Researchers find neuronal pathway in rats that drives social grooming

Bob Yirka is a research scientist at Phys.org.

A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in Hungary, working with two colleagues from Spain and one from the U.S., have discovered a pathway in the rat brain that is involved in social grooming. In their paper published in the journal Current Biology, the group describes using injections and whole cell patch recording techniques to capture brain activity in rats.

Many animals participate in social grooming, which is defined as non-sexual physical contact conducted as part of associations between members of a group and other animals. Some parts of the brain may play a role in these activities.

The researchers used cell patch recording to capture brain activity during social grooming in rats. The technology can be used to measure cell membranes in live animals. It is done using a patch. Before and during the experiment, the animals were allowed to roam in a penned open field. Rats are grooming each other in this scenario.

In analyzing recordings made of pairs of rats engaged in social grooming, the researchers found two brain areas that became active. The researchers found that they were able to force both areas to become active using chemical enhancements.

The researchers found that the thalamus and hypothalamus were the places where the hormones were released. Reducing the number of neurons in the region led to reduced social grooming. The group was able to find possible analogues of the MPOA and PIL in humans.

More information: Dávid Keller et al, A thalamo-preoptic pathway promotes social grooming in rodents, Current Biology (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.08.062 Journal information: Current Biology

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