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Štolhoferová I, Frynta D, Janovcová M, Rudolfová V, Elmi HSA, Rexová K, Berti DA, Král D, Sommer D, Landová E, Frýdlová P. The bigger the threat, the longer the gaze? A cross-cultural study of Somalis and Czechs. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1234593. [PMID: 37829068 PMCID: PMC10565226 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1234593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023] Open
Abstract
High fear reaction, preferential attention, or fast detection are only a few of the specific responses which snakes evoke in humans. Previous research has shown that these responses are shared amongst several distinct cultures suggesting the evolutionary origin of the response. However, populations from sub-Saharan Africa have been largely missing in experimental research focused on this issue. In this paper, we focus on the effect of snake threat display on human spontaneous attention. We performed an eye-tracking experiment with participants from Somaliland and the Czechia and investigated whether human attention is swayed towards snakes in a threatening posture. Seventy-one Somalis and 71 Czechs were tested; the samples were matched for gender and comparable in age structure and education level. We also investigated the effect of snake morphotype as snakes differ in their threat display. We found that snakes in a threatening posture were indeed gazed upon more than snakes in a relaxed (non-threatening) posture. Further, we found a large effect of snake morphotype as this was especially prominent in cobras, less in vipers, and mostly non-significant in other morphotypes. Finally, despite highly different cultural and environmental backgrounds, the overall pattern of reaction towards snakes was similar in Somalis and Czechs supporting the evolutionary origin of the phenomenon. We concluded that human attention is preferentially directed towards snakes, especially cobras and vipers, in threatening postures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iveta Štolhoferová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Daniel Frynta
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Markéta Janovcová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Veronika Rudolfová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Hassan Sh Abdirahman Elmi
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Education, Amoud University, Borama, Somalia
| | - Kateřina Rexová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Daniel Alex Berti
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - David Král
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - David Sommer
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Eva Landová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Petra Frýdlová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
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León J, Thiriau C, Crockford C, Zuberbühler K. Comprehension of own and other species' alarm calls in sooty mangabey vocal development. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2023; 77:56. [PMID: 37234238 PMCID: PMC10205891 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-023-03318-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Revised: 03/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Abstract Primates understand the meaning of their own and other species' alarm calls, but little is known about how they acquire such knowledge. Here, we combined direct behavioural observations with playback experiments to investigate two key processes underlying vocal development: comprehension and usage. Especifically, we studied the development of con- and heterospecific alarm call recognition in free-ranging sooty mangabeys, Cercocebus atys, across three age groups: young juveniles (1-2y), old juveniles (3-4y) and adults (> 5y). We observed that, during natural predator encounters, juveniles alarm called to a significantly wider range of species than adults, with evidence of refinement during the first four years of life. In the experiments, we exposed subjects to leopard, eagle and snake alarm calls given by other group members or sympatric Diana monkeys. We found that young juveniles' locomotor and vocal responses were least appropriate and that they engaged in more social referencing (look at adults when hearing an alarm call) than older individuals, suggesting that vocal competence is obtained via social learning. In conclusion, our results suggest that alarm call comprehension is socially learned during the juvenile stage, with comprehension preceding appropriate usage but no difference between learning their own or other species' alarm calls. Significance statement Under natural conditions, animals do not just interact with members of their own species, but usually operate in a network of associated species. However, ontogenetic research on primate communication frequently ignores this significant element. We studied the development of con- and heterospecific alarm call recognition in wild sooty mangabeys. We found that communicative competence was acquired during the juvenile stages, with alarm call comprehension learning preceding appropriate vocal usage and with no clear difference in learning of con- and heterospecific signals. We also found that, during early stages of life, social referencing, a proactive form of social learning, was key in the acquisition of competent alarm call behaviour. Our results show that primates equally learn to interpret alarm calls from their own and other species during their early stages of life and that this learning process is refined as the animals mature. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00265-023-03318-6.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julián León
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- Taï Monkey Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, 01 BP1303 Abidjan 01, Côte d’Ivoire
| | - Constance Thiriau
- Taï Monkey Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, 01 BP1303 Abidjan 01, Côte d’Ivoire
| | - Catherine Crockford
- Tai Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, 01 BP1303 Abidjan 01, Côte d’Ivoire
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences Marc Jeannerod, CNRS, 69330 Lyon, France
| | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- Taï Monkey Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, 01 BP1303 Abidjan 01, Côte d’Ivoire
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, Saint Andrews, KY16 9JP Scotland UK
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Dinh HT, Nishimaru H, Le QV, Matsumoto J, Setogawa T, Maior RS, Tomaz C, Ono T, Nishijo H. Preferential Neuronal Responses to Snakes in the Monkey Medial Prefrontal Cortex Support an Evolutionary Origin for Ophidiophobia. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:653250. [PMID: 33841110 PMCID: PMC8024491 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.653250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Ophidiophobia (snake phobia) is one of the most common specific phobias. It has been proposed that specific phobia may have an evolutionary origin, and that attentional bias to specific items may promote the onset of phobia. Noninvasive imaging studies of patients with specific phobia reported that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), especially the rostral part of the anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), and amygdala are activated during the presentation of phobogenic stimuli. We propose that the mPFC-amygdala circuit may be involved in the pathogenesis of phobia. The mPFC receives inputs from the phylogenically old subcortical visual pathway including the superior colliculus, pulvinar, and amygdala, while mPFC neurons are highly sensitive to snakes that are the first modern predator of primates, and discriminate snakes with striking postures from those with non-striking postures. Furthermore, the mPFC has been implicated in the attentional allocation and promotes amygdala-dependent aversive conditioning. These findings suggest that the rACC focuses attention on snakes, and promotes aversive conditioning to snakes, which may lead to anxiety and ophidiophobia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ha Trong Dinh
- System Emotional Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan.,Department of Physiology, Vietnam Military Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Hiroshi Nishimaru
- System Emotional Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan.,Research Center for Idling Brain Science (RCIBS), University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Quan Van Le
- System Emotional Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Jumpei Matsumoto
- System Emotional Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan.,Research Center for Idling Brain Science (RCIBS), University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Tsuyoshi Setogawa
- System Emotional Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan.,Research Center for Idling Brain Science (RCIBS), University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Rafael S Maior
- Primate Center and Laboratory of Neurosciences and Behavior, Department of Physiological Sciences, Institute of Biology, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil
| | - Carlos Tomaz
- Laboratory of Neuroscience and Behavior, CEUMA University, São Luis, Brazil
| | - Taketoshi Ono
- System Emotional Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Hisao Nishijo
- System Emotional Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan.,Research Center for Idling Brain Science (RCIBS), University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
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Isbell LA, Bidner LR, Van Cleave EK, Matsumoto-Oda A, Crofoot MC. GPS-identified vulnerabilities of savannah-woodland primates to leopard predation and their implications for early hominins. J Hum Evol 2018; 118:1-13. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2017] [Revised: 02/06/2018] [Accepted: 02/08/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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Fatal attack on black-tufted-ear marmosets (Callithrix penicillata) by a Boa constrictor: a simultaneous assault on two juvenile monkeys. Primates 2016; 57:123-7. [PMID: 26467338 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-015-0495-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2015] [Accepted: 09/25/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Here we report the first witnessed attack on a marmoset by a constrictor snake. The incident occurred mid-morning in a gallery forest within an altered landscape of the Cerrado region of central Brazil and refers to a fatal attack by a Boa constrictor on two juvenile black-tufted-ear marmosets (Callithrix penicillata) simultaneously. The snake captured both individuals at a height of ~ 4 m while a group of eight marmosets traveled through the subcanopy. The actual strike was not seen. After 2 min, the boa fell to the ground with both marmosets in its coils and proceeded to kill one animal at a time through constriction. Two adult marmosets immediately descended to where the snake held its victims on the ground and attacked it. The snake showed no apparent reaction, and after ~ 1-2 min, the adults rejoined the remaining group members that were mobbing and vocalizing from 5 to 6 m above. The group left the scene ~ 7 min after the onset of the attack and was not seen again. The snake loosened its coils 10 min after its initial strike, left the two carcasses on the ground and stayed behind a nearby tree. Thus, we are not sure if the victims were in fact ingested. This report confirms that marmosets are vulnerable to boid snakes and capable of highly organized and cooperative antipredation behavior. It also suggests that snakes pose a greater threat to callitrichids than previously thought.
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Ptáčková J, Landová E, Lišková S, Kuběna A, Frynta D. Are the aesthetic preferences towards snake species already formed in pre-school aged children? EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/17405629.2016.1144507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Carr JA. I'll take the low road: the evolutionary underpinnings of visually triggered fear. Front Neurosci 2015; 9:414. [PMID: 26578871 PMCID: PMC4624861 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2015.00414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2015] [Accepted: 10/15/2015] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Although there is general agreement that the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) is critical for triggering the neuroendocrine response to visual threats, there is uncertainty about the role of subcortical visual pathways in this process. Primates in general appear to depend less on subcortical visual pathways than other mammals. Yet, imaging studies continue to indicate a role for the superior colliculus and pulvinar nucleus in fear activation, despite disconnects in how these brain structures communicate not only with each other but with the amygdala. Studies in fish and amphibians suggest that the neuroendocrine response to visual threats has remained relatively unchanged for hundreds of millions of years, yet there are still significant data gaps with respect to how visual information is relayed to telencephalic areas homologous to the CeA, particularly in fish. In fact ray finned fishes may have evolved an entirely different mechanism for relaying visual information to the telencephalon. In part because they lack a pathway homologous to the lateral geniculate-striate cortex pathway of mammals, amphibians continue to be an excellent model for studying how stress hormones in turn modulate fear activating visual pathways. Glucocorticoids, melanocortin peptides, and CRF all appear to play some role in modulating sensorimotor processing in the optic tectum. These observations, coupled with data showing control of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis by the superior colliculus, suggest a fear/stress/anxiety neuroendocrine circuit that begins with first order synapses in subcortical visual pathways. Thus, comparative studies shed light not only on how fear triggering visual pathways came to be, but how hormones released as a result of this activation modulate these pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- James A. Carr
- Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech UniversityLubbock, TX, USA
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Weiss L, Brandl P, Frynta D. Fear reactions to snakes in naïve mouse lemurs and pig-tailed macaques. Primates 2015; 56:279-84. [PMID: 26048081 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-015-0473-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2015] [Accepted: 05/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Primates have been predated on by snakes throughout their evolution and as a result, antipredator responses accompanied by signs of fear are often witnessed in the wild. In captivity, however, the fear of snakes is less clear, as experiments with naïve nonhuman primates have given inconsistent results. In this study, we present evidence that naïve mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus) and putatively naïve pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) do exhibit fear of snakes, even though the apparent reactions are mild. In an experiment with control- or snake-odoured boxes, mouse lemurs clearly avoided feeding in the latter. When the latency of touching rubber models was measured, pig-tailed macaques took longer to touch a toy snake compared with a toy lizard. Our findings that fear of snakes is shown by naïve individuals support the hypothesis that it is innate in primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Weiss
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44, Praha 2, Czech Republic
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Le QV, Isbell LA, Matsumoto J, Le VQ, Hori E, Tran AH, Maior RS, Tomaz C, Ono T, Nishijo H. Monkey pulvinar neurons fire differentially to snake postures. PLoS One 2014; 9:e114258. [PMID: 25479158 PMCID: PMC4257671 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2014] [Accepted: 11/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
There is growing evidence from both behavioral and neurophysiological approaches that primates are able to rapidly discriminate visually between snakes and innocuous stimuli. Recent behavioral evidence suggests that primates are also able to discriminate the level of threat posed by snakes, by responding more intensely to a snake model poised to strike than to snake models in coiled or sinusoidal postures (Etting and Isbell 2014). In the present study, we examine the potential for an underlying neurological basis for this ability. Previous research indicated that the pulvinar is highly sensitive to snake images. We thus recorded pulvinar neurons in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) while they viewed photos of snakes in striking and non-striking postures in a delayed non-matching to sample (DNMS) task. Of 821 neurons recorded, 78 visually responsive neurons were tested with the all snake images. We found that pulvinar neurons in the medial and dorsolateral pulvinar responded more strongly to snakes in threat displays poised to strike than snakes in non-threat-displaying postures with no significant difference in response latencies. A multidimensional scaling analysis of the 78 visually responsive neurons indicated that threat-displaying and non-threat-displaying snakes were separated into two different clusters in the first epoch of 50 ms after stimulus onset, suggesting bottom-up visual information processing. These results indicate that pulvinar neurons in primates discriminate between poised to strike from those in non-threat-displaying postures. This neuronal ability likely facilitates behavioral discrimination and has clear adaptive value. Our results are thus consistent with the Snake Detection Theory, which posits that snakes were instrumental in the evolution of primate visual systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quan Van Le
- System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Lynne A. Isbell
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Davis, Davis, California, 95616, United States of America
| | - Jumpei Matsumoto
- System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Van Quang Le
- System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Etsuro Hori
- System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Anh Hai Tran
- System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Rafael S. Maior
- Primate Center and Laboratory of Neurosciences and Behavior, Department of Physiological Sciences, Institute of Biology, University of Brasília, Brasilia, DF, Brazil
| | - Carlos Tomaz
- Primate Center and Laboratory of Neurosciences and Behavior, Department of Physiological Sciences, Institute of Biology, University of Brasília, Brasilia, DF, Brazil
| | - Taketoshi Ono
- System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Hisao Nishijo
- System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
- * E-mail:
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Etting SF, Isbell LA. Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta) Use Posture to Assess Level of Threat From Snakes. Ethology 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Lynne A. Isbell
- Department of Anthropology; University of California; Davis CA USA
- Animal Behavior Graduate Group; University of California; Davis CA USA
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