Abstract Body

Social interactions between mammalian conspecifics involve the dynamic coupling of multiple brain regions to modulate and control behavioral decisions (Chen & Hong, 2018). Oscillatory neural activity in the theta (4-12 Hz) and gamma (30-80 Hz) bands, coordinates communication within neuronal ensembles dispersed over multiple brain regions (Buzsáki & Draguhn, 2004). These coordinated processes underlie the demanding cognitive function of social behavior (Tendler & Wagner, 2015; Uhlhaas & Singer, 2006). Further, modified theta (Geschwind & Levitt, 2007; Rippon et al., 2007; Wass, 2011) and gamma rhythms (Lazaro et al., 2019) have been reported in autism spectrum disorders. We recorded extracellular neural activity from 19 brain regions of behaving CD-1 male mice in two social contexts to reveal the neural dynamics governing affiliative social interactions. The mice displayed similar social preferences but variable theta power between the contexts. Further, the various brain regions displayed altered coherence of theta rhythmicity during the investigation of the same stimuli while encountering them in distinct contexts, indicating the role of theta coherence in the neural representation of social context. Overall, our results suggest that a specific sub-network of brain regions exhibits synchronous activity in a given context.