What happens when the fabric of our social lives is challenged? Neuroscientists have been studying social behavior for decades, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made the importance of their work starkly apparent.

Moriel Zelikowsky
Moriel Zelikowsky
“A lot of times we really fail to realize that not only are connections between regions in the brain vital, but the connections we have between each other — societies, communities, interactions between those around you — are just as essential to understand,” said Moriel Zelikowsky, assistant professor in the department of neurobiology at the University of Utah School of Medicine and moderator of a Neuroscience 2022 press conference titled, “The Brain Circuits Governing Social Decisions."

Social connections play a role in many behaviors crucial for a species to survive, like initiating courtship, sharing information about food sources, and avoiding predators, but socializing is also a need in its own right. Animals (and humans) need social interactions in the same way they need food, water, and shelter.