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Sosnowski MJ, Brosnan SF. Conserved and differing functions of the endocrine system across different social systems - oxytocin as a case study. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2024; 15:1418089. [PMID: 39055053 PMCID: PMC11269223 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1418089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024] Open
Abstract
A key goal of the field of endocrinology has been to understand the hormonal mechanisms that drive social behavior and influence reactions to others, such as oxytocin. However, it has sometimes been challenging to understand which aspects and influences of hormonal action are conserved and common among mammalian species, and which effects differ based on features of these species, such as social system. This challenge has been exacerbated by a focus on a relatively small number of traditional model species. In this review, we first demonstrate the benefits of using non-traditional models for the study of hormones, with a focus on oxytocin as a case study in adding species with diverse social systems. We then expand our discussion to explore differing effects of oxytocin (and its response to behavior) within a species, with a particular focus on relationship context and social environment among primate species. Finally, we suggest key areas for future exploration of oxytocin's action centrally and peripherally, and how non-traditional models can be an important resource for understanding the breadth of oxytocin's potential effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meghan J. Sosnowski
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Sarah F. Brosnan
- Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Decatur, GA, United States
- Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States
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Fricker BA, Kelly AM. From grouping and cooperation to menstruation: Spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus) are an emerging mammalian model for sociality and beyond. Horm Behav 2024; 158:105462. [PMID: 38000170 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Revised: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023]
Abstract
While spiny mice are primarily used as a model for Type II diabetes and for studying complex tissue regeneration, they are also an emerging model for a variety of studies examining hormones, behavior, and the brain. We began studying the spiny mouse to take advantage of their highly gregarious phenotype to examine how the brain facilitates large group-living. However, this unique rodent can be readily bred and maintained in the lab and can be used to ask a wide variety of scientific questions. In this brief communication we provide an overview of studies that have used spiny mice for exploring physiology and behavior. Additionally, we describe how the spiny mouse can serve as a useful model for researchers interested in studying precocial development, menstruation, cooperation, and various grouping behaviors. With increasingly available technological advancements for non-traditional organisms, spiny mice are well-positioned to become a valuable organism in the behavioral neuroscience community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon A Fricker
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States of America.
| | - Aubrey M Kelly
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States of America.
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Martínez M, Schöndorfer S, Robinson LM, Brosnan SF, Range F. Some dogs can find the payoff-dominant outcome in the Assurance game. iScience 2024; 27:108698. [PMID: 38205239 PMCID: PMC10776926 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Studies on coordination often present animals with the choice of either cooperating or remaining inactive; however, in nature, animals may also choose to act alone. This can be modeled with the Assurance game, an economic game that has recently been used to explore decision-making in primates. We investigated whether dyads of pet dogs coordinate in the Assurance game. Pairs were presented with two alternatives: they could individually solve an apparatus baited with a low-value reward (Hare) or they could coordinate to solve a cooperative apparatus baited with a high-value reward for each dog (Stag). All individuals matched their partner's choices, but after controlling for side bias, only four out of eleven dyads consistently coordinated on the payoff-dominant strategy (Stag-Stag). Thus, some dogs are capable of finding coordinated outcomes, as do primates, at least when their partner's actions are visible and coordination results in the biggest payoff for both individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mayte Martínez
- Domestication Lab, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna 1160, Austria
- Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
| | - Selina Schöndorfer
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna 1030, Austria
| | - Lauren M. Robinson
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, USA
| | - Sarah F. Brosnan
- Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
- Departments of Psychology and Philosophy, Neuroscience Institute, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
| | - Friederike Range
- Domestication Lab, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna 1160, Austria
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Stocker M, O’Sullivan EP, Palme R, Millesi E, Sonnweber R. Measurement of Salivary Cortisol in Two New World Primate Species. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:1181. [PMID: 37759581 PMCID: PMC10525777 DOI: 10.3390/biology12091181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
Glucocorticoids (GCs) are mammalian steroid hormones involved in a variety of physiological processes, including metabolism, the immune response, and cardiovascular functions. Due to their link to the physiological stress response, GC measurement is a valuable tool for conservation and welfare assessment in animal populations. GC levels can be measured from different matrices, such as urine and feces. Moreover, especially in captive settings, measuring GCs from saliva samples proved particularly useful as those samples can be collected non-invasively and easily from trained animals. Salivary GC levels can be measured using a variety of analytical methods, such as enzyme immunoassays. However, it is crucial to validate the analytical method for each specific application and species when using a new matrix. Using high-pressure liquid chromatography and a cortisol enzyme immunoassay, we show that the main glucocorticoids secreted in the saliva of squirrel monkeys and brown capuchin monkeys are cortisol and cortisone. Our biological validation found the expected salivary cortisol level to decline throughout the day. Our findings support the reliability of salivary cortisol measurements and their potential to be used as a valid tool in research and welfare assessment for these non-human primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Stocker
- Animal Science Department, Biomedical Primate Research Centre, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Eoin P. O’Sullivan
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, UK
| | - Rupert Palme
- Unit of Physiology, Pathophysiology and Experimental Endocrinology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1210 Vienna, Austria
| | - Eva Millesi
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Ruth Sonnweber
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria
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Wang H, Kwan AC. Competitive and cooperative games for probing the neural basis of social decision-making in animals. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 149:105158. [PMID: 37019249 PMCID: PMC10175234 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 04/02/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023]
Abstract
In a social environment, it is essential for animals to consider the behavior of others when making decisions. To quantitatively assess such social decisions, games offer unique advantages. Games may have competitive and cooperative components, modeling situations with antagonistic and shared objectives between players. Games can be analyzed by mathematical frameworks, including game theory and reinforcement learning, such that an animal's choice behavior can be compared against the optimal strategy. However, so far games have been underappreciated in neuroscience research, particularly for rodent studies. In this review, we survey the varieties of competitive and cooperative games that have been tested, contrasting strategies employed by non-human primates and birds with rodents. We provide examples of how games can be used to uncover neural mechanisms and explore species-specific behavioral differences. We assess critically the limitations of current paradigms and propose improvements. Together, the synthesis of current literature highlights the advantages of using games to probe the neural basis of social decisions for neuroscience studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongli Wang
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Alex C Kwan
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA.
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Brosnan SF, Wilson BJ. Comparative economics: how studying other primates helps us better understand the evolution of our own economic decision making. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210497. [PMID: 36934757 PMCID: PMC10024989 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 03/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The origins of evolutionary games are rooted in both economics and animal behaviour, but economics has, until recently, focused primarily on humans. Although historically, specific games were used in targeted circumstances with non-human species (i.e. the Prisoner's Dilemma), experimental economics has been increasingly recognized as a valuable method for directly comparing both the outcomes of economic decisions and their underlying mechanisms across species, particularly in comparison with humans, thanks to the structured procedures that allow for them to be instantiated across a variety of animals. So far, results in non-human primates suggest that even when outcomes are shared, underlying proximate mechanisms can vary substantially. Intriguingly, in some contexts non-human primates more easily find a Nash equilibrium than do humans, possibly owing to their greater willingness to explore the parameter space, but humans excel at more complex outcomes, such as alternating between two Nash equilibria, even when deprived of language or instruction, suggesting potential mechanisms that humans have evolved to allow us to solve complex social problems. We consider what these results suggest about the evolution of economic decision-making and suggest future directions, in particular the need to expand taxonomic diversity, to expand this promising approach. This article is part of the theme issue 'Half a century of evolutionary games: a synthesis of theory, application and future directions'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah F. Brosnan
- Departments of Psychology & Philosophy, Neuroscience Institute, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, and the Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA
| | - Bart J. Wilson
- Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy & Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA
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A comparative perspective on the human sense of justice. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2022.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
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Vale GL, Williams L, Neal Webb S, Schapiro SJ, Brosnan SF. Female squirrel monkeys' ( Saimiri boliviensis) responses to inequity in a group context; testing a link between cooperation and inequity responses. Anim Behav 2022; 193:51-62. [PMID: 36467329 PMCID: PMC9718534 DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Primates of several species respond negatively to receiving less preferred rewards than a partner for completing the same task (inequity responses), either rejecting rewards or refusing to participate in the task when disadvantaged. This has been linked to cooperation, with species that cooperate frequently refusing to participate in inequity tasks (the 'cooperation hypothesis'). However, inequity is a social response, and previous research has involved dyads, precluding studying the effects of additional social partners. While dyads allow for tighter control in experimental settings, dyadic interactions in nature do not take place in a social vacuum, so understanding the role of the social context is needed to verify that the pattern of results supports the cooperation hypothesis. Here we focus on Bolivian squirrel monkeys, Saimiri boliviensis, a highly social species that does not generally cooperate and has not responded to inequity in previous dyadic research, although they do respond to receiving a lower reward than they expected. In the current study, we provide a more nuanced test by studying female Bolivian squirrel monkeys, the demographic most likely to cooperate in both field and laboratory contexts, in a more socially relevant group setting. For some reward values, females responded in both the inequity condition, rejecting less preferred rewards when they were disadvantaged relative to their social group, and a contrast condition, wherein all animals received a lower reward than they expected, making it difficult to disentangle contrast from inequity. As in capuchin monkeys, refusals increased when monkeys were to receive low-value rewards compared to medium-value rewards. These results suggest that the relationship between cooperation and inequity responses may be more nuanced than previously suggested, with demographic, social context and reward value potentially influencing outcomes even within species.
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Affiliation(s)
- G. L. Vale
- Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, U.S.A
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, U.S.A
- Department of Psychology, Language Research Center, Neuroscience Institute and Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A
| | - L. Williams
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, U.S.A
| | - S. Neal Webb
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, U.S.A
| | - S. J. Schapiro
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, U.S.A
| | - S. F. Brosnan
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, U.S.A
- Department of Psychology, Language Research Center, Neuroscience Institute and Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A
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