Researchers discover brain waves related to social behavior – Neuroscience News
summary: Study reveals brain wave activity in the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala associated with social behavior in rats.
Source: Tohoku University
Researchers from Tohoku University and the University of Tokyo have discovered electrical wave patterns in the brain related to social behavior in rats. They also observed that mice showing signs of stress, depression or autism lacked these brain waves.
The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and amygdala regions of the brain control our emotions, and undergo pathological changes when we experience mental illness. However, the detailed neuronal processes behind this remain unclear.
Takuya Sasaki, from Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, led a collaborative team that recorded electrical brain signals—so-called brain electrical waves—in the mPFC and amygdala regions of rats.
Animals interact with others socially and generate specific electrical oscillations in the brain. credit: Takuya Sasaki et al.
They found that when the rats interacted socially with each other, there was a clear change in certain brain waves. Specifically, brain waves on the frequency bands of theta (4–7 Hz) and gamma (30–60 Hz) decreased and increased, respectively, during socialization.
When similar tests were applied to rats displaying poor social skills or symptoms of depression and autism, brain waves were not present. Notably, in these pathological mouse models their ability to interact socially was restored by artificially mimicking brain waves related to social behavior by an optical and genetic manipulation technique.
“This finding provides a unified understanding of brain activity underlying social behavior and its deficits in disease,” says Sasaki.
Looking ahead, Sasaki is eager to identify the basic mechanisms of neuronal dynamics in these brain waves and to evaluate the involvement of other brain regions in social behavior. In conjunction, he is investigating whether the same brain mechanisms work for clinical applications in humans.
About this social behavior research news
Author: Press Office
Source: Tohoku University
contact: Press Office – Tohoku University
image: The image is credited to Takuya Sasaki et al.
Basic Research: open access.
“Prefrontal–amygdalar oscillations related to social behavior in rats” by Nahoko Kuga et al. elife
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Prefrontal–amygdalar oscillations related to social behavior in rats
The medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala are involved in the regulation of social behavior and are associated with psychopathy but their detailed neurophysiological mechanisms at the network level remain unclear.
We recorded local field potentials (LFPs) from the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA), while male rats engaged in social behavior. We found that in wild-type mice, both the dmPFC and BL showed increased 4–7 Hz oscillation power and decreased 30–60 Hz power when they needed to participate in another target mouse.
In mouse models with fewer social interactions, dmPFC 4–7 Hz power increased further, especially when they demonstrated social avoidance behaviour. In contrast, when wild-type mice socially approached a target mouse, the dmPFC and BL reduced power at 4–7 Hz. Frequency-specific optogenetic manipulations mimicking LFP patterns related to social attitudes restored social interaction behavior in socially deficient rats.
These results demonstrate a neurophysiological substrate of the prefrontal cortex and amygdala related to social behavior and provide an integrated pathophysiological understanding of the neuronal population dynamics underlying social behavioral deficits.
