Parenting circuits double as prosocial engines in mice

New work in mice shows that the medial preoptic area (MPOA) circuits governing parenting also drive prosocial allogrooming toward stressed peers, via overlapping neuronal ensembles and an MPOA–to–VTA pathway that modulates dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. Activity‑dependent labeling reveals MPOA ensembles active during parenting are required for allogrooming, while MPOA neurons activated during prosocial acts are needed for pup grooming, suggesting shared neural substrates and that offspring‑care circuits may scaffold broader adult prosocial behavior.