MIT researchers have discovered how an immune system molecule triggers neurons in a specific brain circuit to shut down social behavior amid infection. picower.mit.edu/news/too-sic... @mitbcs.bsky.social #Neuroscience #behavior
MIT researchers have discovered how an immune system molecule triggers neurons in a specific brain circuit to shut down social behavior in mice modeling infection.
The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT
Now online! IL-1R1-positive dorsal raphe neurons drive self-imposed social withdrawal in sickness
During sickness, animals exhibit prolonged social withdrawal, a response that may limit disease spread. Elevated IL-1β levels during inflammation activate IL-1R1-expressing neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus to drive self-imposed withdrawal, highlighting a neural mechanism through which immune activation reconfigures social behavior.
