Contact-seeking behavior in mice is driven by amylin peptide in the medial preoptic area of the forebrain.
Activity in the medial preoptic area tilts the mouse brain toward love and affection, while activity in the ventromedial hypothalamus is associated with more aggressive or hateful acts.
Optogenetics and brain imaging techniques allow researchers to identify a small cluster of neurons in the hypothalamus that trigger attraction, a new study reports.