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social behavior

·September 4, 2025·5 min read

Autism Gene Found to Alter Brain’s Social Hormone Signals

A new study reveals how a mutation in the Shank3 gene, associated with autism, alters social behavior by disrupting vasopressin release in the brain. In mice, this mutation reduced sociability and defensive aggression by limiting vasopressin reaching the lateral septum.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 27, 2025·4 min read

Brain Map Reveals How Stress and Social Control Interconnect

A new study has identified a key brain hub in the medial prefrontal cortex that regulates stress responses and social behavior, offering critical insights into psychiatric conditions. Using advanced imaging and AI mapping in mice, scientists charted how these regions integrate sensory and bodily signals to control emotional stability.

This shows a brain with glowing neurons and people surrounding it.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 26, 2025·4 min read

Tiny Neurons Shape Empathy and Social Memory

A new study shows that specific brain cells called PV interneurons play a crucial role in social decision-making and empathy. When researchers suppressed these neurons in mice, the animals stopped differentiating between familiar and unfamiliar peers and failed to show preference for distressed companions.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 11, 2025·10 min read

Friendship Chemistry: How Oxytocin Shapes Who We Bond With

New research on prairie voles shows that while oxytocin is not strictly necessary for friendship, it plays a vital role in quickly forming and maintaining strong social bonds. Voles lacking oxytocin receptors took up to a week to develop preferences for peers that normal voles formed in a day, and they often failed to prioritize known companions in group settings.

This shows two people with brain overlays.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 11, 2025·3 min read

Oxytocin’s Social Boost Depends on Motivation

A new study reveals that oxytocin’s ability to enhance social behavior depends heavily on the recipient’s motivation. In rhesus monkeys, the hormone boosted and sustained social decision-making only when the animals were already inclined toward social engagement.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 21, 2025·3 min read

Right-Sided Brain Pathway Linked to Social Dominance

A new study uncovers how brain anatomy relates to social dominance in primates. Researchers found that the uncinate fasciculus, a tract tied to emotion and memory, strongly correlated with dominance behaviors in squirrel monkeys. This link was especially pronounced in the right hemisphere, aligning with human findings on social aggression.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 16, 2025·5 min read

When Tears Seem Honest: Context Shapes How We Judge Crying

New research reveals that our perception of others’ tears as sincere or manipulative depends heavily on context. Tears were judged more honest when shed in non-manipulative situations and by those less expected to cry, such as men or individuals perceived as less warm.

This shows a man making eye contact with a robot.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 16, 2025·4 min read

How Eye Contact Builds Connection

A new study reveals that the sequence of eye movements—not just eye contact itself—plays a key role in how we interpret social cues, even with robots. Researchers found that looking at an object, making eye contact, then looking back at the object was the most effective way to signal a request for help.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·July 15, 2025·3 min read

Childhood Emotional Trauma Linked to Later Social Distress

A new study reveals that childhood emotional trauma increases social avoidance and distress in adolescents, but resilience can help mitigate these effects. Surveying 577 junior high students, researchers found resilience acted as a buffer, enabling traumatized teens to engage more positively with peers.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 9, 2025·5 min read

Perception or Reality? Rethinking How Polarized We Really Are

A new study challenges the notion that society is as polarized as many believe, revealing that perceptions of division often stem from the consensus within one’s own social circles. Researchers developed a novel method to distinguish actual opinion divergence from how polarized people feel society is.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 6, 2025·5 min read

Why Your Brain Is Better at Gossip Than You Realize

A new study reveals how humans instinctively calculate who to gossip with by weighing popularity and social distance. This cognitive process allows gossip to spread widely while minimizing the risk of it reaching the wrong person.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 1, 2025·4 min read

Universally Cool: Personality Traits That Cross Cultural Lines

What makes someone “cool” appears to be remarkably consistent across cultures, according to a global psychology study. Researchers surveyed nearly 6,000 people from 13 countries and found that cool individuals are consistently described as extraverted, powerful, open-minded, adventurous, and independent.