Neural representations of kinship

• Published in: Current opinion in neurobiology Vol. 68; pp. 116 - 123
• Main Authors: Clemens, Ann M., Brecht, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-06-2021
• ISSN: 0959-4388; 1873-6882
• DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.02.007

While the fundamental relevance of kinship behavior for evolutionary and behavioral biology has long been recognized, the examination of kinship behavior from a neuroscience perspective is still in its infancy. Kinship is highly conserved from single-celled organisms to humans, where kin preferences are prevalent in behavior and vocal communication. Kin recognition mechanisms are varied, with evidence for both genetic and both prenatal as well as postnatal learning-based kin recognition. Learned kinship mechanisms are predominant in vertebrates and allow for flexibility regarding the concept of kin. We review new evidence for the lateral septum and its role in kinship behavior. We further discuss the discovery of nepotopy, a topographical representation of kin- and nonkin-responsive neurons in the lateral septum. Neural representations of self/other, familiar/unfamiliar, and nepotopy (kin/nonkin) may support a circuit-level framework for a social template through which the mammalian brain learns, categorizes, and selects behavior based on perceived identity.
•Kinship behavior and kin recognition are prevalent and multifaceted.•Behavior, lesions and nepotopy support a role for the lateral septum in rat kinship.•Learning may underlie a flexible neural signature of kin and non-kin in vertebrates.