Social buffering of stress refers to the effect of a social partner in reducing the cortisol or
corticosterone response to a stressor. It has been well studied in mammals, particularly …

Highlights•Social touch stimulates low-threshold C-fiber mechanoreceptors
(CLTMs).•Activation of CLTMs increases oxytocin release and leads to social …

New environments are known to be anxiogenic initially for many animals including the
zebrafish. In the zebrafish, a novel tank diving (NTD) assay for solitary fish has been used …

This study explored whether a human-like feel of touch biases perceived pleasantness and
whether such a bias depends on top–down cognitive and/or bottom–up sensory processes …

The publication of reproducible, replicable, and translatable data in studies utilizing animal
models is a scientific, practical, and ethical necessity. This requires careful planning and …

Seeking to match our emotional state with one of those around us is known as emotional
contagion-a fundamental biological process that underlies social behavior across several …

The alarm substance in fish is a pheromone released by injured individuals after a predator
attack. When detected by other fish, it triggers fear/defensive responses, such as freezing …

In many species, social interactions decrease behavioral, hormonal, and neural responses
to environmental stressors. While “social buffering” and its mechanisms have received …

The marine medaka is emerging as a potential behavioral model organism for ocean
studies, namely on marine ecotoxicology. However, not much is known on the behavior of …

Mixed-species groups occur across a wide range of faunal communities and provide several
benefits to members. While zebrafish have often been observed to form mixed-species …