Scientists identify neurons in the brain that drive competition and social behavior within groups

New research in mice has identified neurons in the brain that influence competitive interactions between individuals and that play a critical role in shaping the social behavior of groups. Published in Nature by a team led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the findings will be useful not only for scientists interested in human interactions but also for those who study neurocognitive conditions such as autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia that are characterized by altered social behavior.

"Social interactions in humans and animals occur most commonly in large groups, and these group interactions play a prominent role in sociology, ecology, psychology, economics and political science," says lead author S. William Li, an MD/PhD student at MGH. "What processes in the brain drive the complex dynamic behavior of social groups remains poorly understood, in part because most neuroscience research thus far has focused on the behaviors of pairs of individuals interacting alone. Here, we were able to study the behavior of groups by developing a paradigm in which large cohorts of mice were wirelessly tracked across thousands of unique competitive group interactions."

Li and his colleagues found that the animals' social ranking in the group was closely linked to the results of competition, and by examining recordings from neurons in the brains of mice in real time, the team discovered that neurons in the anterior cingulate region of the brain store this social ranking information to inform upcoming decisions.

"Collectively, these neurons held remarkably detailed representations of the group's behavior and their dynamics as the animals competed together for food, in addition to information about the resources available and the outcome of their past interactions," explains senior author Ziv M. Williams, MD, a neurosurgical oncologist at MGH. "Together, these neurons could even predict the animal's own future success well before competition onset, meaning that they likely drove the animals' competitive behavior based on whom they interacted with."

Manipulating the activity of these neurons, on the other hand, could artificially increase or decrease an animal's competitive effort and therefore control their ability to successfully compete against others. "In other words, we could tune up and down the animal's competitive drive and do so selectively without affecting other aspects of their behavior such as simple speed or motivation," says Williams.

The findings indicate that competitive success is not simply a product of an animal's physical fitness or strength, but rather, is strongly influenced by signals in the brain that affect competitive drive. "These unique neurons are able to integrate information about the individual's environment, social group settings, and reward resources to calculate how to best behave under specific conditions," says Li.

In addition to providing insights into group behavior and competition in different sociologic or economic situations and other settings, identifying the neurons that control these characteristics may help scientists design experiments to better understand scenarios in which the brain is wired differently. "Many conditions manifest in aberrant social behavior that spans many dimensions, including one's ability to understand social norms and to display actions that may fit the dynamical structure of social groups," says Williams. "Developing an understanding of group behavior and competition holds relevance to these neurocognitive disorders, but until now, how this happens in the brain has largely remained unexplored."

Additional co-authors include Omer Zeliger, Leah Strahs, Raymundo Báez-Mendoza, Lance M. Johnson, and Adian McDonald Wojciechowski.

Funding for this research was provided by the National Institutes of Health, the Autism Science Foundation, an MGH-ECOR Fund for Medical Discovery Fellowship, and a NARSAD Young Investigator Grant from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.

Story Source:

Materials provided by Massachusetts General Hospital. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

S. William Li, Omer Zeliger, Leah Strahs, Raymundo Báez-Mendoza, Lance M. Johnson, Aidan McDonald Wojciechowski, Ziv M. Williams. Frontal neurons driving competitive behaviour and ecology of social groups. Nature, 2022; DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04000-5

Defying body clock linked to depression and lower wellbeing

People whose sleep pattern goes against their natural body clock are more likely to have depression and lower levels of wellbeing, according to a large-scale new study.

Research led by the University of Exeter, published in Molecular Psychiatry, also found the most robust evidence to date that being genetically programmed to be an early riser is protective against major depression, and improves wellbeing. Researchers suggest this may be because society is set up to be more aligned to early risers, through the standard 9-5 working pattern.

COVID-19 has led to more flexible working patterns and this research may help make the case for more adaptable working habits to suit individuals' needs.

The team built on previous research which mapped 351 genes linked to being an early riser, or a night owl. They used a statistical process called Mendelian Randomisation to examine whether these genes were causally associated with seven mental health and wellbeing outcomes, including major depression, using data on more than 450,000 UK adults from UK Biobank's biomedical database and research resource. As well as the genetic information, participants also completed a questionnaire on whether they were a morning person or an evening person.

The team also developed a new measure of "social jetlag" that measures the variation in sleep pattern between work and free days. They measured this in more than 85,000 UK Biobank participants for whom sleep data was available, via wrist-worn activity monitors. They found that people who were more misaligned from their natural body clock were more likely to report depression and anxiety and have lower wellbeing.

Lead author Jessica O'Loughlin, of the University of Exeter, said: "We found that people who were misaligned from their natural body clock were more likely to report depression, anxiety and have lower wellbeing. We also found the most robust evidence yet that being a morning person is protective of depression and improves wellbeing.

We think this could be explained by the fact that the demands of society mean night owls are more likely to defy their natural body clocks, by having to wake up early for work."

Overall, the research team found that morning people were more likely to be aligned to their natural body clock. They then tested the effect by looking at shift workers, and found that morningness may not be protective for depression in shift workers, meaning morning people who work shifts may not have improved mental health and wellbeing, however, this was inconclusive.

Senior author Dr Jessica Tyrrell, of the University of Exeter, said: "The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced a new flexibility in working patterns for many people. Our research indicates that aligning working schedules to an individual's natural body clock may improve mental health and wellbeing in night owls."

The study is entitled 'Using Mendelian Randomization methods to understand whether diurnal preference is causally related to mental health', and published in Molecular Psychiatry. The research is supported by the Academy of Medical Sciences. The study involved collaborators from King's College London, the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Manchester and Monash University.

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Exeter. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

1. Jessica O’Loughlin, Francesco Casanova, Samuel E. Jones, Saskia P. Hagenaars, Robin N. Beaumont, Rachel M. Freathy, Edward R. Watkins, Céline Vetter, Martin K. Rutter, Sean W. Cain, Andrew J. K. Phillips, Daniel P. Windred, Andrew R. Wood, Michael N. Weedon, Jessica Tyrrell. Using Mendelian Randomisation methods to understand whether diurnal preference is causally related to mental health. Molecular Psychiatry, 2021; DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01157-3

Jesus Christ is the focal point of Christianity. As Acts 4:12 states, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Forgiveness of sin and ultimately the gift of eternal life are available only through His sacrifice. We are reconciled to God by Christ's death but saved by His life (Romans 5:9-10).

The Scriptures refer to Jesus Christ with several distinctive titles, including the Word of God (John 1:1, John 1:14; Revelation 19:13), our Savior (1 John 4:14), our High Priest (Hebrews 9:11), our Lord (Revelation 22:21), the Son of God (Revelation 2:18; 1 John 5:5), our Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7), the Son of Man (Revelation 14:14), and King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16).

Christ is our Savior and the ultimate sacrifice for sin. Even though He was divine, Jesus became a human being to suffer and die for the sins of mankind (Philippians 2:5-7; Hebrews 2:9). As the Son of Man, He was human in the fullest sense, able to experience the trials of human life (Hebrews 4:15) to better empathize with us as our merciful High Priest (Hebrews 2:17).

Christ as our Savior gave His life that we might live. He died a horrible death, as our Passover (foreshadowed in the sacrificed Passover lamb in the Old Testament), that we might understand the magnitude of sin and the monumental significance of His sacrifice, which was made for every human being. He was "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29; compare Revelation 5:6; Revelation 5:12; Revelation 7:14; Revelation 12:11).

Sin, the transgression of God's law (1 John 3:4), is truly horrible. Disobedience to God's law has brought untold pain and misery as well as its ultimate penalty, death (Romans 6:23).

Jesus lived a perfect life and therefore did not deserve the excruciating agony He experienced or the death penalty inflicted on Him. However, He was preordained from the foundation of the world to suffer and die for the sins of humanity. Even though Christ was accused of violating God's law on more than one occasion, He, as the perfect sacrifice for sin, never broke God's law.

We accept Christ's sacrifice as essential to our salvation. As we model our lives after His, we figuratively "take up our cross" and follow Him (Luke 14:27), which includes a willingness to suffer and be persecuted as He set the example (1 Peter 2:19-23). We thank God the Father for giving up His Son Jesus Christ to be that perfect sacrifice for all mankind (John 3:16; Romans 8:32).

All sin is forgiven upon repentance and the acceptance of Christ's sacrifice. Forgiveness of sin requires the supreme sacrifice—the death of Jesus Christ. His crucifixion almost 2,000 years ago was essential to God's plan of redemption and salvation.

Through His sacrifice, Jesus took the ultimate penalty of sin—death—upon Himself, freeing us, if we accept His sacrifice in continuing repentance, from death being our final fate (Hebrews 2:9; Hebrews 9:15). And by giving of Himself in life to care for others and finally through the agonizing torment He experienced at the end, Jesus also bore the other consequences of sin—pain and suffering.

As Isaiah 53:4 begins, "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows." Matthew 8:17 renders this, "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses." And Isaiah 53:5 concludes, "The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." So Jesus endured brutality and misery as the basis for our release from suffering, including through healing.

While God does not remove all suffering now, just as He has not yet removed death from us, at times He will alleviate some of it now if we faithfully rely on Him—such as being physically healed of illness through anointing (James 5:13-16). And we have God's promise that one day both death and suffering will be no more (1 Corinthians 15:54; Romans 8:18; Revelation 21:4).

By understanding and accepting Jesus Christ's sacrifice in repentance and faith, we can be assured that our sins are blotted out. We can go forward in our Christian lives with confidence, knowing that through that sacrifice we can be reconciled to the Father.