Social agent identity cells in the prefrontal cortex of interacting groups of primates

Abstract

A mind’s-eye view of others Social interaction among groups of individuals is a complex proposition. Not only must an animal keep track of various vocalizations and direct interactions in the present but likely also their knowledge of every other individual and their history of interaction with that individual. Two papers begin to unravel the neuronal process by which such complexities are managed (see the Perspective by Sliwa). Báez-Mendoza et al . tracked the interactional dynamics among three Rhesus macaques and found that neurons in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex represent details of the interaction, such as identity, context, and interaction history. Rose et al . remotely recorded from freely interacting Egyptian fruit bats and similarly found coordinated neural activity among individuals, a relationship between brain activity patterns and social preference, and that single neurons in the prefrontal cortex distinguished between the vocalizations of specific individuals. Together these papers reveal clear evidence for neuronal encoding of social interaction and identity. —SNV