Séminaire de Félix Leroy

Friday April 21, 2023, at 14:30, Salle Henri Gastaut

Félix Leroy

(Instituto de Neurociencias, Alicante, Spain)

Neural circuits regulating social preferences

Abstract:

Social novelty preference (SNP) is an important feature of adult rodent interactions. Despite SNP being used routinely to assess social memory, it is still unclear however which neuronal circuits guide this preference. The infra-limbic area of the prefrontal cortex (ILA) – involved in social decision-making – and the lateral septum (LS) – involved in the inhibition of motivated behaviors, including social interactions – are necessary to display SNP but the mechanisms allowing them to regulate social interactions remain unknown. We show how the release of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) from ILA to LS prevents social interactions between familiar mice. This circuit therefore participates in the process of familiarization (decrease in interaction as a novel mouse becomes familiar) and contributes to SNP in adult mice. We also demonstrate how the maturation of CRH expression during the first two post-natal weeks enables a shift of social preference from familiar to novel mice.