People may think of survival as an individual act—every animal (and person) for themselves. But a new study from UCLA suggests that when it comes to facing hardship together, social groups may function more like a unified system than a collection of separate individuals.
The research, published in Nature Neuroscience, explored how mice huddle together for warmth in the cold and what that means for shaping group behavior and collective survival strategies.
Why it matters
At a time when social isolation is recognized as a serious health risk, and conditions like depression and schizophrenia are understood to involve disruptions in social connection, findings like these offer new insights into our understanding of social decision-making and group cohesion more broadly.
What the…