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Neural circuits for valence updating in social memory
Narutoshi Suto1,2, Mu-Yun Wang1,3, Shota Morikawa4
1Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (IQB), The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|July 9, 2026
Summary
Social animals update their perception of others by strengthening neural connections in the hippocampal ventral CA1 (vCA1)-basolateral amygdala (BLA)-nucleus accumbens (NAc) circuit. This neural circuit flexibly regulates adaptive social behaviors and social memory.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Social Behavior
- Animal Cognition
Background:
- Social animals must recognize familiar individuals and avoid harmful ones.
- Updating social valence is crucial as relationships change, but neural mechanisms are unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying social valence updating.
- To identify the brain circuits involved in adapting social behavior.
Main Methods:
- Artificially transformed a neutral conspecific into an aggressive one in a social setting.
- Analyzed synaptic connectivity and physiological changes in the hippocampal ventral CA1 (vCA1)-basolateral amygdala (BLA)-nucleus accumbens (NAc) circuit.
- Examined social memory engram neurons in the vCA1 post-defeat.
Main Results:
- Valence updating relies on enhanced synaptic connectivity within the vCA1-BLA-NAc circuit.
- Defeat led to strengthened connections between vCA1 social memory engram neurons and BLA neurons.
- The vCA1-BLA-NAc circuit demonstrated flexible regulation of adaptive social behaviors.
Conclusions:
- The vCA1-BLA-NAc neural circuit is critical for updating social valence.
- Synaptic plasticity in this circuit enables adaptive responses to changing social dynamics.
- Understanding these mechanisms provides insight into social recognition and avoidance behaviors.
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