{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]],"date-time":"2026-10-09T03:22:02Z","timestamp":1791516122300,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,15]],"date-time":"2025-09-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1757894400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Boston University Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, Global Challenges Research Award"},{"name":"Boston University Arvind &amp; Chandan Nandlal Kilachand Honors College, Keystone Project Funds"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Microtus ochrogaster, monogamous prairie voles, serve as translational animal models for studying monogamy and pair bonding. Microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain, are one of several cell types still poorly understood in non-classical animal models including prairie voles. Microglia are known to play mechanistic roles in mediating social behaviors using inflammatory signaling, but the relationship between microglia reactivity and pair bonding has not yet been investigated. The present study first developed a robust protocol for quantitative histological visualization of microglia in Microtus ochrogaster. Second, it investigated differences in microglia morphology, a reliable index of microglia reactivity and function, in pair-bonded vs. unpaired voles. Sections containing prefrontal cortex (PFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were stained for ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule I (Iba1) using immunohistochemistry (IHC). IHC results provided evidence for the successful use of murine histological protocols in prairie voles. Quantification results revealed a sexually dimorphic effect of pair bonding on microglia: somas were significantly larger in pair-bonded vs. unpaired females, and somas were significantly smaller in pair-bonded vs. unpaired males. Additionally, somas were significantly larger in unpaired males than females, with larger somas indicating higher microglia reactivity. While conclusions are limited due to the small sample size, results provide novel characterization of microglia morphology in the frontal cortex and elucidate how pair bonding may influence microglia function in a sexually dimorphic manner.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms26188966","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,16]],"date-time":"2025-09-16T08:56:46Z","timestamp":1758013006000},"page":"8966","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Characterizing Microglia Morphology in the Frontal Cortex of Pair-Bonded and Unpaired Prairie Voles (Microtus ochrogaster)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-0132-6309","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tori","family":"Keefauver","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience, College of Arts and Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA"},{"name":"Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA"},{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA"},{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Translational Neuroscience Program, Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-0096-0237","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kyle L.","family":"Gobrogge","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience, College of Arts and Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA"},{"name":"Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA"},{"name":"Women\u2019s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, College of Arts and Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"53","DOI":"10.1016\/j.yfrne.2010.07.006","article-title":"The neurobiology of pair bonding: Insights from a socially monogamous rodent","volume":"32","author":"Young","year":"2011","journal-title":"Front. 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