# Neural Circuit Mechanisms of Social Homeostasis in Individuals and Supraorganismal Social Groups

> **NIH NIH DP1** · SALK INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL STUDIES · 2021 · $1,346,800

## Abstract

Intricate social hierarchies that go through both dynamic and stable phases exist in species
ranging from humans to mice to insects and have been richly described in psychology and
ecology, but virtually nothing is known about the neural circuit mechanisms that govern the
remarkable coordination of large groups of animals. Systems neuroscience has exploded with a
number of novel technologies, yet the culture of this field has been largely reductionist –
focusing on animals living in isolation or with a single-digit number of cage mates performing
highly-controlled tasks. Although there is abundant ongoing research in the domain of social
reward (motivation to engage in social behavior for hedonic value that social interaction
provides), there is no ongoing research (to my knowledge) examining the neural representation
of a negative valence need state (a loneliness-like state), the social homeostatic set-point, or
how this is related to social rank. Indeed, this unexplored face of social behavior may have
greater relevance to mental health and the burden on society.
This proposal is completely different from any previous work done by myself or any investigator
because we will do the following: 1) present a model for social homeostasis where social rank
dictates the set-point for quality/quantity of social contact; 2) bridge behavioral ecology and
systems neuroscience by using complex, naturalistic vivariums of large groups of mice in
combination with nascent neural recording technology and expertise across a wide range of
functional circuit dissection techniques; 3) simultaneously record across many brains using
wireless recording devices to determine how composite dominance hierarchy is represented
and determine whether meta-brain patterns for group social homeostasis (in both stable and
dynamic phases) exist and observe how they change during dominance hierarchical
reorganizations; and 4) identify site(s) and circuit(s) that represent social rank by applying
machine learning approaches to decode ensembles that accurately predict the animal’s social
rank, and use this information to move towards a mathematical model for social homeostasis on
a supraorganismal group level.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10223194
- **Project number:** 5DP1AT009925-06
- **Recipient organization:** SALK INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL STUDIES
- **Principal Investigator:** Kay Maxine Tye
- **Activity code:** DP1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,346,800
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-30 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10223194

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10223194, Neural Circuit Mechanisms of Social Homeostasis in Individuals and Supraorganismal Social Groups (5DP1AT009925-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10223194. Licensed CC0.

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