Animal behavior
Recent articles
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.
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.
Escaping groupthink: What animals’ behavioral quirks reveal about the brain
Neuroscientists have long ignored the variability in animals’ behavioral responses in favor of studying differences across groups. But work on the brain differences that underlie that variability is beginning to pay off.
Escaping groupthink: What animals’ behavioral quirks reveal about the brain
Neuroscientists have long ignored the variability in animals’ behavioral responses in favor of studying differences across groups. But work on the brain differences that underlie that variability is beginning to pay off.
Brain gene expression syncs between bonded prairie voles
The overlapping activity in the animals’ nucleus accumbens may underpin pair bonding, a new preprint suggests.
Brain gene expression syncs between bonded prairie voles
The overlapping activity in the animals’ nucleus accumbens may underpin pair bonding, a new preprint suggests.
In case you missed it: Standout news stories from 2024
These five stories—on the pregnant brain, a failed imaging method and more—top our list of some of the most notable neuroscience research findings this year.
In case you missed it: Standout news stories from 2024
These five stories—on the pregnant brain, a failed imaging method and more—top our list of some of the most notable neuroscience research findings this year.
Egyptian fruit bats’ neural patterns represent different experimenters
The findings underscore the importance of accounting for “experimenter effects” on lab animals.
Egyptian fruit bats’ neural patterns represent different experimenters
The findings underscore the importance of accounting for “experimenter effects” on lab animals.
Improvising to study brains in the wild: Q&A with Nacho Sanguinetti-Scheck
A joke at a neuroscience summer program nearly a decade ago ignited a lifelong research interest for this Uruguayan scientist—one that plays on his comedic strengths.
Improvising to study brains in the wild: Q&A with Nacho Sanguinetti-Scheck
A joke at a neuroscience summer program nearly a decade ago ignited a lifelong research interest for this Uruguayan scientist—one that plays on his comedic strengths.
Mind control in zombie flies: Q&A with Carolyn Elya
A parasitic fungus compels its insect host to behave in strange ways by hijacking secretory neurons and circadian pathways.
Mind control in zombie flies: Q&A with Carolyn Elya
A parasitic fungus compels its insect host to behave in strange ways by hijacking secretory neurons and circadian pathways.
Dancing in the dark: Honeybees use antennae to decode nestmates’ waggles
The insects align their antennae with their body’s angle to a dancer—information that vector-processing circuitry in the brain deciphers into a flight path, a new study suggests.
Dancing in the dark: Honeybees use antennae to decode nestmates’ waggles
The insects align their antennae with their body’s angle to a dancer—information that vector-processing circuitry in the brain deciphers into a flight path, a new study suggests.
Wild and free: Understanding animal behavior beyond the lab
Technological advancements have made it possible to study animals in more natural settings, but researchers are debating what that really means and whether natural is always better.
Wild and free: Understanding animal behavior beyond the lab
Technological advancements have made it possible to study animals in more natural settings, but researchers are debating what that really means and whether natural is always better.
Explore more from The Transmitter
Diving in with Nachum Ulanovsky
With an eye toward realism, the neuroscientist, who has a new study about bats out today, creates microcosms of the natural world to understand animal behavior.
Diving in with Nachum Ulanovsky
With an eye toward realism, the neuroscientist, who has a new study about bats out today, creates microcosms of the natural world to understand animal behavior.
Gene-activity map of developing brain reveals new clues about autism’s sex bias
Boys and girls may be vulnerable to different genetic changes, which could help explain why the condition is more common in boys despite linked variants appearing more often in girls.
Gene-activity map of developing brain reveals new clues about autism’s sex bias
Boys and girls may be vulnerable to different genetic changes, which could help explain why the condition is more common in boys despite linked variants appearing more often in girls.
Engrams in amygdala lean on astrocytes to solidify memories
Disrupting the astrocyte-neuronal dynamic in mice destabilizes their memory of fear conditioning.
Engrams in amygdala lean on astrocytes to solidify memories
Disrupting the astrocyte-neuronal dynamic in mice destabilizes their memory of fear conditioning.