"Brain circuits that regulate social behavior

"Brain circuits that regulate social behavior"

Social interactions are essential for the survival of individuals and the reproduction of populations

Social stressors, such as social defeat and isolation, can lead to emotional disorders and cognitive impairments

Furthermore, dysfunctional social behaviors are hallmark symptoms of various neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Consequently, understanding the neural circuit mechanisms underlying social behaviors has become a major focus in neuroscience

Social behaviors, which encompass a wide range of expressions and phases, are regulated by complex neural networks

In this review, we summarize recent progress in identifying the circuits involved in different types of social behaviors, including general social investigation, social preference, mating, aggression, parenting, prosocial behaviors, and dominance behaviors

We also outline the circuit mechanisms associated with social deficits in neuropsychiatric disorders, such as ASD, schizophrenia, and PTSD

Given the pivotal role of rodents in social behavior research, our review primarily focuses on neural circuits in these animals

Finally, we propose future research directions, including the development of specific behavioral paradigms, the identification of circuits involved in motor output, the integration of activity, transcriptome, and connectome data, the multifunctional roles of neurons with multiple targets, and the interactions among multiple brain regions

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-025-03037-6