Understanding the neural basis of infant social behaviors is crucial for elucidating the mechanisms of early social and emotional development. In this work, we report a specific population of somatostatin-expressing neurons in the zona incerta (ZI SST ) of preweaning mice that responds dynamically to social interactions, particularly those with their mother. Bidirectional neural activity manipulations in pups revealed that widespread connectivity of preweaning ZI SST neurons to sensory, emotional, and cognitive brain centers mediates two key adaptive functions associated with maternal presence: the reduction of behavior distress and the facilitation of learning. These findings reveal a population of neurons in the infant mouse brain that coordinate the positive effects of the relationship with the mother on an infant’s behavior and physiology.

中文翻译：

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小鼠未定带中婴儿社会行为的神经元


了解婴儿社会行为的神经基础对于阐明早期社会和情感发展的机制至关重要。在这项工作中，我们报告了未定带（ZI海温）断奶前的小鼠对社交互动做出动态反应，尤其是与母亲的互动。对幼仔的双向神经活动操作揭示了断奶前 ZI 的广泛连通性海温感觉、情感和认知大脑中心的神经元介导与母亲存在相关的两个关键适应性功能：减少行为困扰和促进学习。这些发现揭示了幼年小鼠大脑中的一群神经元，它们协调与母亲的关系对婴儿行为和生理的积极影响。