Social compatibility in opposite-sex prairie vole pairs is modulated by early-life sleep experience

Studies of human social behavior indicate stronger social affinity in matched-neurotype dyads (e.g., two individuals with autism or two without) compared to mixed-neurotype dyads (e.g., one individual with autism paired with one without). Is this dyad matching phenomenon also quantifiable in nonhuman animals? Using deep learning tools, we analyzed dyadic male-female interactions in prairie voles, a socially monogamous rodent species. To simulate “neurotypes”, voles were exposed to either control conditions or early-life sleep disruption (ELSD) during a critical neurodevelopmental period (post-natal days 14–21), recapitulating the influence of developmental sleep quality on later-life social behavior. Analogous to human studies, voles showed signs of reduced social affinity in mixed dyads compared to matched dyads, including sex-specific changes in aggression and body orientation toward the conspecific. These findings advance our understanding of social affinity between potential partners, providing a framework for new studies in both animal models and humans.