Nathan Insel

PhD University of Arizona (2010)

MA University of Arizona (2004)

BA Oberlin College (2000)

My research examines the neuroscience of social expectations. Social behavior is interesting for many reasons: it is the basis of animal communities and human society, important for health and much of our day-to-day lives. But social expectations are also interesting from a neurocomputational perspective. There is an inherent level of uncertainty to other’s behavior, and the brain manages this in a variety of ways. The brain can track moment-to-moment changes in where others are and what they may do, but much of that also depends on learning about how others–and specific others–tend to behave, and building trust that certain, shared expectations won’t be violated. Notably, individuals with autism, associated with difficulties in social interaction, also tend to show an intolerance for uncertainty. 

My research lab, based at Wilfrid Laurier, works with small rodents, including the South American degu. We currently (2026) have projects examining how degus learn about one-another (including at different developmental stages), how spatial processing regions of the brain track where other individuals are and where they are going, how cortical inhibitory-excitatory interactions support expectation and salience,  and the mechanisms by which social environment can contribute to health--including its relationship to sleep.