S2E5 Nora H. Prior on Social Interactions - Linking Brain and Behavior

In this episode, Amy speaks with guest Nora H. Prior (@NhPrior), a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Psychology at Cornell University.

They open by discussing the many types of social relationships that animals experience throughout their lives, and the impact that these diverse social interactions may have on the involved individuals. Then, they dig into the neuroscience underlying our understanding of different social behaviors and explore the value of linking neural mechanisms and social behavior. After the break, they discuss scholar-activism, finding and building community in our field, and the value of bringing complex personal identities into our work as researchers.

This week's Two-Minute Takeaway comes from Shailee Shah (@shailee_shah93), a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Chen Lab in the Department of Biology at the University of Rochester. Check out her recent paper in Science Advances, Prenatal environmental conditions underlie alternative reproductive tactics that drive the formation of a mixed-kin cooperative society.

Papers relevant to today's show:

1. Nora (2020) reviews behavioral synchrony during pair-bonding across contexts, timescales, and species. What’s in a Moment: What Can Be Learned About Pair Bonding From Studying Moment-To-Moment Behavioral Synchrony Between Partners? Frontiers in Psychology

2. Nora, along with collaborators Ehren J. Bentz and Alexander G. Ophir, review the interconnectedness of social behavior and sensory processing mechanisms in animals. Reciprocal processes of sensory perception and social bonding: an integrated social-sensory framework of social behavior Genes, Brains, & Behavior

Credits:
The Animal Behavior Podcast is created by a team of animal behavior researchers and audio professionals. Come meet us here! We receive production support from the Cornell Broadcast studio directed by Bert Odom-Reed, and financial support from the Animal Behavior Society.