Department of Biology, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada.
Neuron. 2010 Mar 25;65(6):780-94. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2010.03.007.
Deciphering the genetic and neurobiological underpinnings of social behavior is a difficult task. Simple model organisms such as C. elegans, Drosophila, and social insects display a wealth of social behaviors similar to those in more complex animals, including social dominance, group decision making, learning from experienced individuals, and foraging in groups. Although the study of social interactions is still in its infancy, the ability to assess the contributions of gene expression, neural circuitry, and the environment in response to social context in these simple model organisms is unsurpassed. Here, I take a comparative approach, discussing selected examples of social behavior across species and highlighting the common themes that emerge.
解析社会行为的遗传和神经生物学基础是一项艰巨的任务。秀丽隐杆线虫、果蝇和社会性昆虫等简单的模式生物表现出丰富的类似于更复杂动物的社会行为，包括社会支配地位、群体决策、从有经验的个体中学习以及群体觅食。尽管对社会互动的研究仍处于起步阶段，但在这些简单的模式生物中，评估基因表达、神经回路和环境对社会环境的响应的能力是无与伦比的。在这里，我采用比较的方法，讨论了跨物种的社会行为的一些例子，并强调了出现的共同主题。
