Neural Circuits for Social Interactions: From Microcircuits to Input-Output Circuits

Social behaviors entail responses to social information and requires the perception and integration of social cues through a complex cognition process that involves attention, memory, motivation, and emotion. Neurobiological and molecular mechanisms underlying social behavior are highly conserved across species, and inter- and intra-specific variability observed in social behavior can be explained to large extent by differential activity of a conserved neural network. However, neural microcircuits and precise networks involved in social behavior remain mysterious. In this review, we summarize the microcircuits and input-output circuits on the molecular, cellular, and network levels of different social interactions, such as social exploration, social hierarchy, social memory, and social preference. This review provides a broad view of how multiple microcircuits and input-output circuits converge on the medial prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala to regulate complex social behaviors, as well as a potential novel view for better control over pathological development.

Methamphetamine exposure during the first, but not the second half of prenatal development, affects social play behavior

Methamphetamine (MA), as a psychostimulant drug that crosses the placental barrier, may disrupt the development of social play. The present study aims to examine the effect of prenatal MA (5 mg/kg) exposure during the first (gestational day (GD) 1-11) or second (GD 12–22) halves of prenatal development of rats on social play behavior. To investigate an acute effect of MA on social play in adulthood, juvenile rats were exposed to a dose of 1 mg/kg MA or saline on the test day and tested for social play for 15 min. Prenatal exposure to MA during GD 1–11 increased social play behavior during 5-10 min interval of the test in males but not females. Prenatal MA during GD 12–22 did not influence social play in males nor females. However, social play occurred to a greater extent in GD 12–22 groups compared with GD 1–11. Acute exposure to MA eliminated playful behavior in all groups and decreased social exploration in GD 1–11. Our results suggest that manipulation of prenatal development during the first half of the gestational period has a greater impact on social play behavior than during the second half.

Indonesian Celebrities Conversion: the Quest for Meaning and Social Environment

Religious conversion has often triggered a heated debate that pushes forward scholarly investigation. This paper is not based on a theological study of conversion, but a psycho-social exploration that aims to examine religious conversion among Indonesian celebrities and seeks factors that influence the conversion. This qualitative study selects five Indonesian celebrities who converted to Islam. All data and information were gathered from YouTube and the websites on entertainment and celebrity news. The study unveils that religious conversion is not a simple one-way process. Instead, it is a long process of search of meaning and identity, shaped by interpersonal relations and social interactions. Before conversion, the converts had made personal and colleague relationship with their Muslim friends and known Islam as it was manifested in everyday life through TV program, the call for Islamic prayer (adhān), neighborhood. The fact that Islam is the majority religion in the country has provided environments that further hastened the quest for the meaning of religion and identity amongst the celebrities.

Daily Activity of Male Mice (Mus musculus) in Laboratory

The importance of observing the behavior of mice in the laboratory is additional information to compare with their behavior in nature and an effort to increase the welfare of mice (animal welfare) through alleviating the pain and suffering associated with scientific procedures. This study aims to study the daily activities of male mice in the laboratory. The method used was ad libitum and focal animal sampling. Based on the ad libitum sampling method, the daily activities of male mice in the laboratory were divided into 9 activities, namely locomotion, grooming, eating, foraging, social, exploration, resting, making nests, and drinking. Based on the focal animal sampling method, the main activity carried out by male mice in the laboratory was locomotion.

Encoding of social exploration by neural ensembles in the insular cortex

SummaryThe insular cortex participates in diverse complex brain functions including sociality, yet little is known about their cellular bases. Using microendoscopic calcium imaging of the agranular insular cortex (AI) in mice interacting with freely-moving and restrained social targets, we identified two subsets of AI neurons –a larger fraction of Social-ON cells and a smaller fraction of Social-OFF cells– that change their activity in opposite directions during social exploration. Social-ON cells included those that represented social investigation independent of location and consisted of multiple subsets, each of which were preferentially active during exploration under particular behavioral state or with a particular target of physical contact. These results uncover a previously unknown function of AI neurons in encoding conjunctive information on social behavior and suggest that AI may act to monitor the ongoing status of social exploration while an animal interacts with unfamiliar conspecifics.