Abstract-1
Social interactions occur in group settings and are mediated by communication signals that are exchanged between individuals, often using vocalizations. The neural representation of group social communication remains largely unexplored. We conducted simultaneous wireless electrophysiological recordings from the frontal cortices of groups of Egyptian fruit bats engaged in both spontaneous and task-induced vocal interactions. We found that the activity of single neurons distinguished between vocalizations produced by self and by others, as well as among specific individuals. Coordinated neural activity among group members exhibited stable bidirectional interbrain correlation patterns specific to spontaneous communicative interactions. Tracking social and spatial arrangements within a group revealed a relationship between social preferences and intra- and interbrain activity patterns. Combined, these findings reveal a dedicated neural repertoire for group social communication within and across the brains of freely communicating groups of bats.
Rose, M. C., Styr, B., Schmid, T. A., Elie, J. E., & Yartsev, M. M. (2021). Cortical representation of group social communication in bats. Science, 374(6566), eaba9584. [LINK]
Abstract-2
The ability to interact effectively within social groups is essential to primate and human behavior. Yet understanding the neural processes that underlie the interactive behavior of groups or by which neurons solve the basic problem of coding for multiple agents has remained a challenge. By tracking the interindividual dynamics of groups of three interacting rhesus macaques, we discover detailed representations of the groups’ behavior by neurons in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, reflecting not only the other agents’ identities but also their specific interactions, social context, actions, and outcomes. We show how these cells collectively represent the interaction between specific group members and their reciprocation, retaliation, and past behaviors. We also show how they influence the animals’ own upcoming decisions and their ability to form beneficial agent-specific interactions. Together, these findings reveal prefrontal neurons that code for the agency identity of others and a cellular mechanism that could support the interactive behavior of social groups.
Báez-Mendoza, R., Mastrobattista, E. P., Wang, A. J., & Williams, Z. M. (2021). Social agent identity cells in the prefrontal cortex of interacting groups of primates. Science, 374(6566), eabb4149. [LINK]
Speaker: Jiawei Zeng
Time:9:30 am, 2022/3/11
Location: CIBR Phase I South, Floor 2
