Presenter(s): Matthew Dawson—Biology and Psychology
Faculty Mentor(s): Philip Washbourne
Session 5.5: McNair Scholars Presentations
Humans have a long history of working in social groups with a plethora of research supporting the benefits of positive human interaction . While these behaviors may seem intuitive, they can be argued as the most intricate behaviors displayed by animals . To generate a situationally relevant response to social others, an animal must be able to track dynamic systems . Given the inherent complexity of social behaviors, it is expected that this system can be perturbed by a multitude of neurological disorders . Using animal models, we can begin to construct the neuronal circuitry necessary for social behaviors . This circuitry can be used to understand social behavior deficits and may reveal possible interventions for disorders . Zebrafish, Danio rerio, perform stereotyped social behaviors, such as shoaling, which can be used to explore neuronal changes associated with deficits in performing the behavior . Through chemo-genetic ablations, we were able to cause cell death to select neurons due to variations in gene expression . Chemically treated fish were put into a virtual social assay that untreated zebrafish respond to . Zebrafish exhibiting decreased social response would indicate that the ablated neurons are necessary for social behavior . Our results indicate a population of neurons in the forebrain that are necessary for correct social behavior . This insight will help us construct the circuitry underlying social interactions .