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New circuit for social “flocking” identified
Don’t tell me this research is in lab animals?
Yes it is. But this is the interesting bit, it’s in spiny mice.
In what type of mice?
Spiny mice live in arid environments in Africa. But their behaviour makes them particularly suitable for research into the social brain. Other rodents that have been used extensively for research are not as suitable because they may not live in social groups.
For example, the prairie vole has been used extensively in research and has given us insights into oxytocin as a bonding (also love or cuddle) chemical but they are also aggressive to other voles. The same applies to many mice and rats.
However, spiny mice live in large social groups and are welcoming to “strangers” — or at least non-aggressive — and approach peers much more readily.
OK, and what did the researchers find?
Well, the results may sound quite simple but they went through multiple processes to find out what was happening. First they identified active regions in the brain, then enabled a chemical tracer to track neural circuits.
