WASHINGTON — Humans and many other animals express a range of social behaviors, from cooperation to aggression. But as innate as these behaviors may be, little is known about which brain regions control them.
But now, new tools can probe the brains of living animals while they are engaged in social interactions, providing insights into how the brain controls certain behaviors.
These tools — which involve electrodes implanted into the brains of animals — have also revealed that brains likely don't operate in isolation.
Four independent studies, presented here yesterday (Nov. 13) at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, highlighted some particularly interesting findings about the "social brain."
Among some surprises were findings that social aggression is closely associated with the brain's memory region, that cooperation is more a self-serving strategy than an empathetic one, and that there is biological evidence that two minds really can be on the same wavelength.
"We're beginning to see a striking aspect of the brain … that brains are wired for social interactions," said Dr. Robert Green, a professor of neuroscience and psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, during a news conference about the studies.
Although scientists have seen hints there must be an underlying brain architecture guiding social behavior, only now are they observing this architecture directly in living brains, Green told Live Science. This understanding could lead to treatments for antisocial behaviors, he said.
Green also noted these new insights are a result of studying brains interacting with each other simultaneously, as opposed to traditional studies of probing only one brain at a time in isolation.
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