Monogamous prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) form mating-based pair bonds. Although wild prairie voles rarely re-pair following loss of a partner, laboratory studies have shown that previous pairing and mating does not negate the ability to form a new partner preference. However, little is known about how prior bond experience may alter the trajectory and display of a new pair bond. In the present study, we disrupted an initial pair bond by separating partners and then varied the amount of time before a new partner was introduced. We assessed how separation time affected the stability of partner preference over time and influenced decision-making in male voles performing a head-to-head partner preference test in which they chose between the first and second partner. We found that the ability to consistently display a preference for the second partner, supplanting the initial pair bond, depended on how long the test animal was separated from their first partner. Prior bonding experience also shaped the subsequent effects of mating on partner preference. Partner preference strength was sensitive to latency to mate with the second partner but not the first partner, irrespective of separation time. These results suggest that the ability to form a consistent, strong preference for a new partner after an initial pair bond depends upon the amount of time that has passed since separation from the first partner. These results provide valuable insight into how social bonds are dynamically shaped by prior social experience and identify variables that contribute to recovery from partner loss and the ability to form a new pair bond. They also delineate a behavioral trajectory essential for future work examining the hormonal and genetic changes that enable recovery from partner loss.

一夫一妻制的草原田鼠（Microtus ochrogaster) 形成基于配对的对键。尽管野生草原田鼠在失去伴侣后很少重新配对，但实验室研究表明，先前的配对和交配并不能否定形成新伴侣偏好的能力。然而，关于先前的债券经验如何改变新对债券的轨迹和展示知之甚少。在本研究中，我们通过分离伴侣破坏了最初的配对关系，然后在引入新伴侣之前改变了时间。我们评估了分离时间如何影响伴侣偏好随时间的稳定性，并影响雄性田鼠的决策，他们在第一和第二伴侣之间进行选择。我们发现能够始终如一地表现出对第二个合作伙伴的偏好，取代了最初的配对关系，取决于测试动物与其第一个伴侣分开的时间。先前的结合经验也塑造了交配对伴侣偏好的后续影响。无论分离时间如何，伴侣偏好强度对与第二个伴侣交配的延迟敏感，但对第一个伴侣不敏感。这些结果表明，在最初的配对后形成对新伴侣的一致、强烈偏好的能力取决于自与第一个伴侣分离后所经过的时间。这些结果提供了宝贵的见解，了解社会纽带如何由先前的社会经验动态塑造，并确定有助于从失去伴侣中恢复过来的变量以及形成新的配对纽带的能力。