Nonlinear hippocampal coding of the pair-bonded partner in prairie voles

Liu, J.; Watanabe, K.; Miyano, M.; Kudara, M.; Kato-Ishikura, E.; Iijima, S.; Takeda, K.; Koike, R.; Nagahiro, T.; Yamashiro, K.; Young, L. J.; Ikegaya, Y.; Matsumoto, N.

doi:10.1101/2025.10.10.681589

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2025.10.10.681589

Nonlinear hippocampal coding of the pair-bonded partner in prairie voles

Liu, J.·Watanabe, K.·Miyano, M.·Kudara, M.·Kato-Ishikura, E.·Iijima, S.·Takeda, K.·Koike, R.·Nagahiro, T.·Yamashiro, K.·Young, L. J.·Ikegaya, Y.·Matsumoto, N.

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Abstract

Neural representation of specific opposite-sex partners remains largely unexplored. Using monogamous prairie voles, we demonstrated that partner preference required the ventral hippocampus, in which 3-4 Hz oscillations were enhanced following partner interaction. We identified ventral hippocampal neurons responding selectively to the pair-bonded partner and stranger, which encoded identity-related information in a nonlinear manner, shedding light upon how mammalian brains create distinct neural representations of romantic opposite-sex partners.

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Liu, J., Watanabe, K., Miyano, M., Kudara, M., Kato-Ishikura, E., Iijima, S., Takeda, K., Koike, R., Nagahiro, T., Yamashiro, K., Young, L. J., Ikegaya, Y., Matsumoto, N.. 2025-10-12. Nonlinear hippocampal coding of the pair-bonded partner in prairie voles. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.10.10.681589

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