研究人员对参与自发和任务诱导的发声互动的埃及果蝠群体的额叶皮层进行了同步的无线电生理学记录。研究人员发现，单个神经元的活动区分了由自己和他人产生的发声，以及特定个体之间的发声。群体成员之间协调的神经活动表现出稳定的双向脑间相关模式，这是自发的交流互动所特有的。追踪群体内的社会和空间安排揭示了社会偏好与脑内和脑间活动模式之间的关系。综合来看，这些发现揭示了在自由交流的蝙蝠群体大脑内和跨大脑的群体社交专用神经群。
据悉，社会互动发生在群体环境中，并由个体之间交换的通信信号所介导，通常使用发声。群体社会交流的神经表征在很大程度上仍未被探索。
附：英文原文
Title: Cortical representation of group social communication in bats
Author: Maimon C. Rose, Boaz Styr, Tobias A. Schmid, Julie E. Elie, Michael M. Yartsev
Issue&Volume: 2021-10-22
Abstract: Social interactions occur in group settings and are mediated by communication signals that are exchanged between individuals, often using vocalizations. The neural representation of group social communication remains largely unexplored. We conducted simultaneous wireless electrophysiological recordings from the frontal cortices of groups of Egyptian fruit bats engaged in both spontaneous and task-induced vocal interactions. We found that the activity of single neurons distinguished between vocalizations produced by self and by others, as well as among specific individuals. Coordinated neural activity among group members exhibited stable bidirectional interbrain correlation patterns specific to spontaneous communicative interactions. Tracking social and spatial arrangements within a group revealed a relationship between social preferences and intra- and interbrain activity patterns. Combined, these findings reveal a dedicated neural repertoire for group social communication within and across the brains of freely communicating groups of bats.
DOI: aba9584
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aba9584