Formation of social bonds is strongly linked to health, happiness, and longevity, while inability to bond often appears in psychiatric disorders. Monogamous mating bonds are uncommon among mammals, making species that form lasting pair bonds valuable for research. Prairie voles exhibit long-term pair bonds and selective peer relationships, providing a model for studying the social brain. Oxytocin receptors have been connected to bond-forming ability in animal models. A lack of oxytocin receptors delays bond formation in prairie voles. Insights from vole research may guide development of treatments for human social bonding impairments.
because the overwhelming majority of studies of social behaviors have shown that the ability to form a bond with another person is linked to a healthier, happier, and longer life (Holt-Lunstad, Smith, and Layton, 2010). In addition, the inability to form a bond with someone else is often a symptom of psychiatric disorder. If we want to understand psychiatric problems like depression, schizophrenia, and addiction, then understanding how to form
Lots of bird species form mating bonds, some lasting a lifetime, but among mammals, the bonds that are formed are more likely to be temporary, lasting only a mating season and not for the lifespan of the animal. Luckily for researchers interested in social bonding, some species of animals mimic our human propensity to form lasting, monogamous bonds with another.
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