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Consolation is a complex empathic behavior that has recently been observed in some socially living rodents. Despite the growing body of literature suggesting that stress affects some simple form of empathy, the relationship between stress and consolation remains largely understudied. Using monogamous mandarin voles, we found that an acute restraint stress exposure significantly reduced consolation-like behaviors and induced anxiety-like behaviors. Along with these behavioral changes, corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and CRF receptor 1 (CRFR1) neurons were activated within the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and prelimbic cortex (PrL) but not within the infralimbic cortex (IL). Chemogenetic activation of CRF neurons in the ACC and PrL, recaptured acute stress-induced behavioral dysfunctions. We further observed that intracellular PKA and PKC signaling pathways mediate CRF-induced behavioral dysfunctions, but they work in a regional-specific, sex-biased manner. Together, these results suggest that the local CRF-CRFR1 system within the ACC and PrL is involved in the consolation deficits and anxiety induced by acute stress.
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