Social homeostasis

…mechanisms at molecular, circuit and social levels can inform interventions for brain disorders. Kay M. Tye (Salk Institute) addresses neural regulation of social homeostasis. Ian Maze (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai) examines protein monoaminylation in development, plasticity and disease. Oliver Howes (King’s College London) con

Understanding how social behavior evolves across social isolation is both an enormous priority and technical challenge as exploring the neural underpinnings of self-initiated behaviors in a quantitative and rigorous manner is difficult without experimenter-defined trial structures. Although loneliness has been declared an epidemic, there are no therapeutic targets and no mechanistic explanations for how social isolation negatively impacts our health. The dynamic time course of social isolation has been conceptualized in a model of social homeostasis (Lee et al., 2021). Multiple timescales for

…I am testing the hypothesis that social homeostasis engages differential regulation of translation, thereby directing neuronal plasticity for behavioral adaptations. The concept of social homeostasis proposes that social behavior is regulated by a complex feedback system to maintain a stable set-point for social interactions. The oxytocinergic system regulates key elements of social int

Social interaction is a fundamental and evolutionarily conserved need. Social grouping decreases the risk of predation, reduces energy consumption and leads to mutually beneficial behaviors such as parenting and group foraging. By contrast, social isolation leads to a range of mental and physical problems in both human and animals. However, how the brain controls instinctive social need and what neuronal populations and circuits are involved, remain unknown. In this study, we report the identification of novel populations of hypothalamic neurons in the medial preoptic nucleus (MPN) in mice th

…How do we know our place within a social group? How do we know how to behave appropriately in dynamic environments with ever-changing conditions? The Tye Lab is interested in understanding how neural circuits important for driving positive and negative motivational valence (seeking pleasure or avoiding punishment) are anatomically, genetically and functionally arranged. We study the neural mechanisms that underlie a wide range of behaviors ranging from learned to innate, including social, feeding, reward-seeking and anxiety-rela

…How do we know our place within a social group? How do we know how to behave appropriately in dynamic environments with ever-changing conditions? The Tye Lab is interested in understanding how neural circuits important for driving positive and negative motivational valence (seeking pleasure or avoiding punishment) are anatomically, genetically and functionally arranged. We study the neural mechanisms that underlie a wide range of behaviours ranging from learned to innate, including social, feeding, reward-seeking and anxiety-re