In this Dissertation, we investigate the regulatory role of dopamine (DA) in the nucleus accumbus (NAcc) in male parental care using the socially monogamous and bi-parental prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) model. In Chapter 1, along with introducing this animal model, we reviewed several neural mechanisms that have been implicated with social behaviors, such as pair-bonding and parental behavior. Chapter 2 examined the effects of pair-bonding on paternal behaviors. We found that pair-bonded males, in comparison to sexually naïve males, showed higher levels of overall paternal care and pup licking/grooming behavior, and these were associated with DA changes in the NAcc. In Chapter 3, we studied how the NAcc responds to pup exposure/interaction in terms of DA release. We saw that pup exposure/interaction evoked a transient increase of extracellular DA in the NAcc, and this was accompanied by temporal changes in paternal behavior subtypes. In Chapter 4, we pharmacologically manipulated DA receptors in the NAcc, and examined the subsequent effects on paternal behaviors. We demonstrated that NAcc DA receptors regulate paternal care in a receptor- and behavior-specific manner. Finally, in Chapter 5, we provided a summary of our findings and a discussion of their implications, as well as future directions in the study of DA regulation on paternal behavior. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Psychology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2014. / March 20, 2014. / Dopamine, Nucleus Accumbens, Pair-Bonding, Paternal Behavior, Prairie Vole / Includes bibliographical references. / Zuoxin Wang, Professor Directing Dissertation; Yanchang Wang, University Representative; Elaine Hull, Committee Member; Michael Meredith, Committee Member; Barbara Licht, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_253568 |
| Contributors | Lei, Kelly (authoraut), Wang, Zuoxin (professor directing dissertation), Wang, Yanchang (university representative), Hull, Elaine (committee member), Meredith, Michael (committee member), Licht, Barbara (committee member), Department of Psychology (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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