Professor
Department of Neurobiology, Biological Chemistry, and Bioengineering
University of California, Los Angeles
Title: Neural Basis of Prosocial Behavior
Abstract: While it is evolutionarily logical for individuals to behave in ways that benefit themselves and maximize an individual’s own survival and reproduction, humans and other animals also engage in empathy and compassion-related behaviors that benefit others. Our research focuses on understanding various forms of empathic and prosocial behaviors, as well as the neural mechanisms underlying these actions. We establish behavioral paradigms in mice to study prosocial comforting and helping behaviors. By combining these paradigms with genetic, circuit, and computational approaches, we identify the molecularly and anatomically distinct neural pathways in the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex that specifically encode and control these behaviors. Beyond studying how neural circuits and computations within a single brain regulate social behavioral decisions, we are also interested in investigating how emergent inter-brain neural properties arise from social interactions between individuals.
Host: Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
