Topic: social hierarchies

Human societies are structured in a hierarchical manner, be that the work place, government, the playground, or even home-life. Hierarchies are thought to give a system stability; each node within a social network knowing who is above and who is below. However, there is very little experimental research exploring the dynamics of such hierarchies, particularly in animals. This research aims to address this gap using Eco-HAB, a fully automated, RFID-based system, that allows us to study social hierarchies in mice over extended period of time (e.g., 6 weeks). The experiment began with 3 groups of

Social status is key to mental health and well-being. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) regulates motivated behaviors, including the establishment of social hierarchies. Our recent work underscored NAc mitochondrial energy metabolism as critical for social competition among rodents. However, the exact neurochemical and molecular underpinnings of the differences in NAc energy metabolism and the specific contribution of distinct cell types are yet to be determined. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) allows the study of metabolites related to energy metabolism, neurotransmission, and cellular integr