When Monogamy Breaks Down Despite the benefits of monogamy, there are exceptions to the rule. In some species, ...

The source for this data may be surprising: prairie voles, tiny rodents that are among the small percentage of mammals that form monogamous pair bonds. By studying their brains when the voles were ...

Prairie voles are as small as hamsters. They are monogamous, which means the males and females will form a bond and raise their young together. Like humans, they build long-term attachments. To go ...

Here’s how it works. Prairie vole orgasms appear to rewire the brain helping them to bond and build a long-lasting monogamous relationship.(Image credit: Minden Pictures / Alamy Stock Photo) ...

When the voles are separated from their partners and then reunited, their brains release dopamine in a key part of the brain's reward center, called the nucleus accumbens.

In a recent study of prairie voles, researchers found that oxytocin — long thought to play a vital role in social attachment — is not necessary for this behavior and saw that the rodents still ...

Prairie voles form monogamous, long-term pairs, where both rodents raise their young pups. These strong bonds are the reason why much of the science of social bonds comes from prairie vole studies.

Voles are stocky, mouse-like little mammals that range over most of North America. One species in particular, the prairie vole, is known for its fidelity: Prairie voles pair-bond and mate for life.

The prairie voles who had their oxytocin receptors removed could still give birth, nurse, and bond with their young. But, there was a major difference in weight between the voles with oxytocin ...