Optogenetic reactivation of prefrontal social neural ensembles mimics social buffering of fear.

ABSTRACT: Social buffering occurs when the presence of a companion attenuates the physiological and/or behavioral effects of a stressful or fear-provoking event. It represents a way in which social interactions can immediately and potently modulate behavior. As such, social buffering is one mechanism by which strong social support increases resilience to mental illness. Although the behavioral and neuroendocrine impacts of social buffering are well studied in multiple species, including humans, the neuronal underpinnings of this behavioral phenomenon remain largely unexplored. Previous work has shown that the infralimbic prefrontal cortex (IL-PFC) is important for processing social information and, in separate studies, for modulating fear and anxiety. Thus, we hypothesized that socially active cells

SUBMITTER: Gutzeit VA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7162965 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature