The Kelly Lab

Humans excel at coming together to form collective groups, which is demonstrated by a multitude of complex societies spanning the globe. What allows us to cooperate with one another? What are the environmental tipping points that push cohesive groups toward chaos and dissolution? The primary goals of the Kelly Lab are to understand how the brain facilitates group cohesion, how the brain generates a sense of belonging, and identify environmental factors that significantly influence group dynamics. To study these topics, we use a highly social, large group-living rodent – the spiny mouse. Studying rodents allows us to obtain a deeper cellular and molecular insight into the mechanisms underlying behavior that simply can’t be achieved with research using human participants. The Kelly Lab uses an integrative scientific approach and combines techniques from behavioral ecology, neuroendocrinology, developmental neurobiology, molecular biology, and genetics to study the mechanisms underlying social behavior.