CASCB Talk: Behavioral variables and neural mechanisms underlying helping in mice
Time
Monday, 3. February 2025
12:00 - 13:00
Location
ZT702 and online
Organizer
CASCB
Speaker:
Sanja Bauer Mikulovic, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg
Abstract: Empathy and prosocial behavior are long-established psychological concepts, traditionally considered unique to humans. However, the neural mechanisms underlying these behaviors and the causes of related disorders remain poorly understood. Recent research indicates that rodents are also capable of empathy and helping each other. In this study, I will present novel findings from our lab on how mice learn to help one another. Using calcium imaging and single-photon emission tomography, we examined brain activity associated with helping behavior. We also manipulated specific neural circuits to assess their role in helping. Additionally, we developed "mice cities," where groups of mice were observed over extended periods, and their social interactions were linked to helping behaviors. Finally, I I will also discuss future research on environmental factors and further neural mechanisms that regulate helping in mice.
Bio:
Sanja Bauer Mikulovic studied biomedical engineering at the Technical University of Vienna and received her doctorate in neuroscience from the University of Uppsala in Sweden. Subsequently, she conducted research in Sweden in the Department of Neuroscience as a postdoc on the role of specific types of interneurons in the hippocampus and their importance for oscillations underlying cognitive and emotional behaviour. In 2018 she received an international postdoc grant, which enabled her to conduct her research in parallel at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Bonn. Since January 2021 she is leading her own group Cogntiton and Emotion.
Twitter: @SMikulovic
