What we do
Our mission is to understand how communication behaviours support social connections or ‘bonds’. Our long-term vision is to build an integrative theory to explain social bonding dynamics. Current projects focus on pair bonding and vocalizations in prairie voles, a monogamous rodent.
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From a psychological perspective, we ask questions about the cognitive processes that underlie social bonding and communication. How do individuals communicate their internal states to social partners? How do individuals decide and remember who to interact with?
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From a biological perspective, we ask questions about evolutionary processes that shape social bonding behaviours. How do communication signals influence mate choice? What are the consequences of these signals for reproductive success and survival?
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From a neuroscience perspective, we ask questions about how brain mechanisms regulate social communication signals. What roles do motivational and motor systems play in signal production? What roles do sensory systems play in signal perception?
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From a computational perspective, we ask questions about mathematical models that explain how social partners interact across time. How do communication signals predict future interactions? What underlying principles explain the structure and composition of social signals?
Current Research
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Social bond formation & communication
We study how communication behaviours facilitate the transition from unbonded to bonded states. Specifically, we focus on the effect of vocalizations on partner choice, time course of mating, and development of partner preferences.
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Social bond maintenance & communication
We study how communication behaviours sustain existing social bonds. Specifically, we focus on how vocalizations influence repeated affiliative interactions in bonded prairie voles. We also investigate the consequences for pair bond strength.
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Neural circuits of social communication
We study how the brain generates communication behaviours in social bonding contexts. Specifically, we focus on neural systems that drive production and perception of prairie vole vocalizations across different stages of pair bonding.
Our research has been supported by generous funding from NSERC and NIH
