT and OTR Neurons Regulate Pair Bonding via D2R and D1R.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025Article
- The effects of social loss and isolation on partner odor investigation and dopamine and oxytocin receptor expression in female prairie voles.Neuropharmacology · 2025Article
- A review of the effects of different types of social behaviors on the recruitment of neuropeptides and neurotransmitters in the nucleus accumbens.Frontiers in neuroendocrinology · 2025Review
- The Relationship Between Oxytocin and Alcohol Dependence.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2025Review
- Aging leads to sex-dependent effects on pair bonding and increased number of oxytocin-producing neurons in monogamous prairie voles.Hormones and behavior · 2024Article
- The central oxytocinergic system of the prairie vole.Brain structure & function · 2024Article
- Pair bond quality influences social conditioned place preference expression, passive coping behavior, and central oxytocin receptor expression following partner loss in male prairie voles.Social neuroscience · 2024Article
- Effects of oxytocin receptor agonism on acquisition and expression of pair bonding in male prairie voles.Translational psychiatry · 2024Article
- Effects of Oxytocin Receptor Agonism on Acquisition and Expression of Pair Bonding in Male Prairie Voles.Research square · 2024Article
- Prairie voles as a model for adaptive reward remodeling following loss of a bonded partner.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2024Review
- CRF binding protein activity in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus is essential for stress adaptations and normal maternal behaviour in lactating rats.Neurobiology of stress · 2024Article
- Pair bonding and disruption impact lung transcriptome in monogamous Peromyscus californicus.BMC genomics · 2023Article
- Partner-seeking and limbic dopamine system are enhanced following social loss in male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster).Genes, brain, and behavior · 2023Article
- Detection, processing and reinforcement of social cues: regulation by the oxytocin system.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2023Review
- Monitoring oxytocin signaling in the brain: More than a love story.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2023Review
25 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Loss of a partner can have severe effects on mental health. Here we explore the neural mechanisms underlying increased passive stress-coping, indicative of depressive-like behavior, following the loss of the female partner in the monogamous male prairie vole. We demonstrate that corticotropin-releasing factor receptor 2 (CRFR2) in the nucleus accumbens shell mediates social loss-induced passive coping. Further, we show that partner loss compromises the oxytocin system through multiple mechanisms. Finally, we provide evidence for an interaction of the CRFR2 and oxytocin systems in mediating the emotional consequences of partner loss. Our results suggest that chronic activation of CRFR2 and suppression of striatal oxytocin signaling following partner loss result in an aversive emotional state that may share underlying mechanisms with bereavement. We propose that the suppression of oxytocin signaling is likely adaptive during short separations to encourage reunion with the partner and may have evolved to maintain long-term partnerships. Additionally, therapeutic strategies targeting these systems should be considered for treatment of social loss-mediated depression.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.