Biological Determinants of Social Networks

社交网络的生物决定因素

• 批准号: CRC-2021-00070
• 负责人: Levine, Joel
• 金额: $ 14.57万
• 依托单位: University of Toronto
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Canada Research Chairs
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=765994
• 关键词: Biological; Determinants; Social; Networks

Summary of ProposalOne of the great challenges in modern biology is to understand how the social behaviours of animals arise through a combination of genetic and environmental factors and how they are implemented by circuits in the brain. Dr. Levine's research program aims to understand genetic and neurobiological contributions to the structure and dynamic function of social groups. Dr. Levine's innovative research has shown that Drosophila melanogaster, the vinegar fly, form social networks with non-random structures and that these structures vary with group size. He has also shown that the rules associated with group structure are inherited and rely on communication pathways. The proposed research is defined by two objectives. First, it builds on this work to identify genes and brain circuitry that participate in social network function. Candidate genes and newly discovered genes will be analyzed to understand inherited features of social behaviour. Second, the role of networks will be investigated both from an evolutionary perspective and a present moment perspective. Dr. Levine will build on his discovery that flies may "count" to estimate group size. Fly genetics have already provided deep insights into human processes such as learning, biological clocks, and the development of the body. Dr. Levine's CRC research will go further to gain new understanding of human social dynamics, leading to insights for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder and other human social disorders. At the same time, he will develop new computational methods for describing/diagnosing social behaviour. Although it is already clear that behaviour in social groups is not completely determined by inheritance, understanding the biological contribution to social dynamics and how biology interacts with the world will help us understand human motivations and social pathology. Dr. Levine's research will provide insight into human behaviours in group settings and will optimize learning in classrooms, decision making in boardrooms, and efficient teamwork in operating rooms - improvements wherever group level activities are involved.

现代生物学面临的最大挑战之一是了解动物的社会行为是如何通过遗传和环境因素的结合产生的，以及它们是如何通过大脑中的回路实现的。莱文博士的研究项目旨在了解遗传和神经生物学对社会群体结构和动态功能的贡献。莱文博士的创新研究表明，果蝇，醋蝇，形成社交网络与非随机结构，这些结构随群体大小而变化。他还表明，与群体结构相关的规则是继承的，并依赖于沟通途径。拟议的研究由两个目标定义。首先，它建立在这项工作的基础上，以确定参与社交网络功能的基因和大脑回路。候选基因和新发现的基因将被分析，以了解社会行为的遗传特征。第二，网络的作用将从进化的角度和现在的角度进行研究。莱文博士将建立在他的发现，苍蝇可以“计数”估计群体大小。苍蝇遗传学已经为人类的学习、生物钟和身体发育等过程提供了深刻的见解。Levine博士的CRC研究将进一步获得对人类社会动力学的新理解，从而为自闭症谱系障碍和其他人类社会障碍的治疗提供见解。同时，他将开发新的计算方法来描述/诊断社会行为。虽然已经很清楚，社会群体中的行为并不完全由遗传决定，但了解生物学对社会动态的贡献以及生物学如何与世界相互作用将有助于我们理解人类动机和社会病理学。Levine博士的研究将深入了解群体环境中的人类行为，并将优化课堂学习，董事会决策和手术室的有效团队合作-无论涉及群体水平的活动。