Mice react differently to others’ stress depending on their own past experience of the same (but not different) stress. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) neuron activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) specifically modulates the influence of affective past experience on emotional reactions to others, which was estrus-dependent in females and dominance-dependent in males.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References
Ferretti, V. & Papaleo, F. Understanding others: emotion recognition in humans and other animals. Genes Brain Behav. 18, e12544 (2019). A review article that examines and compares emotion recognition across different animal species.
Preston, S. D. & de Waal, F. B. Empathy: its ultimate and proximate bases. Behav. Brain Sci. 25, 1–20 (2002). A review article that explores how self-experience modulates empathic behaviour.
Dedic, N., Chen, A. & Deussing, J. M. The CRF family of neuropeptides and their receptors - mediators of the central stress response. Curr. Mol. Pharmacol. 11, 4–31 (2018). A review article that presents the state-of-the-art on the CRF system and its involvement in the stress response.
Scheggia, D. et al. Somatostatin interneurons in the prefrontal cortex control affective state discrimination in mice. Nat. Neurosci. 23, 47–60 (2020). This paper reveals and describes the involvement of the PFC in emotion recognition in mice.
Aspesi, D., Bass, N., Kavaliers, M. & Choleris, E. The role of androgens and estrogens in social interactions and social cognition. Neuroscience 18, S0306-4522(23)00151–3 (2023). A review article that explores the evidence for how sex differences and sex hormones affect social cognition.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This is a summary of: Maltese, F. et al. Self-experience of a negative event alters responses to others in similar states through prefrontal cortex CRF mechanisms. Nat. Neurosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-024-01816-y (2024).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Negative self-experiences shape responses to others’ emotional states. Nat Neurosci 28, 11–12 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-024-01817-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-024-01817-x