Social behavior

Recent articles

A drosophila connectome.

One year of FlyWire: How the resource is redefining Drosophila research

We asked nine neuroscientists how they are using FlyWire data in their labs, how the connectome has transformed the field and what new tools they would like to see in the future.

By Francisco J. Rivera Rosario
7 October 2025 | 19 min listen
Photograph of a real bird looking at a model bird.

Robots marry natural neuroscience, experimental control to probe animal interactions

Faux fish and birds are helping researchers decipher some of the rules that govern schooling and squawking, among other social behaviors.

By Calli McMurray
19 September 2025 | 7 min read
Leafcutter ants carrying leaves.

Neuropeptides reprogram social roles in leafcutter ants

The mechanisms that control the labor roles of ants may also be conserved in naked mole rats, a new study shows.

By Shaena Montanari
11 July 2025 | 7 min listen
Two bats in flight in black space.

Coding bonus: Bats’ hippocampal cells log spatial, social cues

The neurons represent not only an animal’s place in space, but also the distinguishing features of its fellow bats, including their sex and social status.

By Claudia López Lloreda
30 January 2025 | 5 min read
Two prairie voles touch snouts in a tank.

Brain gene expression syncs between bonded prairie voles

The overlapping activity in the animals’ nucleus accumbens may underpin pair bonding, a new preprint suggests.

By Shaena Montanari
10 January 2025 | 5 min read
Two rhesus macaque monkeys.

Vasopressin boosts sociability in solitary monkeys

Inhaling the hormone did not increase aggression in unsociable rhesus macaques and appears to help the animals remember faces and reciprocate friendly behaviors.

By Charles Q. Choi
25 November 2024 | 5 min read
Two surreal heads touch each other’s faces.

The case for redefining ‘theory of mind’: Q&A with François Quesque

In a new commentary, Quesque and 44 experts in neuroscience and psychology propose a standardized lexicon for research on the attribution of mental states.

By Lauren Schenkman
10 October 2024 | 7 min read
Stock photograph of a women and her young child at a clinician’s office.

A genetics-first clinic for catching developmental conditions early: Q&A with Jacob Vorstman

A new clinic is assessing children who have a genetic predisposition for autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions—sometimes before traits appear.

By Lauren Schenkman
15 August 2024 | 7 min read
Photograph of a child sitting on the floor playing with blocks while an adult watches.

Sensitive test of autism treatment effects could enable comparison of different interventions

In a first, researchers used the BOSCC measure to analyze data from multiple previous studies.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
8 August 2024 | 5 min read
Illustrated portrait of So Hyun “Sophy” Kim.

Diagnosing autism and teaching neurodiversity with So Hyun “Sophy” Kim

The Korea University professor on her path to autism research and studying in the United States.

By Brady Huggett
1 July 2024 | 67 min listen

Explore more from The Transmitter

Research image of human cortical organoids.

Parsing phenotypes in people with shared autism-linked variants; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 13 October.

By Jill Adams
14 October 2025 | 2 min read

Ant olfactory neurons reveal new ‘transcriptional shield’ mechanism of gene regulation

A protective screen of spurious transcriptional activity enables each olfactory neuron to express exactly one out of hundreds of olfactory receptors.

By Viviane Callier
14 October 2025 | 0 min watch
Illustration of a series of shapes, with a few resembling human eyes.

The visual system’s lingering mystery: Connecting neural activity and perception

Figuring out how the brain uses information from visual neurons may require new tools. I asked 10 neuroscientists what experimental and conceptual methods they think we’re missing.

By Grace Lindsay
13 October 2025 | 5 min read

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