Stress and anxiety have intertwined behavioral and neural underpinnings. These
commonalities are critical for understanding each state, as well as their mutual interactions …

Gonadal hormones play a key role in the establishment, activation, and regulation of the
hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. By influencing the response and sensitivity to …

Social interactions among animals mediate essential behaviours, including mating,
nurturing, and defence,. The gut microbiota contribute to social activity in mice,, but the gut …

The lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) coordinates an array of fundamental behaviors,
including sleeping, waking, feeding, stress and motivated behavior. The wide spectrum of …

Stress is a precipitating factor for anxiety-related disorders, which are among the leading
forms of psychiatric illness and impairment in the modern world. Rodent-based behavioral …

During the past 30 yr, investigating the physiology of eating behaviors has generated a truly
vast literature. This is fueled in part by a dramatic increase in obesity and its comorbidities …

The physiological stress response is responsible for the maintenance of homeostasis in the
presence of real or perceived challenges. In this function, the brain activates adaptive …

Lateral hypothalamus (LH) neurons containing the neuropeptide hypocretin (HCRT; orexin)
modulate affective components of arousal, but their relevant synaptic inputs remain poorly …

Loneliness can be operationalized as the actual or perceived absence of those social
relationships that serve to meet basic emotional needs. In contrast to solitude, a chosen …

Social connections are vital to survival throughout the animal kingdom and are dynamic
across the life span. There are debilitating consequences of social isolation and loneliness …