Cooperation

Friends making eye-contact have higher inter-brain synchronization than strangers. Eye-contact affects neural synchronization between brains more than within a brain, highlighting that eye-contact is an inherently social signal.

Wireless tracking of neuronal activity in social groups of mice identifies neurons in the anterior cingulate that hold representations of an animal’s social rank and can influence the competitive effort that the animal exerts.

The mechanisms coordinating the sensing and seeking of social contacts are unclear. Here, the authors show that amylin-calcitonin receptor signalling in the media preoptic area mediates affiliative social behaviors in female mice.