Neural Computation and Neuromodulation Underlying Social Behavior

Social behaviors are as diverse as the animals that employ them, with some behaviors, like affiliation and aggression, expressed in nearly all social species. Whether discussing a "family" of beavers or a "murder" of crows, the elaborate language we use to describe social animals immediately hints at patterns of behavior typical of each species. Neuroscience has now revealed a core network of regions of the brain that are essential for the production of social behavior. Like the behaviors themselves, neuromodulation and hormonal changes regulate the underlying neural circuits on timescales ranging from momentary events to an animal's lifetime. Dynamic and heavily interconnected social circuits provide a distinct challenge for developing a mechanistic understanding of social behavior. However, advances in neuroscience continue to generate an explanation of social behavior based on the electrical activity and synaptic connections of neurons embedded in defined neural circuits.