Dataset Information

Male-inflicted wounds have opposite effects on hair cortisol for captive male and female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) following new group formation.

ABSTRACT: Sexual dimorphism in body size, aggression, and dispersal patterns may affect the degree to which males and females perceive aggression from either sex as stressful. Whereas male macaques typically disperse to new groups at maturity, thus encountering many unfamiliar individuals of both sexes, females are philopatric, usually only encountering unfamiliar males who transfer into their natal groups. In rare circumstances, however, group fusions can expose both males and females to many novel individuals, which often increases aggression. Here, we use a captive new group formation of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) as a model of social instability during fusions and examine differences in male and female chronic stress responses to male-pattern and female-pattern trauma (i.e., trauma inflicted by males or by females, respectively). We found that male- but not female-pattern traumas predicted hair cortisol concentrations during the first 9 months after new group formation, but in opposite ways for males and females. A greater number of male-pattern traumas was linked to elevated hair cortisol concentrations in females but slightly lower hair cortisol concentrations in males. We suggest that the apparent importance of male-pattern trauma, but not female-pattern-trauma, in predicting higher hair cortisol concentrations in females can be attributed to the more acutely intense but less persistent nature of male aggression toward females.

SUBMITTER: Linden JB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7427344 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Male-inflicted wounds have opposite effects on hair cortisol for captive male and female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) following new group formation.

Linden Julie B JB McCowan Brenda B Capitanio John P JP Isbell Lynne A LA

Primates; journal of primatology 20181130 1

Sexual dimorphism in body size, aggression, and dispersal patterns may affect the degree to which males and females perceive aggression from either sex as stressful. Whereas male macaques typically disperse to new groups at maturity, thus encountering many unfamiliar individuals of both sexes, females are philopatric, usually only encountering unfamiliar males who transfer into their natal groups. In rare circumstances, however, group fusions can expose both males and females to many novel indiv ...[more]

PMID: 30506293

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Project description:Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by social cognition impairments but its basic disease mechanisms remain poorly understood. Progress has been impeded by the absence of animal models that manifest behavioral phenotypes relevant to ASD. Rhesus monkeys are an ideal model organism to address this barrier to progress. Like humans, rhesus monkeys are highly social, possess complex social cognition abilities, and exhibit pronounced individual differences in social functioning. Moreover, we have previously shown that Low-Social (LS) vs. High-Social (HS) adult male monkeys exhibit lower social motivation and poorer social skills. It is not known, however, when these social deficits first emerge. The goals of this study were to test whether juvenile LS and HS monkeys differed as infants in their ability to process social information, and whether infant social abilities predicted later social classification (i.e., LS vs. HS), in order to facilitate earlier identification of monkeys at risk for poor social outcomes. Social classification was determined for N = 25 LS and N = 25 HS male monkeys that were 1-4 years of age. As part of a colony-wide assessment, these monkeys had previously undergone, as infants, tests of face recognition memory and the ability to respond appropriately to conspecific social signals. Monkeys later identified as LS vs. HS showed impairments in recognizing familiar vs. novel faces and in the species-typical adaptive ability to gaze avert to scenes of conspecific aggression. Additionally, multivariate logistic regression using infant social ability measures perfectly predicted later social classification of all N = 50 monkeys. These findings suggest that an early capacity to process important social information may account for differences in rhesus monkeys' motivation and competence to establish and maintain social relationships later in life. Further development of this model will facilitate identification of novel biological targets for intervention to improve social outcomes in at-risk young monkeys.

Dataset Information

Male-inflicted wounds have opposite effects on hair cortisol for captive male and female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) following new group formation.

Publications

Male-inflicted wounds have opposite effects on hair cortisol for captive male and female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) following new group formation.

Similar Datasets

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