Prosocial behavior—actions that benefit others—represents one of the most evolutionarily puzzling yet critically important aspects of social life. Unlike other behaviors that primarily serve direct self-interest, prosocial behaviors appear to contradict basic evolutionary principles by directing effort and resources toward helping others, often at one’s own cost. This paradox makes prosocial behavior both fascinating from a scientific perspective and profoundly understudied compared to self-serving behaviors. We investigate the fundamental neural mechanisms underlying prosocial behavior, with a focus on empathy, helping, and cooperation. Using a multidisciplinary approach that integrates behavioral paradigms with genetic, circuit-level, and computational tools, we demonstrate that mice exhibit multiple forms of prosocial behaviors, including comforting, targeted helping behavior, rescue-like behavior, and cooperation. Using these behavioral models, we identify key neural pathways in the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex that specifically encode and control these behaviors. In addition to mechanisms within a single brain, we demonstrate that animals exhibit inter-brain neural correlations between interacting individuals. Beyond biological systems, our research further extends to understanding emergent social behaviors among artificial intelligence systems, identifying fundamental and generalizable features of interacting neural systems present in both biological and artificial agents.
Speaker: Weizhe Hong, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Neurobiology, Biochemistry, and Bioengineering

UC San Diego’s Center for Research on Empathy and Compassion proudly presents the Empathy & Compassion Research Speaker Series for Summer 2026.
This free virtual series highlights the impactful and groundbreaking research that Sanford Institute-affiliated faculty and researchers have played an integral role in. This series is designed for anyone with an interest in empathy and compassion in neurobiology and healthcare.
The hosting organization, T. Denny Sanford Institute of Empathy and Compassion, represents an unprecedented blending of two parallel themes: employing the unyielding rigor and tools of science to establish the neurological basis for empathy in the brain to identify the mechanisms that transform compassion from biology to behavior, and experimenting with and developing new ways to teach and instill empathy and compassion in clinicians currently practicing and in the teaching of future generations of health professionals.

Register here for this free online event. Please note, this event has been standardized to the Eastern Time Zone.