Preconception Exposure to Chronic Stressors Influences Pair-Bonding Quality and Promotes Proximity-Based Parenting...

The transition to parenthood, while exciting, can be a period of significant stress. Chronic stress is linked to parental mental health issues, interparental conflict, and poor parenting, all factors that contribute to adverse offspring outcomes. Unlike traditional rodent models that focus primarily on maternal care, the current study utilized the socially monogamous and biparental prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) to investigate how chronic preconception stress influences parental affect, pair-bonding, and parenting in both parents. Breeding pairs were assigned to either a stress exposure group, which underwent a 4-week chronic stress protocol (social isolation + mild unpredictable environmental stressors) prior to conception, or a no stress group (control). Chronic stress exposure did not induce anxiety- or depressive-like phenotypes or alter related hypothalamic activation in parents. However, stress-exposed parents exhibited atypical pair-bonding dynamics and a shift toward a proximity-based parenting style. Exploratory analyses revealed evidence for the intergenerational transmission of affective behavior and central oxytocin activation, primarily through maternal influences. In conclusion, chronic preconception stress can subtly disrupt the parental unit by altering pair-bonding quality and caregiving behavior, with potential consequences for offspring development. These findings highlight the family unit as a critical target for understanding and mitigating the intergenerational effects of stress.