Biased brain and behavioral responses towards kin in males of a communally breeding species

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Brandon A. Fricker, Emory University; Deborah Ho, Emory University; Ashely W. Seifert, University of Kentucky, Lexington; Aubrey M. Kelly, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2023-10-09
• Publisher: Springer Nature
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author(s) 2023, corrected publication 2023
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-44257-6
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Scientific Reports
• Volume: 13
• Start Page: 17040
• Grant/Funding Information: We would like to acknowledge funding from the Klingenstein-Simons Foundation (Fellowship Award in Neuroscience to AMK), the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (R01AR070313 to AWS), and the National Science Foundation (IOS-1353713 to AWS; IOS-2310626 to AMK). BAF was supported by the Department of Defense (DoD) through the National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship Program.
• Keywords: Social behaviour; Social neuroscience
• Research Categories: Biology, Neuroscience; Psychology, Behavioral

Abstract

In complex social environments, individuals may interact with not only novel and familiar conspecifics but also kin and non-kin. The ability to distinguish between conspecific identities is crucial for most animals, yet how the brain processes conspecific type and how animals may alter behavior accordingly is not well known. We examined whether the communally breeding spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus) responds differently to conspecifics that vary in novelty and kinship. In a group interaction test, we found that males can distinguish novel kin from novel non-kin, and preferentially spend time with novel kin over familiar kin and novel non-kin. To determine whether kinship and novelty status are differentially represented in the brain, we conducted immediate early gene tests, which revealed the dorsal, but not ventral, lateral septum differentially processes kinship. Neither region differentially processes social novelty. Further, males did not exhibit differences in prosocial behavior toward novel and familiar conspecifics but exhibited more prosocial behavior with novel kin than novel non-kin. These results suggest that communally breeding species may have evolved specialized neural circuitry to facilitate a bias to be more affiliative with kin, regardless of whether they are novel or familiar, potentially to promote prosocial behaviors, thereby facilitating group cohesion.