Gossman Kyle R, Andrews Emalee, Dykstra Ben, Ta Kyle, Ashourvan Arian, Smith Adam S
Department of Pharmacsology and Toxicology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence KS, USA.
iScience. 2025 Feb 20;28(3):112065. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.112065. eCollection 2025 Mar 21.
Mammals live in complex social systems that require higher order cognition to process and display complex social behaviors. It is suggested that brain networks, such as the social decision-making network (SDMN), have evolved to process such information. Recent functional connectivity studies of the SDMN have revealed distinct network dynamics during different social events across several species. However, the structural mapping of this network is incomplete which limits structural-functional modeling. Here, we assess the structural connectivity of an extended SDMN as well as the fore- and mid-brain afferent projections with the use of cholera toxin subunit-B retrograde tracers and the prairie vole (), a socially monogamous rodent that displays complex social behaviors. This work greatly expands upon the limited structural connectivity of the vole social brain and highlights important regions within the SDMN and other highly innervated regions that may serve as information hubs.
哺乳动物生活在复杂的社会系统中，这需要更高层次的认知来处理和展现复杂的社会行为。有人认为，诸如社会决策网络（SDMN）等脑网络已经进化到能够处理此类信息。最近对SDMN的功能连接性研究揭示了不同物种在不同社会事件期间独特的网络动态。然而，该网络的结构图谱并不完整，这限制了结构-功能建模。在这里，我们使用霍乱毒素B亚单位逆行示踪剂和草原田鼠（一种表现出复杂社会行为的社会性一夫一妻制啮齿动物）来评估扩展的SDMN以及前脑和中脑传入投射的结构连接性。这项工作极大地扩展了田鼠社会大脑有限的结构连接性，并突出了SDMN内的重要区域以及其他可能作为信息枢纽的高度神经支配区域。
