Genetics Seminar Series: Decoding and regulating socioemotional brain states

Social behavior is central to human survival, yet the mechanisms whereby the brain integrates information across many regions to differentiate distinct social states remains to be clarified. This question is of central importance since the disruption of social behavior is a core element of neurodevelopmental disorders. Here, we combine multisite electrical recordings in mice with machine learning to discover the network level mechanisms whereby the brain encodes prosocial vs. aggressive behavior. We then develop and implement a closed-loop brain-state controller to selectively suppress aggression, while leaving prosocial behavior intact.