The social brain - BETTER TO BE ALONE THAN IN BAD COMPANY?

There are many advantages to living in communities, although there can also be many drawbacks... Are we humans the only animals that live in societies? What can we learn about ourselves and our brains by studying the social behaviors of other species? Penguins, monkeys, dolphins, rats and elephants will visit us to learn a little more about our brains.

We'll talk about how other species organize themselves into groups, and the effects that social interactions have on the brain. It is surprising that something so crucial in our daily lives is such an unexplored scientific field. In our lab, we aim to understand how social interactions change the brain and what happens in the brain when we make social decisions. Specifically, we are interested in knowing how, when and why one animal decides to help another, and how the brain makes such decisions. To do this, we develop behavioral tests in rodents that allow us a detailed understanding of behavior, as well as the possibility of manipulating specific brain circuits.

Lecture in English.