Social synapses: investigating mechanisms underlying social interaction

Camilla Bellone is an Associate Professor at the University of Geneva (Switzerland), whose lab investigates the molecular mechanisms and circuits underlying social interaction. When researching drug addiction, Bellone became fascinated by the reward system, particularly natural reward, so decided to study the most rewarding natural incentive: social interaction. After encountering difficulties as a postdoc when trying to correlate synaptic changes to behavior, Bellone’s lab takes a top-down approach, starting with behavioral analysis and then going down to study the synaptic and circuit correlates of behavior. In this interview from the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting (SfN; 11–15 November 2023, Washington,...