Biology subjects

Trachtenberg, E.

Publications and source records attributed to Trachtenberg, E..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Mapping social profiles in childhood and adolescence: associations with cognition and brain structure

ObjectiveSocial difficulties are transdiagnostic in childhood, but their heterogeneity is poorly characterised and rarely treated as a primary neurodevelopmental phenotype. This matters because childhood and adolescence are sensitive periods for peer relationships and brain development. We used data-driven modelling and non-linear mapping to derive social profiles and test their clinical, cognitive, and neural correlates. MethodsParticipants were 992 children aged 5-18 years from CALM (Mage = 9.6). Social items from the SDQ, CCC-2, and Conners-3 were modelled using a regularised partial correlation network to derive core social dimensions. A self-organising map captured graded social profiles. Simulated archetypes, SVM-based island identification, and permutation testing defined profile regions and centroid-distance scores. Profiles were related to referral, diagnosis, cognition, BRIEF indices, and T1-derived MIND network structure in an MRI subsample (n=431). ResultsWe identified four profiles: social engagement, friendship difficulties, social withdrawal, and peer victimisation. Profile expression tracked variation in referral and diagnostic pathways. Social withdrawal showed the clearest disadvantage across cognitive domains, whereas social engagement was associated with fewer executive function difficulties across BRIEF indices. MIND strength components covaried with profile expression (a significant PLS latent variable, p = 0.02), with covariance strongest for social withdrawal and peer victimisation. ConclusionsChildhood social functioning organises graded signatures that relate to clinically relevant pathways, cognitive and executive outcomes, and brain structure. Profiling social signatures provides a scalable framework for identifying social need beyond diagnostic categories, motivating studies to test directionality and improve developmental outcomes.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Helping behavior is associated with increased affiliative behavior, activation of the prosocial brain network and elevated oxytocin receptor expression in the nucleus accumbens

A prosocial response to others in distress is increasingly recognized as a natural behavior for many social species, from humans to rodents. While prosocial behavior is more frequently observed towards familiar conspecifics, even within the same social context some individuals are more prone to help than others. For instance, in a rat helping behavior test, rats can release a distressed conspecific trapped inside a restrainer by opening the restrainer door. Typically, rats are motivated to release a trapped cagemate, and consistently release the trapped rat ( openers), yet around 30% do not open the restrainer ( non-openers). To characterize the difference between these populations, behavioral and neural activity were compared between opener and non-opener rats tested with a trapped cagemate in the helping test. Behaviorally, openers showed significantly more social affiliative behavior both before and after door-opening compared to non-openers. Analysis of brain-wide neural activity based on the immediate early gene c-Fos revealed increased activity in openers in the previously identified prosocial neural network compared to non-openers. The network includes regions associated with empathy in humans (somatosensory cortex, insula, cingulate cortex and frontal cortex), and motivation and reward regions such as the nucleus accumbens. Oxytocin receptor mRNA expression levels were higher in the accumbens but not the anterior insula. Several transcription control pathways were also significantly upregulated in openers accumbens. These findings indicate that prosocial behavior may be predicted by affiliative behavior and activity in the prosocial neural network and provide targets for the investigation of causal mechanisms underlying prosocial behavior. Significance StatementProsocial behavior is observed in many social species, including rodents, yet the determinants underlying why some animals help and others do not is poorly understood. Here, we show behavioral and neural differences between prosocial and non-prosocial pairs in a rat helping behavior test, with increased social interaction and nucleus accumbens oxytocin receptor gene expression in animals that helped.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Brain-wide activity-identity mapping of neural networks associated with prosocial motivation in rats

A prosocial response to others in distress is an important driver of behavior across social species. To investigate the neurobiological mechanism leading to prosocial behavior, we use a helping behavior test wherein rats may release a trapped conspecific by opening a restrainer door. To ensure rats were not acting for social interaction, a separation divider prevented post-release contact ("separated" test). Despite the divider, most rats consistently opened the restrainer, demonstrating prosocial motivation. Brain-wide c-Fos analysis conducted via our opensource software "Brainways", revealed activity in empathy-related regions, including the anterior cingulate and insular cortices. Nucleus accumbens activity, previously recorded during helping, was not significant in the "separated" test. Chemogenetic manipulations of the accumbens did not prevent helping, suggesting that its activity reflects contact seeking. Mapping of oxytocin and dopamine receptors on active cells revealed region-specific recruitment of these subpopulations, depending on the social context. Network connectivity analysis highlights context-dependent functional subcircuits.

neuroscience↗