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Hypothalamic tau P301L pathology disrupts pair bonding in monogamous prairie voles
Kelberman MA, Winther KE, Ibrahiem RE, Albregts EG, Pardasani M, Watanabe YL, Donaldson ZR.. bioRxiv, 2026-10-02
Topic: Disease mechanisms in lab and animal studies
Although dementias primarily affect memory, they also disrupt our closest social relationships, resulting in elevated caregiver burden and worse patient outcomes. However, the mechanistic study of how pathology affects social attachments is limited by the use of laboratory rodents that do not form selective, long-term bonds. Here, in monogamous prairie voles, we expressed dementia-causing tau P301L in the paraventricular hypothalamus of 12- and 18-month-old animals, and separately, from birth through 18-months, across hippocampocortical regions. Hippocampocortical expression of tau P301L did not yield deficits in social or non-social dementia-related phenotypes. In contrast, tau P301L expressed in the hypothalamus yielded sex- and age-dependent social bonding deficits. 18-month males with hypothalamic tau pathology failed to form bonds and displayed blunted sociability, effects that converged across bonding assays. In addition, healthy 18-month males paired with a hypothalamic tau-expressing female also showed reduced partner preference, suggesting that pathology exerts vicarious effects on partners. Social behavior of both healthy females and those expressing tau P301L were unaffected. 18-month tau P301L males also showed elevated oxytocin fluorescence. These findings establish direct and vicarious disruptions to pair bonding induced by hypothalamic tau pathology in male prairie voles, potentially via altered oxytocin signaling.
Key findings
- In addition, healthy 18-month males paired with a hypothalamic tau-expressing female also showed reduced partner preference, suggesting that pathology exerts vicarious effects on partners.
- These findings establish direct and vicarious disruptions to pair bonding induced by hypothalamic tau pathology in male prairie voles, potentially via altered oxytocin signaling.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 21 on the same rubric, but non-peer-reviewed sources are capped at 16, so it shows as 16. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 13 of the 62 points we could judge it on, which is 21 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (bioRxiv) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 4 / 10 | Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. Hosted on a preprint server. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 13 / 62 | Scored on 12 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 13 of the 62 points we could judge it on is 21 out of 100. |
| Total | 21 / 100 | Capped to 16 because this is not a peer-reviewed article. |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Kelberman, M. A., Winther, K. E., Ibrahiem, R. E., Albregts, E. G., Pardasani, M., Watanabe, Y. L., et al. (2026). Hypothalamic tau P301L pathology disrupts pair bonding in monogamous prairie voles. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.28.755178
Vancouver
Kelberman MA, Winther KE, Ibrahiem RE, Albregts EG, Pardasani M, Watanabe YL, et al. Hypothalamic tau P301L pathology disrupts pair bonding in monogamous prairie voles. bioRxiv. 2026. doi:10.64898/2026.09.28.755178.
BibTeX
@article{kelberman2026-122cfbbc,
author = {Kelberman, M. A. and Winther, K. E. and Ibrahiem, R. E. and Albregts, E. G. and Pardasani, M. and Watanabe, Y. L. and Donaldson, Z. R.},
title = {{Hypothalamic tau P301L pathology disrupts pair bonding in monogamous prairie voles}},
journal = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.28.755178},
url = {https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.28.755178}
}
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