The Anterior BNST Is Required for Novelty-Driven Social Interaction

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Behavioral Neuroscience
• Computational Neuroscience

Background:

• Social novelty preference, the tendency to engage with unfamiliar individuals over familiar ones, is crucial for survival and social interaction.
• This preference is conserved across species but is disrupted in neuropsychiatric disorders like autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, and social anxiety.
• While the hippocampus is known for social recognition memory, the neural circuits translating familiarity into behavior remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the neural mechanisms underlying social novelty preference in male mice.
• To investigate the role of the anterior bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNSTa) in mediating interactions with unfamiliar conspecifics.

Main Methods:

• Utilized c-Fos labeling, RNAscope, immunohistochemistry, and fiber photometry to examine neuronal activity.
• Employed chemogenetics to selectively inhibit neurons within the BNSTa.
• Observed behavioral responses during social interactions and novel-object exploration.

Main Results:

• Inhibitory and DRD1-expressing neurons in the BNSTa were broadly activated during social and novel-object interactions.
• Selective chemogenetic inhibition of the BNSTa suppressed interactions with unfamiliar conspecifics.
• Interactions with familiar conspecifics and novel objects remained unaffected by BNSTa inhibition.

Conclusions:

• The BNSTa is identified as a critical neural node that promotes novelty-driven social engagement.
• This study reveals a circuit mechanism for social novelty preference, highlighting the BNSTa's role in social behavior.
• Dysfunction in the BNST may contribute to social deficits observed in neuropsychiatric disorders.