Social dominance: mechanisms of the prefrontal cortex

生活在大的社会群体中需要我们履行特定的角色，一些人在他们的社会环境中占主导地位，另一些人则从属于他们。我的研究项目专注于了解主导个人的大脑与在其社会等级中处于从属地位的个人的大脑有何不同。为了做到这一点，我们使用了老鼠，一种形成复杂统治等级的社会性哺乳动物。我们目前正在研究一种名为组蛋白脱乙酰酶2(HDAC2)的蛋白质在显性行为中所起的作用。HDAC2是神经元基因表达的重要调节因子，可以影响大脑活动。我们特别关注它在前额叶皮质中的功能，这是一个在产生社会行为方面发挥核心作用的大脑区域。

Living in large social groups requires us to fulfill particular roles, with some individuals dominant within their social environment, and others subordinate. My research program is focused on understanding how the brains of dominant individuals differ from the brains of individuals that are subordinate within their social hierarchy. To do this, we use mice, a social mammal that forms complex dominance hierarchies. We are currently investigating the role that a protein, called histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2), plays in dominance behaviour. HDAC2 is an important regulator of gene expression in neurons and can affect brain activity. We are specifically focusing on its function within the prefrontal cortex, a brain area that plays a central role in generating social behaviours.