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Affiliation in mice induced by an auditory-conditioned stimulus
Wataru Ito1, Alexei Morozov1,2
1Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA.
Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|February 23, 2026
Summary
Learned threats, like auditory cues, can trigger social affiliation in mice. This response relies on familiar partners and specific brain pathways, suggesting shared circuitry for innate and learned threat responses.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Biology
- Ethology
Background:
- Social affiliation is a fundamental survival mechanism observed across species.
- Innate threats reliably elicit affiliation, but the role of learned threats is less understood.
- Investigating the neural basis of affiliation in response to learned threats is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if learned threats, specifically auditory conditioned stimuli, can induce social affiliation in mice.
- To explore the neural mechanisms and conditions underlying conditioned threat-induced affiliation.
Main Methods:
- Auditory fear conditioning was used to establish learned threat associations in mice.
- Proximity behaviors in same-sex dyads were measured during the presentation of the conditioned stimulus (CS).
- Investigated the roles of familiarity, freezing behavior, basolateral amygdala-ventral hippocampus pathways, and oxytocin signaling.
Main Results:
- Mice exhibited increased proximity to partners when exposed to the auditory CS.
- This conditioned stimulus-evoked affiliation was observed independently of freezing responses.
- Familiarity between partners, intact basolateral amygdala-to-ventral hippocampus connections, and oxytocin signaling were essential for this affiliative behavior.
Conclusions:
- Learned threats, via auditory conditioned stimuli, can activate social affiliation circuits in mice.
- Neural pathways processing learned and innate threats converge onto shared social affiliation circuitry.
- This study highlights the adaptive role of social bonding in managing learned threat.
