BLACKSBURG, Va., Sept. 17 -- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University issued the following news release:
When mice heard a sound they thought signaled danger, they moved closer to a familiar companion, according to Virginia Tech researchers.
They did not do the same when paired with a mouse they didn't know.
The study, led by Alexei Morozov of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC and published in the September issue ofNeuropsychopharmacology, begins to reveal how the brain turns a warning signal into a drive to seek familiar company.
Scientists have long observed that animals gather when confronted with immediate threats such as predators. The new study asked whether a learned warning signal could produce a similar...