ABSTRACT
Consolation is a common empathetic response in humans and some social animals, but the neural mechanisms underlying this behavior are not well characterized. Here, by using socially monogamous mandarin voles, we found that optogenetic or chemogenetic inhibition of 5-HTergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nuclei (DR) or optogenetic inhibition of 5-HT terminals in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) significantly decreased the allogrooming time in the consolation test and reduced sociability in the three-chamber test. Fiber photometry results showed that the release of 5-HT within the ACC and the activity of DR neurons were significantly increased when allogrooming and social approaching occurred. Finally, we found that the activation of 5-HT1A receptors in the ACC was sufficient to reverse consolation and sociability deficits induced by the chemogenetic inhibition of 5-HTergic neurons in the DR. Our study provided first direct evidence that DR→ACC 5-HTergic neural circuit is implicated in consolation-like behaviors and sociability in mandarin voles.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.