Neuroscientists have pinpointed a specific set of neurons that connects two brain areas and regulates social behaviour in mice.

Karl Deisseroth and his colleagues at Stanford University in California used a variety of technologies to identify the exact circuitry involved in the behaviours adopted by mice encountering an unfamiliar mouse or object. The team found that activity of cells in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) region of the brain increased during exploration of both the mouse and the object. Stimulating the firing of the VTA cells that project into the nucleus accumbens increased the animals' exploration of their new companion — but not the object. The mice also seem to use this circuitry for natural social exploration.

Studying the brain circuits, and not just the molecules, involved in social behaviour could lead to new insight into some neuropsychiatric disorders, the authors say.

Cell 157, 1535–1551 (2014)