2011 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Strategies and neural systems for social partner choice in primates.

Research Project

Project/Area Number	22830040
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Experimental psychology
Research Institution	Kyoto University
Principal Investigator	KURAOKA Koji 京都大学, 霊長類研究所, 特定助教 (10581647)
Project Period (FY)	2010 – 2011
Keywords	脳 / 社会的認知 / ニューロン
Research Abstract	Partner choice is one of the most important decision making for social life in primates including human. The aims of this study are to elucidate a strategy of social partner choice to get more rewards and neural systems underlying social partner choice. In human experiment, I compared behavioral strategies between when subjects could choose their partners and when their partners had been pre-determined. The results showed that the subjects showed more cooperative behaviors when they could choose their partners by themselves. In monkey experiment, I recorded neuronal activity from the amygdala while the monkeys were choosing one of the two options which were directed by facial expression of partners. I found the neuron showing different activity in response to different identity of the stimuli. This result indicates that the amygdala is involved in processing of who is the partner.