The Septal Region and Social Behavior

Sheehan, Teige P.; Numan, Michael

doi:10.1007/978-1-4612-1302-4_8

Cited by 35 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 156 publications

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“…In humans, multiple fMRI investigations have linked this area with trust (Krueger et al, 2007), charitable donation (Moll et al, 2006), prosocial behavior (Morelli et al, 2014), giving support to a romantic partner (Inagaki & Eisenberger, 2012), and affiliative emotion (Moll et al, 2012, 2014). In rats, lesioning and pharmacological manipulations of the septal area suggest a causal relationship with the expression of various affiliative and social behaviors, especially maternal behaviors (Sheehan & Numan, 2000). The septal area also adjoins and is densely interconnected with the anterior hypothalamus (Zaborszky et al, 2008), a region rich in oxytocin and vasopressin magnocellular neurons implicated in maternal and affiliative behavior (Insel, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Empathic Care and Distress: Predictive Brain Markers and Dissociable Brain Systems

Ashar

Andrews‐Hanna

Dimidjian

et al. 2017

Neuron

150

127

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Encountering another’s suffering can elicit both empathic distress and empathic care—the warm desire to affiliate. It remains unclear whether these two feelings can be accurately and differentially predicted from neural activity and to what extent their neural substrates can be distinguished. We developed fMRI markers predicting moment-by-moment intensity levels of care and distress intensity while participants (N=66) listened to true biographies describing human suffering. Both markers’ predictions correlated strongly with self-report in out-of-sample participants (r = .59 and r = .63, ps<.00001), and both markers predicted later trial-by-trial charitable donation amounts (ps<.05). Empathic care was preferentially associated with nucleus accumbens and medial orbitofrontal cortex activity, while distress was preferentially associated with premotor and somatosensory cortical activity. In tests of marker specificity with an independent behavioral sample (N=200), the empathic care marker was associated with a mixed-valence feeling state while the empathic distress marker was specific to negative emotion.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Empathic Care and Distress: Predictive Brain Markers and Dissociable Brain Systems

Ashar

Andrews‐Hanna

Dimidjian

et al. 2017

Neuron

150

127

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“…The amygdala complex contains several nuclei [48], and some specific functions of the medial amygdala have been identified. The lateral septal nucleus receives afferents from the medial amygdala [49], and this amygdala nucleus relays pheromonal and olfactory information to lateral septal neurons and participates in social behavior [50], which may be particularly relevant for maternal behavior. Our results support this possibility.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amniotic Fluid or Its Fatty Acids Produce Actions Similar to Diazepam on Lateral Septal Neurons Firing Rate

Gutiérrez-García

Contreras

Vásquez-Hernández

2013

The Scientific World Journal

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Human amniotic fluid (AF) contains eight fatty acids (FATs), and both produce anxiolytic-like effects in adult rats and appetitive responses in human newborns. The medial amygdala and lateral septal nucleus function are related to social behavior, but the action of AF or its FATs in this circuit is known. We obtained 267 single-unit extracellular recordings in Wistar rats treated with vehicle (1 mL, s.c.; n = 12), human AF (1 mL, s.c.; n = 12), a FAT mixture (1 mL, s.c.; n = 13), diazepam (1 mg/kg, i.p.; n = 11), and fluoxetine (1 mg/kg, p.o.; n = 12). Compared with the vehicle group, the spontaneous septal firing rate in the AF, FAT mixture, and diazepam groups was the lowest and in the fluoxetine group the highest. Cumulative peristimulus histograms indicated that the significant change in septal firing occurred only in the AF and FAT mixture groups and exclusively in those neurons that increased their firing rate during amygdala stimulation. We conclude that human AF and its FATs produce actions comparable to anxiolytic drugs and are able to modify the responsivity of a circuit involved in social behavior, suggesting facilitation of social recognition processes by maternal-fetal fluids.

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“…Although lesions of the LS have long been reported to produce extraordinarly high levels of aggression in a variety of species (Albert and Richmond, 1976; Albert and Chew, 1980; Pradhan, 1975; Sodetz and Bunnell, 1970), a closer examination of many of these lesion studies is beginning to suggest that this may be an overgeneralization (Sheehan and Numan, 2000). Rather, the effects of LS lesions on aggression are complex and can depend upon the prior social experience of the lesioned animal, the time interval between lesioning and testing, and the context of social interaction (Albert and Chew, 1980; Fried, 1973; Gotsick and Marshall, 1972; Potegal et al, 1981; Sodetz and Bunnell, 1970).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

GABAA receptor activation in the lateral septum reduces the expression of conditioned defeat and increases aggression in Syrian hamsters

et al. 2012

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Exposure to social stressors can cause profound changes in an individual’s physiology and behavior. In Syrian hamsters, even a single social defeat results in conditioned defeat, which includes an abolishment of territorial aggression and the emergence of high levels of submissive behavior. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether the lateral septum (LS) is a component of the putative neural circuit underlying conditioned defeat. Experiment 1 explored the possibility that plasticity in the LS is necessary for the induction of conditioned defeat. Infusions of the protein synthesis inhibitor, anisomycin, prior to defeat training, however, failed to alter conditioned defeat during testing on the following day, suggesting that synaptic plasticity in the LS is not critical for defeat-induced suppression of aggression. Experiment 2 tested whether the LS is necessary for the expression of conditioned defeat. Infusions of the GABAA agonist muscimol into the LS prior to testing significantly increased aggression and decreased submission in previously defeated animals suggesting that the LS is an important component of the neural circuit mediating the expression of both aggression and submission in conditioned defeat. Experiment 3 examined whether the effects of muscimol on aggression were dependent on prior social defeat. Non-defeated animals receiving muscmol infusions prior to testing with a non-aggressive intruder displayed significantly more aggression than did hamsters receiving control injections. Thus, these data suggest that the activation of GABAA receptors in the LS increases aggression regardless of whether or not a hamster has previously experienced social defeat.

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The Septal Region and Social Behavior

Cited by 35 publications

References 156 publications

Empathic Care and Distress: Predictive Brain Markers and Dissociable Brain Systems

Empathic Care and Distress: Predictive Brain Markers and Dissociable Brain Systems

Amniotic Fluid or Its Fatty Acids Produce Actions Similar to Diazepam on Lateral Septal Neurons Firing Rate

GABAA receptor activation in the lateral septum reduces the expression of conditioned defeat and increases aggression in Syrian hamsters

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