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Nature Reviews. Neuroscience May 2015Stress often affects our social lives. When undergoing high-level or persistent stress, individuals frequently retract from social interactions and become irritable and... (Review)
Review
Stress often affects our social lives. When undergoing high-level or persistent stress, individuals frequently retract from social interactions and become irritable and hostile. Predisposition to antisocial behaviours - including social detachment and violence - is also modulated by early life adversity; however, the effects of early life stress depend on the timing of exposure and genetic factors. Research in animals and humans has revealed some of the structural, functional and molecular changes in the brain that underlie the effects of stress on social behaviour. Findings in this emerging field will have implications both for the clinic and for society.
Topics: Animals; Brain; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Social Behavior; Stress, Physiological; Stress, Psychological
PubMed: 25891510
DOI: 10.1038/nrn3918 -
Cell Mar 2023Social interactions require awareness and understanding of the behavior of others. Mirror neurons, cells representing an action by self and others, have been proposed to...
Social interactions require awareness and understanding of the behavior of others. Mirror neurons, cells representing an action by self and others, have been proposed to be integral to the cognitive substrates that enable such awareness and understanding. Mirror neurons of the primate neocortex represent skilled motor tasks, but it is unclear if they are critical for the actions they embody, enable social behaviors, or exist in non-cortical regions. We demonstrate that the activity of individual VMHvl neurons in the mouse hypothalamus represents aggression performed by self and others. We used a genetically encoded mirror-TRAP strategy to functionally interrogate these aggression-mirroring neurons. We find that their activity is essential for fighting and that forced activation of these cells triggers aggressive displays by mice, even toward their mirror image. Together, we have discovered a mirroring center in an evolutionarily ancient region that provides a subcortical cognitive substrate essential for a social behavior.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Aggression; Hypothalamus; Mirror Neurons; Social Behavior
PubMed: 36796363
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.01.022 -
Nature Reviews. Neuroscience Oct 2020Brain-wide circuits that coordinate affective and social behaviours intersect in the amygdala. Consequently, amygdala lesions cause a heterogeneous array of social and... (Review)
Review
Brain-wide circuits that coordinate affective and social behaviours intersect in the amygdala. Consequently, amygdala lesions cause a heterogeneous array of social and non-social deficits. Social behaviours are not localized to subdivisions of the amygdala even though the inputs and outputs that carry social signals are anatomically restricted to distinct subnuclear regions. This observation may be explained by the multidimensional response properties of the component neurons. Indeed, the multitudes of circuits that converge in the amygdala enlist the same subset of neurons into different ensembles that combine social and non-social elements into high-dimensional representations. These representations may enable flexible, context-dependent social decisions. As such, multidimensional processing may operate in parallel with subcircuits of genetically identical neurons that serve specialized and functionally dissociable functions. When combined, the activity of specialized circuits may grant specificity to social behaviours, whereas multidimensional processing facilitates the flexibility and nuance needed for complex social behaviour.
Topics: Amygdala; Animals; Cognition; Humans; Models, Neurological; Neural Pathways; Neurons; Social Behavior
PubMed: 32839565
DOI: 10.1038/s41583-020-0350-y -
Frontiers in Neural Circuits 2022
Topics: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Social Behavior
PubMed: 35615624
DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2022.897273 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Nov 2020Humans exhibit major age-related shifts in social relationships along with changes in social and emotional psychological processes that underpin these behavioural... (Review)
Review
Humans exhibit major age-related shifts in social relationships along with changes in social and emotional psychological processes that underpin these behavioural shifts. Does social ageing in non-human primates follow similar patterns, and if so, what are the ultimate evolutionary consequences of these social shifts? Here we synthesize empirical evidence for shifts in social behaviour and underlying psychological processes across species. Focusing on three elements of social behaviour and cognition that are important for humans-propensities to with others, the positive versus negative of these interactions, and capabilities to others, we find evidence for wide variation in the trajectories of these characteristics across primates. Based on this, we identify potential modulators of the primate social ageing process, including social organization, sex and dominance status. Finally, we discuss how comparative research can contextualize human social ageing. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution of the primate ageing process'.
Topics: Aging; Animals; Cognition; Primates; Social Behavior
PubMed: 32951557
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0620 -
Current Biology : CB Sep 2018Carlson and colleagues introduce mobbing an anti-predator behaviour found in many animals.
Carlson and colleagues introduce mobbing an anti-predator behaviour found in many animals.
Topics: Animals; Cooperative Behavior; Escape Reaction; Predatory Behavior; Social Behavior; Vocalization, Animal
PubMed: 30253143
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.06.025 -
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2022Classically the neurobiology of aggression has been studied exclusively in males. Thus, females have been considered mildly aggressive except during lactation.... (Review)
Review
Classically the neurobiology of aggression has been studied exclusively in males. Thus, females have been considered mildly aggressive except during lactation. Interestingly, recent studies in rodents and humans have revealed that non-lactating females can show exacerbated and pathological aggression similarly to males. This review provides an overview of recent findings on the neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating aggressive behavior in females. In particular, the focus will be on novel rodent models of exaggerated aggression established in non-lactating females. Among the neuromodulatory systems influencing female aggression, special attention has been given to sex-steroids and sex-steroid-sensitive neuronal populations (i.e., the core nuclei of the neural pathway of aggression) as well as to the neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin which are major players in the regulation of social behaviors.
Topics: Aggression; Animals; Arginine Vasopressin; Female; Humans; Oxytocin; Receptors, Oxytocin; Rodentia; Social Behavior
PubMed: 36034455
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.957114 -
Current Opinion in Psychology Apr 2022Prosociality is a core feature of human functioning and has been a topic of interest across disciplinary boundaries for decades. In this review, we highlight different... (Review)
Review
Prosociality is a core feature of human functioning and has been a topic of interest across disciplinary boundaries for decades. In this review, we highlight different neuroscientific approaches that have enriched traditional psychological methods for studying prosocial behavior among individuals and groups. First, we outline findings from task-based neuroimaging studies that provide correlational evidence for the involvement of different neural mechanisms in prosocial behavior. Next, we present different brain stimulation studies that show several brain areas to be causally related to prosocial behavior. Furthermore, we outline the task-independent neural trait approach that quantifies temporally stable brain-based characteristics in an effort to uncover sources of interindividual differences in prosocial preferences. We discuss how the findings from these approaches have contributed to our understanding of prosocial behavior and suggest directions for future research.
Topics: Altruism; Brain; Humans; Social Behavior
PubMed: 34560373
DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.08.028 -
Ethnicity & Disease 2022
Topics: Humans; Population Health; Social Behavior
PubMed: 35497397
DOI: 10.18865/ed.32.2.73 -
Current Opinion in Neurobiology Jun 2021Prosocial behaviors are essential for group cooperation, which enrich life experience and enhance survival. These complex behaviors are governed by intricate... (Review)
Review
Prosocial behaviors are essential for group cooperation, which enrich life experience and enhance survival. These complex behaviors are governed by intricate interactions between numerous neural circuits functioning in concert. Impairments in prosocial interactions result from disruptions of this coordinated brain activity and are a prominent feature of several pathological conditions including autism spectrum disorder, depression and addiction. Here we highlight recent studies that use advanced techniques to anatomically map, monitor and manipulate neural circuits that influence prosocial behavior. These recent findings provide important clues to unravel the complexities of the neural mechanisms that mediate prosocial interactions and offer insights into new strategies for the treatment of aberrant social behavior.
Topics: Altruism; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Humans; Social Behavior
PubMed: 33278639
DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2020.11.006