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Updated: Jul 24, 2025
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Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Observing Virtual Social Interactions
Published on: July 6, 2011
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The anterior insular cortex processes social recognition memory.
Ji-You Min1, Sanggeon Park1,2, Jeiwon Cho3,4
1Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Scranton College, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760, Republic of Korea.
Scientific Reports
|July 5, 2023
Summary
The anterior insular cortex (aIC) is crucial for recognizing novel social interactions in mice. Lesioning the aIC impairs social recognition but not general sociability or memory retrieval.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Impaired social abilities are common in psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder.
- The anterior insular cortex (aIC) is linked to social ability, but its specific role is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of the anterior insular cortex (aIC) in processing specific social abilities.
- To determine if aIC absence or presence affects social behaviors in mice.
Main Methods:
- Electrolytic lesions were made in the anterior insular cortex (aIC) of mice.
- Behavioral tests assessed social recognition, sociability, olfaction, learning, memory, locomotion, and anxiety.
Main Results:
- aIC lesions specifically impaired the recognition of novel stranger mice.
- Sociability, social memory retrieval, olfaction, learning, locomotion, and anxiety remained intact.
- Mice with aIC lesions could still distinguish between familiar and novel mice.
Conclusions:
- The anterior insular cortex (aIC) is specifically involved in processing social recognition memory.
- Retrieval of social recognition memory may not depend on the aIC.
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