Summary: A precision systems neuroscience and optical neuroimaging study has solved a basic biological puzzle: how and why animals decide to approach others. Using single-cell resolution imaging in zebrafish, researchers show that social approaches are not spontaneous. Instead, they are preceded by a coordinated, whole-brain transition that begins several seconds before any movement. By mapping this distributed neural shift, the team identified a predictable “pre-decision state” driven by a higher brain region that determines an individual’s baseline social drive.
Key Facts
- The appearance of spontaneity: Although social encounters seem to happen spontaneously, the brain initiates a large-scale, subcortical calculation that prepares the body for contact well before any motor response.
- Single-cell zebrafish imaging: Led by Dr. Lilah Avitan, the team used zebrafish because their transparency permits high-resolution imaging of deep-brain activity at single-cell level in behaving animals.
- Novel behavioral telemetry: PhD student Imri Lifshitz developed an experimental rig where one fish observes and reacts to a freely swimming conspecific while its whole-brain activity is recorded in real time, capturing the conversion of social sensory input into motor output.
- Distributed, brain-wide shift: The study refutes the idea of a single “social center.” Instead, social approach engages a coordinated change across many brain regions: a rise in activity in some areas and a decline in others, forming a distinct neural signature seconds before movement.
- Pallium as the pivot: The pre-decision state features increased activity in the pallium—a higher brain region linked to complex behavior—while midbrain and hindbrain populations decline in activity. This push-pull balance predicts upcoming social action and reveals internal motivation before movement.
- Individual social drive quantified: The magnitude of the pre-decision neural pattern correlates with each fish’s tendency to approach others. Stronger, clearer brain-wide patterns mark more social individuals, implicating pallial activity as a central determinant of social drive.
- Relevance to human social function: Core circuits that govern social behavior are evolutionarily conserved. These findings provide a measurable neural signature that could inform studies of human sociability and the neural circuit disruptions underlying social disorders.
Source: Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Overview of the study
A team led by Dr. Lilah Avitan at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, with primary experimental work by PhD student Imri Lifshitz, investigated how social approach decisions arise in the brain. Working at the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC), the researchers paired behavioral assays with large-scale functional imaging to reveal a consistent neural signature that appears before social movement.
To study social decision-making with cellular precision, they used zebrafish. The animals’ optical transparency enables whole-brain, single-cell imaging while the fish engage with a conspecific. The experimental design fixed the subject’s head while allowing tail movement so that behavior and brain activity could be precisely correlated.
During these interactions, the researchers observed that approach movements tended to be temporally linked to the partner’s movements, underscoring the role of timing and spatial relation in social coordination. Crucially, a distinct pattern of distributed neural activity emerged seconds before an approach: pallial neurons increased firing while many midbrain and hindbrain populations showed decreased activity. This coordinated dynamic formed a reproducible pre-decision state that reliably predicted upcoming social action.
The strength of this pre-decision pattern varied between individuals and tracked each fish’s overall sociability. Animals with stronger pallial-driven, brain-wide signatures approached more frequently, indicating that the pallium acts as a central engine for social drive. The authors demonstrated that these dynamics are specific to the social context and depend on pallial activity, highlighting a causal role for this region in generating social approach.
“This study identifies a brain-wide neural signature of social approach that emerges before movement begins,” said Dr. Avitan. “The signature not only predicts whether an upcoming action will be social, but also indicates how strongly socially driven the individual is.”
Key Questions Answered
A: By measuring a reproducible neural countdown—the “pre-decision state.” When an animal is preparing to approach, its brain begins to shift electrical activity across regions several seconds before movement. This whole-brain pattern serves as a reliable signature of impending social action.
A: Social approach emerges from a coordinated push-pull across multiple brain networks. Activity increases in the pallium while decreasing in other regions, producing a balanced, whole-brain transition that creates internal momentum to initiate contact.
A: Many core circuits supporting social behavior are evolutionarily conserved. Mapping the pre-decision signature in zebrafish provides an objective framework to study differences in sociability and the circuit disruptions that underlie human social dysfunction.
Editorial Notes
- This article was edited by a Neuroscience News editor.
- The journal paper was reviewed in full.
- Additional context was provided by editorial staff.
About this neuroscience research news
Author: Danae Marx
Source: Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Contact: Danae Marx – Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Image: Image credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access. “Distinct distributed neural dynamics predict pallium-dependent social approach” by Imri Lifshitz, Asia Prag, Netta Livneh, Maayan Moshkovitz, Abeer Karmi & Lilach Avitan. Nature Communications. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-71666-8
Abstract
Distinct distributed neural dynamics predict pallium-dependent social approach
Approach behavior—moving toward social partners—is a core component of social interactions that supports group cohesion and coordinated action. While social cues are processed continuously across sensory modalities, it has been unclear whether a specific neural process precedes and predicts approach.
Using a head-fixed, tail-free zebrafish interacting with a freely swimming conspecific, the researchers combined precise behavioral quantification with large-scale, cellular-resolution functional imaging. They found that approach movements were temporally linked with conspecific motion, emphasizing the importance of timing in social coordination.
Crucially, a distinct pattern of distributed neural activity appeared seconds before approach: pallial neurons increased their activity while midbrain and hindbrain populations decreased theirs. These coordinated dynamics reliably predicted upcoming approach movements across brain regions and accounted for individual variation in social behavior. The neural processes were specific to social contexts and depended on pallial activity, revealing a distributed, coordinated mechanism underlying social approach.