The neural basis of mouse social hierarchies

A three-step panel. On the left, a mouse in a crown is labelled dominant. In the middle, this mouse is wrestled by another mouse, and above, a neuron is depicted, highlighting the involvement of the cholinergic interneurons. On the right, the mouse is now subordinate, and covers its face.

The cholinergic interneurons were found to be involved in the loser effect, where mice became less dominant after losing competitions, moving down the social rankings. Surprisingly, these same brain cells were not involved in the related winner effect.

Date:
14 October 2025
Credit:
Mao-Ting Hsu

Copyright OIST (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 沖縄科学技術大学院大学). Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

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