Individual differences in prosocial learning are represented in the hippocampal dorsal CA1

Individual differences in prosocial learning are represented in the hippocampal dorsal CA1 | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Individual differences in prosocial learning are represented in the hippocampal dorsal CA1 Diego Scheggia, Filippo La Greca, Elisa Zianni, Giulia Coccia, and 7 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4881791/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 12 May, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Neuroscience → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Learning from others is among the main expressions of humans’ social nature. Evolution has favored this capacity, which is conserved across mammals, for its environmental advantages and benefits for the species compared to trial-and-error learning. Animals can learn about danger by observing their conspecifics, but if or how they acquire prosocial behaviors is not understood. Here, we found that mice by observing a demonstrator learned to take actions that benefit others, which were goal-directed and flexible. We found that the hippocampal dorsal CA1 (dCA1) activity is required to learn a given observed prosocial behavior. Chemogenetic silencing of the dCA1 impaired the acquisition of a social preference in mice with high prosocial tendency. Fiber-photometry recording revealed individual differences in dCA1 activity patterns during observation that closely tracked the observer's later prosocial or selfish behavioral propensities. Optogenetic manipulations demonstrated that the dCA1 is key in acquiring observed social behaviors and can orient a mouse’s actions toward prosocial or selfish choices in future interactions. Our study provides a model of social transmission of knowledge that guides prosocial behavior in mice that can be relevant for studying neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders, in which the ability to learn from others’ actions is often compromised. Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Social behaviour Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Learning and memory/Operant learning Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Synaptic plasticity Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 12 May, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Neuroscience → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4881791","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":345279191,"identity":"ee939314-1f9a-405e-9e0f-46b289cd1d03","order_by":0,"name":"Diego 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