Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 30, 2026
10:45
Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Observing Virtual Social Interactions
Published on: July 6, 2011
12.2K
Interacting neural ensembles in orbitofrontal cortex for social and feeding behaviour
Joshua H Jennings1, Christina K Kim2, James H Marshel1
1Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Nature
|January 18, 2019
Summary
Distinct neuronal populations in the orbitofrontal cortex bidirectionally control feeding behavior. Activating feeding-related neurons increases food intake, while activating social neurons suppresses it, revealing cellular-level control of basic drives.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
- Computational Neuroscience
Background:
- Basic drives like feeding and social interaction influence each other, with adaptive and maladaptive consequences.
- Neural systems for caloric intake and social behaviors overlap, but causal mechanisms of their interaction remain unclear.
- The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) processes rewards and contains diverse neuronal populations responding to caloric and social stimuli.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causal role of cellular-resolution, experience-specific neuronal populations in the OFC on behavior.
- To understand the circuit mechanisms underlying the adjudication of competing drives, specifically feeding and social behaviors.
Main Methods:
- Coupled genetically encoded activity imaging with optogenetic control of individually defined OFC neurons.
- Monitored and manipulated single-neuron activity in real-time during caloric consumption and social interaction.
- Utilized cellular-resolution techniques to assess the behavioral impact of specific neuronal population activation.
Main Results:
- Identified distinct neuronal populations in the OFC selectively responding to caloric rewards or social stimuli.
- Causally linked the activity of individual feeding-responsive neurons to increased feeding behavior.
- Demonstrated that activating social-responsive neurons inhibited feeding, while activating non-responsive neurons had no effect.
Conclusions:
- Revealed potent, cellular-level subnetworks within the OFC that bidirectionally control feeding behavior.
- Showcased the precise engagement of specific neuronal populations to modulate feeding based on social context.
- Provides a framework for understanding how the brain adjudicates competing drives at the single-cell level.
Related Concept Videos
02:10Social Scripts
10.3K
People tend to know what behavior is expected of them in specific, familiar settings. A script is a person’s knowledge about the sequence of events expected in a specific setting (Schank & Abelson, 1977). Essentially, scripts are a particular kind of schema, one containing default values for the features within an event. In the restaurant example, the script's features include the props (e.g., tables, menu, food, and money), the roles to be played (e.g., customer and waiter),...
10.3K
00:52Social Proof
32.4K
Social proof is a form of persuasion based on comparison and conformity. People compare their behavior and actions to what others are doing and will change to conform to do what their peers do.
32.4K
02:06Social Exchange Theory
40.8K
We have discussed why we form relationships, what attracts us to others, and different types of love. But what determines whether we are satisfied with and stay in a relationship? One theory that provides an explanation is social exchange theory. According to social exchange theory, we act as naïve economists in keeping a tally of the ratio of costs and benefits of forming and maintaining a relationship with others (Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003).
40.8K
01:41Social Traps
26.9K
Social traps are negative situations where people get caught in a direction or relationship that later proves to be unpleasant, with no easy way to back out of or avoid. The concept was orignally introduced by John Platt who applied psychology to Garrett Hardin's "Tragedy of the Commons", where in New England herd owners could let their cattle graze in the common ground. This situation seems like a good idea, but an individual could have an advantage. If they owned...
26.9K
01:04Social Facilitation
36.6K
Not all intergroup interactions lead to negative outcomes. Sometimes, being in a group situation can improve performance. Social facilitation occurs when an individual performs better when an audience is watching than when the individual performs the behavior alone. This typically occurs when people are performing a task for which they are skilled.
36.6K
01:37Social Loafing
39.7K
Another way in which a group presence can affect performance is social loafing—the exertion of less effort by a person working together with a group. Social loafing occurs when our individual performance cannot be evaluated separately from the group. Thus, group performance declines on easy tasks (Karau & Williams, 1993). Essentially individual group members loaf and let other group members pick up the slack. Because each individual’s efforts cannot be evaluated,...
39.7K