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Iqbal A, Alam MT, Khan A, Siddiqui T, Ali A. Inhibition of protein misfolding and aggregation by steroidal quinoxalin-2(1H)-one and their molecular docking studies. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 269:132020. [PMID: 38704061 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.132020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 04/27/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024]
Abstract
A series of D-ring fused 16-substituted steroidal quinoxalin-2(1H)-one attached to an electron-releasing (ER) or electron-withdrawing (EW) groups via steroidal oxoacetate intermediate were synthesized to investigate their protein aggregation inhibition potential using human lysozyme (HLZ). The influence of the type of substituent at the C-6 positions of the quinoxalin-2(1H)-one ring on the protein aggregation inhibition potential was observed, showing that the EW moiety improved the protein aggregation inhibition potency. Of all the evaluated compounds, NO2-substituted quinoxalin-2(1H)-one derivative 13 was the most active compound and had a maximum protein aggregation inhibition effect. Significant stabilization effects strongly support the binding of the most biologically active steroidal quinoxalin-2(1H)-one with docking studies. The predicted physicochemical and ADME properties lie within a drug-like space which shows no violation of Lipinski's rule of five except compounds 12 and 13. Combined, our results suggest that D-ring fused 16-substituted steroidal quinoxalin-2(1H)-one has the potential to modulate the protein aggregation inhibition effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arfeen Iqbal
- Department of Chemistry, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202 002, UP, India
| | - Md Tauqir Alam
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202 002, UP, India
| | - Asna Khan
- Department of Chemistry, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202 002, UP, India
| | - Tabassum Siddiqui
- Department of Chemistry, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202 002, UP, India
| | - Abad Ali
- Department of Chemistry, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202 002, UP, India.
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2
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Gray SL, Lam EK, Henao-Diaz LF, Jalabert C, Soma KK. Effect of a Territorial Challenge on the Steroid Profile of a Juvenile Songbird. Neuroscience 2024; 541:118-132. [PMID: 38301739 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2024.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
Aggression is a social behavior that is critical for survival and reproduction. In adults, circulating gonadal hormones, such as androgens, act on neural circuits to modulate aggressive interactions, especially in reproductive contexts. In many species, individuals also demonstrate aggression before reaching gonadal maturation. Adult male song sparrows, Melospiza melodia, breed seasonally but maintain territories year-round. Juvenile (hatch-year) males aggressively compete for territory ownership during their first winter when circulating testosterone is low. Here, we characterized the relationship between the steroid milieu and aggressive behavior in free-living juvenile male song sparrows in winter. We investigated the effect of a 10 min simulated territorial intrusion (STI) on behavior and steroid levels in blood, 10 microdissected brain regions, and four peripheral tissues (liver, pectoral muscle, adrenal glands, and testes). Using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), we quantified 12 steroids: pregnenolone, progesterone, corticosterone, 11-dehydrocorticosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, androstenedione, testosterone, 5α-dihydrotestosterone, 17β-estradiol, 17α-estradiol, estrone, and estriol. We found that juvenile males are robustly aggressive, like adult males. An STI increases progesterone and corticosterone levels in blood and brain and increases 11-dehydrocorticosterone levels in blood only. Pregnenolone, androgens, and estrogens are generally non-detectable and are not affected by an STI. In peripheral tissues, steroid concentrations are very high in the adrenals. These data suggest that adrenal steroids, such as progesterone and corticosterone, might promote juvenile aggression and that juvenile and adult songbirds might rely on distinct neuroendocrine mechanisms to support similar aggressive behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia L Gray
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
| | - Emma K Lam
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - L Francisco Henao-Diaz
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Cecilia Jalabert
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Kiran K Soma
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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3
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Demas GE, Munley KM, Jasnow AM. A seasonal switch hypothesis for the neuroendocrine control of aggression. Trends Endocrinol Metab 2023; 34:799-812. [PMID: 37722999 DOI: 10.1016/j.tem.2023.08.015] [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: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/20/2023]
Abstract
Aggression is a well-studied social behavior that is universally exhibited by animals across a wide range of contexts. Prevailing knowledge suggests gonadal steroids primarily mediate aggression; however, this is based mainly on studies of male-male aggression in laboratory rodents. When males and females of other species, including humans, are examined, a positive relationship between gonadal steroids and aggression is less substantiated. For instance, hamsters housed in short 'winter-like' days show increased aggression compared with long-day housed hamsters, despite relatively low circulating gonadal steroids. These results suggest alternative, non-gonadal mechanisms controlling aggression. Here, we propose the seasonal switch hypothesis, which employs a multidisciplinary approach to describe how seasonal variation in extra-gonadal steroids, orchestrated by melatonin, drives context-specific changes in aggression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory E Demas
- Department of Biology, Program in Neuroscience, and Program in Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
| | - Kathleen M Munley
- Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USA
| | - Aaron M Jasnow
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC 29209, USA
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Zubizarreta L, Jalabert C, Silva AC, Soma KK, Quintana L. Brain and circulating steroids in an electric fish: Relevance for non-breeding aggression. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0289461. [PMID: 37816021 PMCID: PMC10564164 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/23/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Steroids play a crucial role in modulating brain and behavior. While traditionally it is thought that the brain is a target of sex steroids produced in endocrine glands (e.g. gonads), the brain itself produces steroids, known as neurosteroids. Neurosteroids can be produced in regions involved in the regulation of social behaviors and may act locally to regulate social behaviors, such as reproduction and aggression. Our model species, the weakly electric fish Gymnotus omarorum, displays non-breeding aggression in both sexes. This is a valuable natural behavior to understand neuroendocrine mechanisms that differ from those underlying breeding aggression. In the non-breeding season, circulating sex steroid levels are low, which facilitates the study of neurosteroids. Here, for the first time in a teleost fish, we used liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to quantify a panel of 8 steroids in both plasma and brain to characterize steroid profiles in wild non-breeding adult males and females. We show that: 1) systemic steroid levels in the non-breeding season are similar in both sexes, although only males have detectable circulating 11-ketotestosterone, 2) brain steroid levels are sexually dimorphic, as females display higher levels of androstenedione, testosterone and estrone, and only males had detectable 11-ketotestosterone, 3) systemic androgens such as androstenedione and testosterone in the non-breeding season are potential precursors for neuroestrogen synthesis, and 4) estrogens, which play a key role in non-breeding aggression, are detectable in the brain (but not the plasma) in both sexes. These data are consistent with previous studies of G. omarorum that show non-breeding aggression is dependent on estrogen signaling, as has also been shown in bird and mammal models. Overall, our results provide a foundation for understanding the role of neurosteroids, the interplay between central and peripheral steroids and potential sex differences in the regulation of social behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucia Zubizarreta
- Laboratorio de Neurofisiología Celular y Sináptica, Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Departamento de Neurofisiología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Ministerio de Educación y Cultura, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Cecilia Jalabert
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Ana C. Silva
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Kiran K. Soma
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Psychology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Laura Quintana
- Departamento de Neurofisiología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Ministerio de Educación y Cultura, Montevideo, Uruguay
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Boersma J, Enbody ED, Ketaloya S, Watts HE, Karubian J, Schwabl H. Does capacity to produce androgens underlie variation in female ornamentation and territoriality in White-shouldered Fairywren (Malurus alboscapulatus)? Horm Behav 2023; 154:105393. [PMID: 37331309 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105393] [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: 02/15/2023] [Revised: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
Historic bias toward study of sex hormones and sexual ornamentation in males currently constrains our perspective of hormone-behavior-phenotype relationships. Resolving how ornamented female phenotypes evolve is particularly important for understanding the diversity of social signals across taxa. Studies of both males and females in taxa with variable female phenotypes are needed to establish whether sexes share mechanisms underlying expression of signaling phenotypes and behavior. White-shouldered Fairywren (Malurus alboscapulatus) subspecies vary in female ornamentation, baseline circulating androgens, and response to territorial intrusion. The moretoni ornamented female subspecies is characterized by higher female, but lower male baseline androgens, and a stronger pair territorial response relative to pairs from the lorentzi unornamented female subspecies. Here we address whether subspecific differences in female ornamentation, baseline androgens, and pair territoriality are associated with ability to elevate androgens following gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) challenge and in response to simulated territorial intrusion. We find that subspecies do not differ in their capacity to produce androgens in either sex following GnRH or simulated territorial intrusion (STI) challenges. STI-induced androgens were predictive of degree of response to territorial intrusions in females only, but the direction of the effect was mixed. GnRH-induced androgens did not correlate with response to simulated intruders, nor did females sampled during intrusion elevate androgens relative to flushed controls, suggesting that increased androgens are not necessary for the expression of territorial defense behaviors. Collectively, our results suggest that capacity to produce androgens does not underlie subspecific patterns of female ornamentation, territoriality, and baseline plasma androgens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan Boersma
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA; Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - Erik D Enbody
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Serena Ketaloya
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA; Porotona Village, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea
| | - Heather E Watts
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA; Center for Reproductive Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - Jordan Karubian
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Hubert Schwabl
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA; Center for Reproductive Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
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Heimovics S, Rubin N, Ford M. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) increases undirected singing behavior and alters dopaminergic regulation of undirected song in non-breeding male European starlings ( Sturnus vulgaris). Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2023; 14:1153085. [PMID: 37234810 PMCID: PMC10206333 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1153085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction It has been proposed that in species that defend territories across multiple life history stages, brain metabolism of adrenal dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) regulates aggressive behavior at times when gonadal androgen synthesis is low (i.e. the non-breeding season). To date, a role for DHEA in the regulation of other forms of social behavior that are expressed outside of the context of breeding remains unknown. Methods In this experiment, we used the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) model system to investigate a role for DHEA in the neuroendocrine regulation of singing behavior by males in non-breeding condition. Starling song in a non-breeding context is spontaneous, not directed towards conspecifics, and functions to maintain cohesion of overwintering flocks. Results Using within-subjects design, we found that DHEA implants significantly increase undirected singing behavior by non-breeding condition male starlings. Given that DHEA is known to modulate multiple neurotransmitter systems including dopamine (DA) and DA regulates undirected song, we subsequently used immunohistochemistry for phosphorylated tyrosine hydroxylase (pTH, the active form of the rate-limiting enzyme in DA synthesis) to investigate the effect of DHEA on dopaminergic regulation of singing behavior in a non-breeding context. Pearson correlation analysis revealed a positive linear association between undirected singing behavior and pTH immunoreactivity in the ventral tegmental area and midbrain central gray of DHEA-implanted, but not control-implanted, males. Discussion Taken together, these data suggest that undirected singing behavior by non-breeding starlings is modulated by effects of DHEA on dopaminergic neurotransmission. More broadly, these data expand the social behavior functions of DHEA beyond territorial aggression to include undirected, affiliative social communication.
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Aspesi D, Bass N, Kavaliers M, Choleris E. The role of androgens and estrogens in social interactions and social cognition. Neuroscience 2023:S0306-4522(23)00151-3. [PMID: 37080448 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.03.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Revised: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023]
Abstract
Gonadal hormones are becoming increasingly recognized for their effects on cognition. Estrogens, in particular, have received attention for their effects on learning and memory that rely upon the functioning of various brain regions. However, the impacts of androgens on cognition are relatively under investigated. Testosterone, as well as estrogens, have been shown to play a role in the modulation of different aspects of social cognition. This review explores the impact of testosterone and other androgens on various facets of social cognition including social recognition, social learning, social approach/avoidance, and aggression. We highlight the relevance of considering not only the actions of the most commonly studied steroids (i.e., testosterone, 17β-estradiol, and dihydrotestosterone), but also that of their metabolites and precursors, which interact with a plethora of different receptors and signalling molecules, ultimately modulating behaviour. We point out that it is also essential to investigate the effects of androgens, their precursors and metabolites in females, as prior studies have mostly focused on males. Overall, a comprehensive analysis of the impact of steroids such as androgens on behaviour is fundamental for a full understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying social cognition, including that of humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dario Aspesi
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph
| | - Noah Bass
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph
| | - Martin Kavaliers
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph; Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
| | - Elena Choleris
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph.
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Munley KM, Han Y, Lansing MX, Demas GE. Winter madness: Melatonin as a neuroendocrine regulator of seasonal aggression. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY. PART A, ECOLOGICAL AND INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 337:873-889. [PMID: 35451566 PMCID: PMC9587138 DOI: 10.1002/jez.2601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Individuals of virtually all vertebrate species are exposed to annual fluctuations in the deterioration and renewal of their environments. As such, organisms have evolved to restrict energetically expensive processes and activities to a specific time of the year. Thus, the precise timing of physiology and behavior is critical for individual reproductive success and subsequent fitness. Although the majority of research on seasonality has focused on seasonal reproduction, pronounced fluctuations in other non-reproductive social behaviors, including agonistic behaviors (e.g., aggression), also occur. To date, most studies that have investigated the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying seasonal aggression have focused on the role of photoperiod (i.e., day length); prior findings have demonstrated that some seasonally breeding species housed in short "winter-like" photoperiods display increased aggression compared with those housed in long "summer-like" photoperiods, despite inhibited reproduction and low gonadal steroid levels. While fewer studies have examined how the hormonal correlates of environmental cues regulate seasonal aggression, our previous work suggests that the pineal hormone melatonin acts to increase non-breeding aggression in Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) by altering steroid hormone secretion. This review addresses the physiological and cellular mechanisms underlying seasonal plasticity in aggressive and non-aggressive social behaviors, including a key role for melatonin in facilitating a "neuroendocrine switch" to alternative physiological mechanisms of aggression across the annual cycle. Collectively, these studies highlight novel and important mechanisms by which melatonin regulates aggressive behavior in vertebrates and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the neuroendocrine bases of seasonal social behaviors broadly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen M. Munley
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Yuqi Han
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Matt X. Lansing
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Gregory E. Demas
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
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Anderson NK, Goodwin SE, Schuppe ER, Dawn A, Preininger D, Mangiamele LA, Fuxjager MJ. Activational vs. organizational effects of sex steroids and their role in the evolution of reproductive behavior: Looking to foot-flagging frogs and beyond. Horm Behav 2022; 146:105248. [PMID: 36054981 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Revised: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Sex steroids play an important role in regulation of the vertebrate reproductive phenotype. This is because sex steroids not only activate sexual behaviors that mediate copulation, courtship, and aggression, but they also help guide the development of neural and muscular systems that underlie these traits. Many biologists have therefore described the effects of sex steroid action on reproductive behavior as both "activational" and "organizational," respectively. Here, we focus on these phenomena from an evolutionary standpoint, highlighting that we know relatively little about the way that organizational effects evolve in the natural world to support the adaptation and diversification of reproductive behavior. We first review the evidence that such effects do in fact evolve to mediate the evolution of sexual behavior. We then introduce an emerging animal model - the foot-flagging frog, Staurois parvus - that will be useful to study how sex hormones shape neuromotor development necessary for sexual displays. The foot flag is nothing more than a waving display that males use to compete for access to female mates, and thus the neural circuits that control its production are likely laid down when limb control systems arise during the developmental transition from tadpole to frog. We provide data that highlights how sex steroids might organize foot-flagging behavior through its putative underlying mechanisms. Overall, we anticipate that future studies of foot-flagging frogs will open a powerful window from which to see how sex steroids influence the neuromotor systems to help germinate circuits that drive signaling behavior. In this way, our aim is to bring attention to the important frontier of endocrinological regulation of evolutionary developmental biology (endo-evo-devo) and its relationship to behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nigel K Anderson
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States of America
| | - Sarah E Goodwin
- Department of Biological Sciences, Smith College, Northampton, MA, United States of America
| | - Eric R Schuppe
- Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States of America
| | - AllexAndrya Dawn
- Department of Biological Sciences, Smith College, Northampton, MA, United States of America
| | - Doris Preininger
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Vienna Zoo, Vienna, Austria
| | - Lisa A Mangiamele
- Department of Biological Sciences, Smith College, Northampton, MA, United States of America.
| | - Matthew J Fuxjager
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States of America.
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Sonnweber R, Stevens JMG, Hohmann G, Deschner T, Behringer V. Plasma Testosterone and Androstenedione Levels Follow the Same Sex-Specific Patterns in the Two Pan Species. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:biology11091275. [PMID: 36138754 PMCID: PMC9495489 DOI: 10.3390/biology11091275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Revised: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary Generally male mammals are more aggressive than their female peers. In these males, aggressive behavior is linked to levels of androgens; higher levels of testosterone are predictive of higher aggression rates or more severe aggression. There are some species where the pattern of sex-specific aggression is reversed, and it was hypothesized that high levels of androgens may be responsible for social dominance and aggressiveness in these females. Studies so far found that females of species with sex-reversed aggression patterns (e.g., spotted hyenas and ring-tailed lemurs) had lower plasma testosterone levels than their male peers, but a precursor of testosterone, androstenedione, was comparable or even higher in females than in males. This supported the idea that selection for female aggressiveness may be facilitated through augmented androgen secretion. Here we show that in two sister species, bonobos and chimpanzees, that differ in terms of sex-specific aggression patterns, females have lower plasma testosterone levels and higher plasma androstenedione levels than their male peers. Thus, our data do not support a theory of a role of female androgen levels on the expression of sex-specific patterns of aggression. Abstract In most animals, males are considered more aggressive, in terms of frequency and intensity of aggressive behaviors, than their female peers. However, in several species this widespread male-biased aggression pattern is either extenuated, absent, or even sex-reversed. Studies investigating potential neuro-physiological mechanisms driving the selection for female aggression in these species have revealed an important, but not exclusive role of androgens in the expression of the observed sex-specific behavioral patterns. Two very closely related mammalian species that markedly differ in the expression and degree of sex-specific aggression are the two Pan species, where the chimpanzee societies are male-dominated while in bonobos sex-biased aggression patterns are alleviated. Using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methods, we measured levels of plasma testosterone and androstenedione levels in male and female zoo-housed bonobos (N = 21; 12 females, 9 males) and chimpanzees (N = 41; 27 females, 14 males). Our results show comparable absolute and relative intersexual patterns of blood androgen levels in both species of Pan. Plasma testosterone levels were higher in males (bonobos: females: average 0.53 ± 0.30 ng/mL; males 6.70 ± 2.93 ng/mL; chimpanzees: females: average 0.40 ± 0.23 ng/mL; males 5.84 ± 3.63 ng/mL) and plasma androstenedione levels were higher in females of either species (bonobos: females: average 1.83 ± 0.87 ng/mL; males 1.13 ± 0.44 ng/mL; chimpanzees: females: average 1.84 ± 0.92 ng/mL; males 1.22 ± 0.55 ng/mL). The latter result speaks against a role of androstenedione in the mediation of heightened female aggression, as had been suggested based on studies in other mammal species where females are dominant and show high levels of female aggressiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Sonnweber
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030 Vienna, Austria
- Correspondence:
| | - Jeroen M. G. Stevens
- Behavioral Ecology and Ecophysiology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Campus Drie Eiken, Building D, D1.21, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Gottfried Hohmann
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell/Konstanz, Germany
| | - Tobias Deschner
- Comparative BioCognition, Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabrück, Artilleriestrasse 34, 49090 Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Verena Behringer
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Endocrinology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
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11
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Concas A, Serra M, Porcu P. How hormonal contraceptives shape brain and behavior: A review of preclinical studies. Front Neuroendocrinol 2022; 66:101017. [PMID: 35843303 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2022.101017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2022] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Steroid hormones influence different aspects of brain function, including development, neurogenesis, neuronal excitability, and plasticity, thus affecting emotional states, cognition, sociality, and reward. In women, their levels fluctuate across the lifespan and through the reproductive stages but are also altered by exogenous administration of hormonal contraceptives (HC). HC are widely used by women throughout their fertile life both for contraceptive and therapeutic benefits. However, awareness of their effects on brain function and behavior is still poorly appreciated, despite the emerging evidence of their action at the level of the central nervous system. Here, we summarize results obtained in preclinical studies, mostly conducted in intact female rodents, aimed at investigating the neurobiological effects of HC. HC can alter neuroactive hormones, neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, as well as emotional states, cognition, social and sexual behaviors. Animal studies provide insights into the neurobiological effects of HC with the aim to improve women's health and well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Concas
- Department of Life and Environment Sciences, Section of Neuroscience and Anthropology, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Mariangela Serra
- Department of Life and Environment Sciences, Section of Neuroscience and Anthropology, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Patrizia Porcu
- Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Cagliari, Italy.
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12
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Munley KM, Wade KL, Pradhan DS. Uncovering the seasonal brain: Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) as a biochemical approach for studying seasonal social behaviors. Horm Behav 2022; 142:105161. [PMID: 35339904 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Revised: 03/12/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Many animals show pronounced changes in physiology and behavior across the annual cycle, and these adaptations enable individuals to prioritize investing in the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying reproduction and/or survival based on the time of year. While prior research has offered valuable insight into how seasonal variation in neuroendocrine processes regulates social behavior, the majority of these studies have investigated how a single hormone influences a single behavioral phenotype. Given that hormones are synthesized and metabolized via complex biochemical pathways and often act in concert to control social behavior, these approaches provide a limited view of how hormones regulate seasonal changes in behavior. In this review, we discuss how seasonal influences on hormones, the brain, and social behavior can be studied using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), an analytical chemistry technique that enables researchers to simultaneously quantify the concentrations of multiple hormones and the activities of their synthetic enzymes. First, we examine studies that have investigated seasonal plasticity in brain-behavior interactions, specifically by focusing on how two groups of hormones, sex steroids and nonapeptides, regulate sexual and aggressive behavior. Then, we explain the operations of LC-MS/MS, highlight studies that have used LC-MS/MS to study the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying social behavior, both within and outside of a seasonal context, and discuss potential applications for LC-MS/MS in the field of behavioral neuroendocrinology. We propose that this cutting-edge technology will provide a more comprehensive understanding of how the multitude of hormones that comprise complex neuroendocrine networks affect seasonal variation in the brain and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen M Munley
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
| | - Kristina L Wade
- Department of Biological Sciences, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID 83209, USA
| | - Devaleena S Pradhan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID 83209, USA
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13
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Boersma J, Jones JA, Enbody ED, Welklin JF, Ketaloya S, Nason D, Karubian J, Schwabl H. Male White-shouldered Fairywrens (Malurus alboscapulatus) elevate androgens greater when courting females than during territorial challenges. Horm Behav 2022; 142:105158. [PMID: 35378335 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Androgens like testosterone mediate suites of physical and behavioral traits across vertebrates, and circulation varies considerably across and within taxa. However, an understanding of the causal factors of variation in circulating testosterone has proven difficult despite decades of research. According to the challenge hypothesis, agonistic interactions between males immediately prior to the breeding season produce the highest levels of testosterone measured during this period. While many studies have provided support for this hypothesis, most species do not respond to male-male competition by elevating testosterone. As a result, a recent revision of the hypothesis ('challenge hypothesis 2.0') places male-female interactions as the primary cause of rapid elevations in testosterone circulation in male vertebrates. Here, we offer a test of both iterations of the challenge hypothesis in a tropical bird species. We first illustrate that male White-shouldered Fairywrens (Malurus alboscapulatus) differ by subspecies in plasma androgen concentrations. Then we use a social network approach to find that males of the subspecies with higher androgens are characterized by greater social interaction scores, including more time aggregating to perform sexual displays. Next, we use a controlled experiment to test whether males respond to simulated territorial intrusion and/or courtship competition contexts by elevating androgens. We found that males elevated androgens during territorial intrusions relative to flushed controls, however, males sampled during courtship competitions had greater plasma androgens both relative to controls and males sampled while defending territories. Ultimately, our results are consistent with challenge hypothesis 2.0, as sexual interactions with extra-pair females were associated with greater elevation of androgens than territorial disputes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan Boersma
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, USA; Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - John Anthony Jones
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Erik D Enbody
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA; Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Joseph F Welklin
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, USA; Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Serena Ketaloya
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA; Porotona Village, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea
| | - Doka Nason
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA; Porotona Village, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea
| | - Jordan Karubian
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Hubert Schwabl
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
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14
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Paletta P, Bass N, Aspesi D, Choleris E. Sex Differences in Social Cognition. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2022; 62:207-234. [PMID: 35604571 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2022_325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
In this review we explore the sex differences underlying various types of social cognition. Particular focus will be placed on the behaviors of social recognition, social learning, and aggression. Known similarities and differences between sexes in the expressions of these behaviors and the known brain regions where these behaviors are mediated are discussed. The role that the sex hormones (estrogens and androgens) have as well as possible interactions with other neurochemicals, such as oxytocin, vasopressin, and serotonin is reviewed as well. Finally, implications about these findings on the mediation of social cognition are mediated and the sex differences related to humans are considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pietro Paletta
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Noah Bass
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Dario Aspesi
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Elena Choleris
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
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15
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Schuppe ER, Tobiansky D, Goller F, Fuxjager MJ. Specialized androgen synthesis in skeletal muscles that actuate elaborate social displays. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:275472. [PMID: 35587151 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.243730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Androgens mediate the expression of many reproductive behaviors, including the elaborate displays used to navigate courtship and territorial interactions. In some vertebrates, males can produce androgen-dependent sexual behavior even when levels of testosterone (T) is low in the bloodstream. One idea is that select tissues make their own androgens from scratch to support behavioral performance. We first study this phenomenon in the skeletal muscles that actuate elaborate sociosexual displays in downy woodpeckers and two songbirds. We show that the woodpecker display muscle maintains elevated T when the testes are regressed in the non-breeding season. Both the display muscles of woodpeckers, as well as the display muscles in the avian vocal organ (syrinx or SYR) of songbirds, express all transporters and enzymes necessary to convert cholesterol into bioactive androgens locally. In a final analysis, we broaden our study by looking for these same transporters and enzymes in mammalian muscles that operate at different speeds. Using RNA-seq data, we find that the capacity for de novo synthesis is only present in "superfast" extraocular muscle. Together, our results suggest that skeletal muscle specialized to generate extraordinary twitch-times and/or extremely rapid contractile speeds may depend on androgenic hormones produced locally within the muscle itself. Our study therefore uncovers an important new dimension of androgenic regulation of behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric R Schuppe
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, 215 Tower Road, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Daniel Tobiansky
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University, 171 Meeting Street, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Franz Goller
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, USA.,Institute for Zoophysiology, University of Münster, Germany
| | - Matthew J Fuxjager
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University, 171 Meeting Street, Providence, RI 02912, USA
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16
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Lee NS, Beery AK. Selectivity and Sociality: Aggression and Affiliation Shape Vole Social Relationships. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:826831. [PMID: 35330842 PMCID: PMC8940285 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.826831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The formation of selective social relationships is not a requirement of group living; sociality can be supported by motivation for social interaction in the absence of preferences for specific individuals, and by tolerance in place of social motivation. For species that form selective social relationships, these can be maintained by preference for familiar partners, as well as by avoidance of or aggression toward individuals outside of the social bond. In this review, we explore the roles that aggression, motivation, and tolerance play in the maintenance of selective affiliation. We focus on prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) and meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) as rodent species that both exhibit the unusual tendency to form selective social relationships, but differ with regard to mating system. These species provide an opportunity to investigate the mechanisms that underlie social relationships, and to compare mechanisms supporting pair bonds with mates and same-sex peer relationships. We then relate this to the role of aggression in group composition in a comparative context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole S. Lee
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, United States
| | - Annaliese K. Beery
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
- *Correspondence: Annaliese K. Beery,
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17
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Fuxjager MJ, Fusani L, Schlinger BA. Physiological innovation and the evolutionary elaboration of courtship behaviour. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.03.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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18
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Easter C, Rowlands A, Hassall C, Hoppitt W. Aggression‐based social learning in the zebra finch (
Taeniopygia guttata
). Ethology 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Carrie Easter
- Faculty of Biological Sciences University of Leeds Leeds UK
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19
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George EM, Wolf SE, Bentz AB, Rosvall KA. Testing hormonal responses to real and simulated social challenges in a competitive female bird. Behav Ecol 2022; 33:233-244. [PMID: 35210941 PMCID: PMC8857935 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Revised: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 08/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Competitive interactions often occur in series; therefore animals may respond to social challenges in ways that prepare them for success in future conflict. Changes in the production of the steroid hormone testosterone (T) are thought to mediate phenotypic responses to competition, but research over the past few decades has yielded mixed results, leading to several potential explanations as to why T does not always elevate following a social challenge. Here, we measured T levels in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), a system in which females compete for limited nesting cavities and female aggression is at least partially mediated by T. We experimentally induced social challenges in two ways: (1) using decoys to simulate territorial intrusions and (2) removing subsets of nesting cavities to increase competition among displaced and territory-holding females. Critically, these experiments occurred pre-laying, when females are physiologically capable of rapidly increasing circulating T levels. However, despite marked aggression in both experiments, T did not elevate following real or simulated social challenges, and in some cases, socially challenged females had lower T levels than controls. Likewise, the degree of aggression was negatively correlated with T levels following a simulated territorial intrusion. Though not in line with the idea that social challenges prompt T elevation in preparation for future challenges, these patterns nevertheless connect T to territorial aggression in females. Coupled with past work showing that T promotes aggression, these results suggest that T may act rapidly to allow animals to adaptively respond to the urgent demands of a competitive event.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth M George
- Department of Biology, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Sarah E Wolf
- Department of Biology, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Alexandra B Bentz
- Department of Biology, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Kimberly A Rosvall
- Department of Biology, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA
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20
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Reyes F, Quintana L, Tassino B. Association of androgens and estrogens with agonistic behavior in the annual fish Austrolebias reicherti. Horm Behav 2021; 136:105064. [PMID: 34653914 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105064] [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: 12/11/2020] [Revised: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Agonistic behavior governs the settlement of conflicts among conspecifics for limiting resources. Sex steroids play a critical role in the regulation of agonistic behavior which in turn may produce modulations in hormone titres. In this study we analyzed the association of androgens and estrogens with agonistic behavior in the annual fish Austrolebias reicherti. This native species inhabits temporary ponds that dry out completely during summer, having one of the shortest lifespans among vertebrates. They are highly sexually dimorphic and have a single breeding season during which they reproduce continuously. Here we measured plasma levels of 11-ketotestosterone (11KT) and 17β-estradiol (E2) in adult males after the resolution of a social conflict and assessed the role of the aromatase conversion of testosterone (T) to E2 in male aggression. Winners had higher levels of 11KT than losers yet; winner 11KT levels did not differ from those of males not exposed to a social challenge. E2 levels did not show differences among winners, losers or control males. However, fights under the aromatase inhibitor Fadrozole were overall less aggressive than control fights. Our results suggest an androgen response to losing a conflict and that the conversion of T to E2 is involved in the regulation of aggressive behavior. Annual fish extreme life history may give new insights on hormone-behavior interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Reyes
- Sección Etología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Uruguay; Bases Neurales de la Conducta, Departamento de Neurofisiología Molecular y Celular, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Ministerio de Educación y Cultura, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Laura Quintana
- Bases Neurales de la Conducta, Departamento de Neurofisiología Molecular y Celular, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Ministerio de Educación y Cultura, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Bettina Tassino
- Sección Etología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Uruguay.
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21
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Olvera‐Ramos JA, Cárdenas‐León M, Luis J. Territorial aggression by dwarf hamster females (Phodopus campbelli): A hormonal approach. Aggress Behav 2021; 47:276-283. [PMID: 33269532 DOI: 10.1002/ab.21943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2020] [Revised: 11/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Females of many vertebrate species are territorial. However, few studies have been performed on territorial aggression and its hormonal bases in females. The present study determined whether dwarf hamster females (Phodopus campbelli) display territorial aggression and the role that estradiol (E2 ) and progesterone (P4 ) play in this behavior. Two experiments were carried out. First, 28 virgin females were mated with sexually inexperienced males. The females were submitted to oviduct ligation 2 weeks before mating to prevent pregnancy. After 15 days of mating, 16 out of 28 females were submitted to resident-intruder tests, whereas the remaining 12 females were nonconfronted. Blood samples were collected 30 min after the aggression tests to determine E2 and P4 by ELISA. In the second experiment, 40 females were mated with vasectomized males. Thirty days after mating, 30 dwarf hamsters were subjected to ovariectomy; 10 were nontreated, 10 were treated with E2 , and 10 with P4 . The remaining 10 were sham-operated. All females were submitted to resident-intruder tests, and blood samples were taken to quantify E2 and P4 . In the first experiment, 87.5% of dwarf hamster females displayed territorial aggression, and in the second, 100% of females were aggressive. Ovariectomy and ovariectomy plus E2 or P4 replacement did not affect aggressive territorial behavior. These results showed that this species' females are territorial, and this behavior is not dependent on ovarian steroid hormones.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mario Cárdenas‐León
- Laboratorio de Biología de la Reproducción, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán Ciudad de México Mexico
| | - Juana Luis
- Laboratorio de Biología de la Reproducción, UMF, FES Iztacala Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Tlalnepantla Edo. de México Mexico
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22
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Liu PC, Hao DJ, Hu W, Wei JR, Wang JJ. Life history of aggression in Anastatus disparis (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae) with extreme male-male combat. BULLETIN OF ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2021; 111:146-152. [PMID: 32677606 DOI: 10.1017/s0007485320000413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Aggressive behaviour is common in animals and typically has lifetime consequences. As younger males have higher residual reproductive value than older males and lose more from injuries than older males do, the propensity for fighting tends to increase with age in many empirical reports and species. However, fighting patterns in those empirical reports cannot confirm the hypothesis that individuals cannot readily inflict injuries on their opponents. To address this shortcoming, a parasitoid wasp species, Anastatus disparis (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae), was used as an experimental model to explore the characteristics of aggression from a life-history perspective; this wasp exhibits extreme fighting, resulting in contestants experiencing injury and death. Results showed that the energetic costs of fighting to injury significantly shortened life and caused the loss of most mating ability. Inconsistent with general predictions, the frequency and intensity of fighting in A. disparis significantly decreased with male age. Further study results showed significantly more young males were received by and successfully mated with virgin females, and most genes related to energy metabolism were downregulated in aged males. Our study provided supporting evidence that young A. disparis males show more aggression likely because of their resource holding potential and sexual attractiveness decline with age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng-Cheng Liu
- The College of Ecology and Environment, Anhui Normal University, Anhui Province, China
| | - De-Jun Hao
- The College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Wei Hu
- The College of Ecology and Environment, Anhui Normal University, Anhui Province, China
| | - Jian-Rong Wei
- The College of Life Science, Hebei University, Hebei Province, China
| | - Jian-Jun Wang
- Liaoning Academy of Forestry Science, Shenyang Province, China
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23
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Vaht M. Variation rs6971 in the Translocator Protein Gene ( TSPO) is Associated with Aggressiveness and Impulsivity but Not with Anxiety in a Population-Representative Sample of Young Adults. The Journal of Genetic Psychology 2021; 182:149-162. [PMID: 33769215 DOI: 10.1080/00221325.2021.1896470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Expression of the 18-kDa translocator protein (TSPO), originally identified as a peripheral benzodiazepine receptor, has been found to be altered in several psychiatric disorders. A common single nucleotide polymorphism (rs6971) in the TSPO gene leads to an amino acid substitution, Ala147Thr, which dramatically alters the affinity with which TSPO binds drug ligands. As cholesterol also binds TSPO in the same transmembrane domain, it is suggested that this substitution may impair the ability of TSPO to bind or import cholesterol, and hence may affect steroid synthesis and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function. The analysis was carried out on older birth cohort (n = 655) of the longitudinal Estonian Children Personality, Behavior and Health Study sample. Anxiety, aggressive behavior, impulsiveness, and history of stressful life events were self-reported in various data collection waves. Psychiatric assessment of lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders was carried out at 25 years of age by experienced clinical psychologists. TSPO rs6971 was genotyped in all participants. TSPO rs6971 was not associated with self-reported levels of anxiety or lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders. However, participants homozygous for the minor A allele displayed the highest aggressiveness and dysfunctional impulsivity scores. The positive, adaptive aspect of impulsivity was sensitive to stressful life events, as the AA genotype was associated with functional impulsivity only when the participants had experienced a low number of stressful life events during childhood. TSPO rs6971 polymorphism may be related to development of aggressiveness and impulsivity by adulthood, regardless of the participants' gender.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariliis Vaht
- Institute of Psychology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.,Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
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24
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Sabbi KH, Emery Thompson M, Machanda ZP, Otali E, Wrangham RW, Muller MN. Sex differences in early experience and the development of aggression in wild chimpanzees. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2017144118. [PMID: 33727418 PMCID: PMC8000022 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2017144118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex differences in physical aggression occur across human cultures and are thought to be influenced by active sex role reinforcement. However, sex differences in aggression also exist in our close evolutionary relatives, chimpanzees, who do not engage in active teaching, but do exhibit long juvenile periods and complex social systems that allow differential experience to shape behavior. Here we ask whether early life exposure to aggression is sexually dimorphic in wild chimpanzees and, if so, whether other aspects of early sociality contribute to this difference. Using 13 y of all-occurrence aggression data collected from the Kanyawara community of chimpanzees (2005 to 2017), we determined that young male chimpanzees were victims of aggression more often than females by between 4 and 5 (i.e., early in juvenility). Combining long-term aggression data with data from a targeted study of social development (2015 to 2017), we found that two potential risk factors for aggression-time spent near adult males and time spent away from mothers-did not differ between young males and females. Instead, the major risk factor for receiving aggression was the amount of aggression that young chimpanzees displayed, which was higher for males than females throughout the juvenile period. In multivariate models, sex did not mediate this relationship, suggesting that other chimpanzees did not target young males specifically, but instead responded to individual behavior that differed by sex. Thus, social experience differed by sex even in the absence of explicit gender socialization, but experiential differences were shaped by early-emerging sex differences in behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kris H Sabbi
- Department of Anthropology, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155;
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
| | - Melissa Emery Thompson
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
- Kibale Chimpanzee Project, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | - Zarin P Machanda
- Department of Anthropology, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155
- Kibale Chimpanzee Project, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | - Emily Otali
- Kibale Chimpanzee Project, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | - Richard W Wrangham
- Kibale Chimpanzee Project, Fort Portal, Uganda
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 87131
| | - Martin N Muller
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
- Kibale Chimpanzee Project, Fort Portal, Uganda
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25
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Jalabert C, Ma C, Soma KK. Profiling of systemic and brain steroids in male songbirds: Seasonal changes in neurosteroids. J Neuroendocrinol 2021; 33:e12922. [PMID: 33314446 DOI: 10.1111/jne.12922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2020] [Revised: 11/13/2020] [Accepted: 11/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Steroids are secreted by the gonads and adrenal glands into the blood to modulate neurophysiology and behaviour. In addition, the brain can metabolise circulating steroids and synthesise steroids de novo. Songbirds show high levels of neurosteroid synthesis. In the present study, we developed and validated a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assay for the measurement of 10 steroids in whole blood, plasma and microdissected brain tissue (1-2 mg) of song sparrows. Our assay is highly accurate, precise, specific and sensitive. Moreover, the liquid-liquid extraction is fast, simple and effective. We quantified steroids in the blood and brain of wild male song sparrows in both breeding and non-breeding seasons. As expected, systemic androgen levels were higher in the breeding season than in the non-breeding season. Brain androgens were detectable only in the breeding season; androstenedione and 5α-dihydrotestosterone levels were up to 20-fold higher in specific brain regions than in blood. Oestrogens were not detectable in blood in both seasons. Oestrone and 17β-oestradiol were detectable in brain in the breeding season only (up to 1.4 ng g-1 combined). Progesterone levels in several regions were higher in the non-breeding season than the breeding season, despite the lack of seasonal changes in systemic progesterone. Corticosterone levels in the blood were higher in the breeding season than in the non-breeding season but showed few seasonal differences in the brain. In general, the steroid levels presented here are lower than those in previous reports using immunoassays, because of the higher specificity of mass spectrometry. We conclude that (i) brain steroid levels can differ greatly from circulating steroid levels and (ii) brain steroid levels show region-specific seasonal patterns that are not a simple reflection of circulating steroid levels. This approach using ultrasensitive LC-MS/MS is broadly applicable to other species and allows steroid profiling in microdissected brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Jalabert
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Chunqi Ma
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Kiran K Soma
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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26
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Rasmussen EB, Newland MC, Hemmelman E. The Relevance of Operant Behavior in Conceptualizing the Psychological Well-Being of Captive Animals. Perspect Behav Sci 2020; 43:617-654. [PMID: 33029580 PMCID: PMC7490306 DOI: 10.1007/s40614-020-00259-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The term "psychological well-being" is used in reference to husbandry with animals in human care settings such as research, agriculture, and zoos. This article seeks to clarify and conceptualize the term based upon two approaches that draw from several bodies of literature: the experimental analysis of behavior, experimental psychology, animal welfare and husbandry, farm animal behavior, zoo husbandry, and ethology. One approach focuses on the presence of problem behavior such as stereotypies, depressive-like behavior, and aggression, and emphasizes the conditions under which aberrant behavior in animals under human care occurs. The second approach examines what might be considered wellness by emphasizing opportunities to engage with its environment, or the absence of such opportunities, even if problematic behavior is not exhibited. Here, access to an interactive environment is relatively limited so opportunities for operant (voluntary) behavior could be considered. Designing for operant behavior provides opportunities for variability in both behavior and outcomes. Operant behavior also provides control over the environment, a characteristic that has been a core assumption of well-being. The importance of interactions with one's environment is especially evident in observations that animals prefer opportunities to work for items necessary for sustenance, such as food, over having them delivered freely. These considerations raise the importance of operant behavior to psychological well-being, especially as benefits to animals under human care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin B. Rasmussen
- Department of Psychology, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID 83209-8112 USA
| | | | - Ethan Hemmelman
- Department of Psychology, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID 83209-8112 USA
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Whitham JC, Bryant JL, Miller LJ. Beyond Glucocorticoids: Integrating Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) into Animal Welfare Research. Animals (Basel) 2020; 10:E1381. [PMID: 32784884 PMCID: PMC7459918 DOI: 10.3390/ani10081381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2020] [Revised: 08/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Animal welfare researchers are committed to identifying novel measures for enhancing the quality of life of individual animals. Recently, welfare scientists have emphasized the need for tracking multiple indicators of an animal's behavioral, emotional and mental health. Researchers are currently focused on integrating non-invasive physiological biomarkers to gain insight into an individual's welfare status. Most commonly, the animal welfare community has analyzed glucocorticoid hormones and their metabolites as a measure of stress. While glucocorticoids provide valuable information about hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, there are limitations to utilizing these hormones as the sole measure of long-term stress and welfare. Other biomarkers, such as dehydroepiandrosterone and its sulfate ester-collectively referred to as DHEA(S)-help provide a more complete picture of HPA activity. DHEA(S) counteracts the effects glucocorticoids by having anti-aging, immune-enhancing and neuroprotective properties. Recent studies have examined the ratio of glucocorticoids to DHEA(S) as a way to better understand how the HPA axis is functioning. There is evidence that this ratio serves as an indicator of immune function, mental health, cognitive performance and overall welfare. We review studies that employed the glucocorticoid:DHEA(S) ratio, outline methodological considerations and discuss how researchers can integrate glucocorticoids, DHEA(S) and the glucocorticoid:DHEA(S) ratio into welfare assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica C. Whitham
- Chicago Zoological Society-Brookfield Zoo, 3300 Golf Road, Brookfield, IL 60513, USA;
| | | | - Lance J. Miller
- Chicago Zoological Society-Brookfield Zoo, 3300 Golf Road, Brookfield, IL 60513, USA;
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Rendon NM, Petersen CL, Munley KM, Amez AC, Boyes DL, Kingsbury MA, Demas GE. Seasonal patterns of melatonin alter aggressive phenotypes of female Siberian hamsters. J Neuroendocrinol 2020; 32:e12894. [PMID: 32808694 DOI: 10.1111/jne.12894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Revised: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Many animal species exhibit year-round aggression, a behaviour that allows individuals to compete for limited resources in their environment (eg, food and mates). Interestingly, this high degree of territoriality persists during the non-breeding season, despite low levels of circulating gonadal steroids (ie, testosterone [T] and oestradiol [E2 ]). Our previous work suggests that the pineal hormone melatonin mediates a 'seasonal switch' from gonadal to adrenal regulation of aggression in Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus); solitary, seasonally breeding mammals that display increased aggression during the short, 'winter-like' days (SDs) of the non-breeding season. To test the hypothesis that melatonin elevates non-breeding aggression by increasing circulating and neural steroid metabolism, we housed female hamsters in long days (LDs) or SDs, administered them timed or mis-timed melatonin injections (mimic or do not mimic a SD-like signal, respectively), and measured aggression, circulating hormone profiles and aromatase (ARO) immunoreactivity in brain regions associated with aggressive or reproductive behaviours (paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus [PVN], periaqueductal gray [PAG] and ventral tegmental area [VTA]). Females that were responsive to SD photoperiods (SD-R) and LD females given timed melatonin injections (Mel-T) exhibited gonadal regression and reduced circulating E2 , but increased aggression and circulating dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Furthermore, aggressive challenges differentially altered circulating hormone profiles across seasonal phenotypes; reproductively inactive females (ie, SD-R and Mel-T females) reduced circulating DHEA and T, but increased E2 after an aggressive interaction, whereas reproductively active females (ie, LD females, SD non-responder females and LD females given mis-timed melatonin injections) solely increased circulating E2 . Although no differences in neural ARO abundance were observed, LD and SD-R females showed distinct associations between ARO cell density and aggressive behaviour in the PVN, PAG and VTA. Taken together, these results suggest that melatonin increases non-breeding aggression by elevating circulating steroid metabolism after an aggressive encounter and by regulating behaviourally relevant neural circuits in a region-specific manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikki M Rendon
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | | | - Kathleen M Munley
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Andrea C Amez
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Daniel L Boyes
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Marcy A Kingsbury
- Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Gregory E Demas
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
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Kelly AM, Wilson LC. Aggression: Perspectives from social and systems neuroscience. Horm Behav 2020; 123:104523. [PMID: 31002771 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2019] [Revised: 04/14/2019] [Accepted: 04/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Exhibiting behavioral plasticity in order to mount appropriate responses to dynamic and novel social environments is crucial to the survival of all animals. Thus, how animals regulate flexibility in the timing, duration, and intensity of specific behaviors is of great interest to biologists. In this review, we discuss how animals rapidly respond to social challenges, with a particular focus on aggression. We utilize a conceptual framework to understand the neural mechanisms of aggression that is grounded in Wingfield and colleagues' Challenge Hypothesis, which has profoundly influenced how scientists think about aggression and the mechanisms that allow animals to exhibit flexible responses to social instability. Because aggressive behavior is rooted in social interactions, we propose that mechanisms modulating prosocial behavior may be intricately tied to mechanisms of aggression. Therefore, in order to better understand how aggressive behavior is mediated, we draw on perspectives from social neuroscience and discuss how social context, species-typical behavioral phenotype, and neural systems commonly studied in relation to prosocial behavior (i.e., neuropeptides) contribute to organizing rapid responses to social challenges. Because complex behaviors are not the result of one mechanism or a single neural system, we consider how multiple neural systems important for prosocial and aggressive behavior (i.e., neuropeptides and neurosteroids) interact in the brain to produce behavior in a rapid, context-appropriate manner. Applying a systems neuroscience perspective and seeking to understand how multiple systems functionally integrate to rapidly modulate behavior holds great promise for expanding our knowledge of the mechanisms underlying social behavioral plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aubrey M Kelly
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
| | - Leah C Wilson
- Department of Biology, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME 04011, USA
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Rosvall KA, Bentz AB, George EM. How research on female vertebrates contributes to an expanded challenge hypothesis. Horm Behav 2020; 123:104565. [PMID: 31419407 PMCID: PMC7061077 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2019] [Revised: 08/08/2019] [Accepted: 08/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The bi-directional links between hormones and behavior have been a rich area of research for decades. Theory on the evolution of testosterone (T) was greatly advanced by the challenge hypothesis, which presented a framework for understanding interspecific, seasonal, and social variation in T levels in males, and how they are shaped by the competing demands of parental care and male-male competition. Female competition is also widespread in nature, although it is less clear whether or how the challenge hypothesis applies to females. Here, we evaluate this issue in four parts: (1) We summarize and update prior analyses of seasonal plasticity and interspecific variation in T in females. (2) We evaluate experimental links between T and female aggression on shorter timescales, asking how T manipulations affect aggression and conversely, how social manipulations affect T levels in female mammals, birds, lizards, and fishes. (3) We examine alternative mechanisms that may link aggression to the social environment independently of T levels in circulation. (4) We present a case study, including new data analyses, in an aggressive female bird (the tree swallow, Tachycineta bicolor) to explore how variation in tissue-level processing of T may bridge the gap between circulating T and variation in behavior that is visible to natural selection. We close by connecting these multivariate levels of sex steroid signaling systems alongside different temporal scales (social, seasonal, and evolutionary) to generate broadly applicable insights into how animals respond to their social environment, regardless of whether they are male or female.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly A Rosvall
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA; Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
| | - Alexandra B Bentz
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA; Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Elizabeth M George
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA; Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
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Ball GF, Balthazart J. The neuroendocrine integration of environmental information, the regulation and action of testosterone and the challenge hypothesis. Horm Behav 2020; 123:104574. [PMID: 31442427 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2019] [Revised: 08/14/2019] [Accepted: 08/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The authors of the original challenge hypothesis proposed influential hypotheses concerning the relationship between testosterone concentrations in the blood and aggressive social behaviors. Many of the key observations were made in avian species studied in the wild and in captivity. In this review we evaluate some remaining questions about the ideas discussed in the challenge hypothesis from a neuroendocrine perspective. For example, a rise in testosterone in response to a social aggressive stimulus might involve complex social information being processed by the brain and an appropriate signal sent to the gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neuronal system. Alternatively, social stimuli could more directly stimulate the testis and testosterone release via sympathetic innervation of the testis though such pathways have not been linked to a response to social behaviors. The social behavior decision network in the brain seems to play a key role in the regulation of aggressive behavior but how sensory information concerning aggressive behaviors is interpreted appropriately, processed by the social decision network and sent to the GnRH system is still not well understood. There are continuing questions about the extensive species variation in whether an increase in testosterone occurs in response to a territorial challenge, what its function might be and whether increases in testosterone are necessary to activate morphological changes, or the expression of sexual and aggressive behaviors associated with successful reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory F Ball
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 201742, USA.
| | - Jacques Balthazart
- Neuroendocrinology Unit, GIGA Neurosciences, University of Liège, 15 avenue Hippocrate (B36), 4000 Liège, Belgium
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Wingfield JC, Ramenofsky M, Hegner RE, Ball GF. Whither the challenge hypothesis? Horm Behav 2020; 123:104588. [PMID: 31525343 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2019] [Revised: 09/12/2019] [Accepted: 09/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Almost fifty years ago the advent of assay methods to measure circulating levels of hormones revolutionized endocrinology in relation to investigations of free-living and captive animals. This new field "environmental endocrinology" revealed that endocrine profiles in animals in their natural habitat were not only different from captive animals, but often deviated from predictions. It quickly became apparent that the organization and analysis of data from the field should be sorted by life history stages such as for reproductive processes, migration, molt etc. and spaced in time according to natural duration of those processes. Presentation of data by calendar date alone gives much simpler, even misleading, patterns. Stage-organized analyses revealed species-specific patterns of hormone secretion and dramatic inter-individual differences. The "Challenge Hypothesis" sparked exploration of these results, which diverged from expectations of hormone-behavior interactions. The hypothesis led to specific predictions about how the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonad axis, and particularly circulating patterns of testosterone, might respond to social challenges such as simulated territorial intrusions. Initially, a group of studies on free-living and captive birds played a key role in the formulation of the hypothesis. Over the decades since, the effects of social challenge and environmental context on hormonal responses have been tested in all vertebrate taxa, including humans, as well as in insects. Although it is now clear that the Challenge Hypothesis in its original form is simplistic, field and laboratory tests of the hypothesis have led to other concepts that have become seminal to the development of environmental endocrinology as a field. In this special issue these developments are addressed and examples from many different taxa enrich the emerging concepts, paving the way for investigations using recent technologies for genetic and transcriptome analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- John C Wingfield
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
| | - Marilyn Ramenofsky
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Robert E Hegner
- ICF Incorporated, 27 Tanglewood Road, Amherst, MA 01002, USA
| | - Gregory F Ball
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
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Affiliation(s)
- Donna L Maney
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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Wingfield JC, Goymann W, Jalabert C, Soma KK. Reprint of "Concepts derived from the Challenge Hypothesis". Horm Behav 2020; 123:104802. [PMID: 32540136 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2019] [Revised: 06/28/2019] [Accepted: 06/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The Challenge Hypothesis was developed to explain why and how regulatory mechanisms underlying patterns of testosterone secretion vary so much across species and populations as well as among and within individuals. The hypothesis has been tested many times over the past 30years in all vertebrate groups as well as some invertebrates. Some experimental tests supported the hypothesis but many did not. However, the emerging concepts and methods extend and widen the Challenge Hypothesis to potentially all endocrine systems, and not only control of secretion, but also transport mechanisms and how target cells are able to adjust their responsiveness to circulating levels of hormones independently of other tissues. The latter concept may be particularly important in explaining how tissues respond differently to the same hormone concentration. Responsiveness of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonad (HPG) axis to environmental and social cues regulating reproductive functions may all be driven by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) or gonadotropin-inhibiting hormone (GnIH), but the question remains as to how different contexts and social interactions result in stimulation of GnRH or GnIH release. These concepts, although suspected for many decades, continue to be explored as integral components of environmental endocrinology and underlie fundamental mechanisms by which animals, including ourselves, cope with a changing environment. Emerging mass spectrometry techniques will have a tremendous impact enabling measurement of multiple steroids in specific brain regions. Such data will provide greater spatial resolution for studying how social challenges impact multiple steroids within the brain. Potentially the Challenge Hypothesis will continue to stimulate new ways to explore hormone-behavior interactions and generate future hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- John C Wingfield
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
| | - Wolfgang Goymann
- Department of Behavioral Neurobiology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Cecilia Jalabert
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Djavad Mofawaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Kiran K Soma
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Djavad Mofawaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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Brain transcriptomics of agonistic behaviour in the weakly electric fish Gymnotus omarorum, a wild teleost model of non-breeding aggression. Sci Rep 2020; 10:9496. [PMID: 32528029 PMCID: PMC7289790 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-66494-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2019] [Accepted: 05/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Differences in social status are often mediated by agonistic encounters between competitors. Robust literature has examined social status-dependent brain gene expression profiles across vertebrates, yet social status and reproductive state are often confounded. It has therefore been challenging to identify the neuromolecular mechanisms underlying social status independent of reproductive state. Weakly electric fish, Gymnotus omarorum, display territorial aggression and social dominance independent of reproductive state. We use wild-derived G. omarorum males to conduct a transcriptomic analysis of non-breeding social dominance relationships. After allowing paired rivals to establish a dominance hierarchy, we profiled the transcriptomes of brain sections containing the preoptic area (region involved in regulating aggressive behaviour) in dominant and subordinate individuals. We identified 16 differentially expressed genes (FDR < 0.05) and numerous genes that co-varied with behavioural traits. We also compared our results with previous reports of differential gene expression in other teleost species. Overall, our study establishes G. omarorum as a powerful model system for understanding the neuromolecular bases of social status independent of reproductive state.
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Zubizarreta L, Silva AC, Quintana L. The estrogenic pathway modulates non-breeding female aggression in a teleost fish. Physiol Behav 2020; 220:112883. [PMID: 32199998 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.112883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2020] [Revised: 03/06/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Aggressive behaviors are widespread among animals and are critical in the competition for resources. The physiological mechanisms underlying aggression have mostly been examined in breeding males, in which gonadal androgens, acting in part through their aromatization to estrogens, have a key role. There are two alternative models that contribute to further understanding hormonal mechanisms underlying aggression: aggression displayed in the non-breeding season, when gonadal steroids are low, and female aggression. In this study we approach, for the first time, the modulatory role of estrogens and androgens upon non-breeding aggression in a wild female teleost fish. We characterized female aggression in the weakly electric fish Gymnotus omarorum and carried out acute treatments 1 h prior to agonistic encounters in dyads treated with either an aromatase inhibitor or an antagonist of androgen receptors. Anti-androgen treatment had no effect on behavior whereas acute aromatase inhibition caused a strong distortion of aggressive behavior. Territorial non-breeding aggression was robust and depended on rapid estrogen actions to maintain high levels of aggression, and ultimately reach conflict resolution from which dominant/subordinate status emerged. Our results, taken together with our own reports in males and the contributions from non-breeding aggression in bird and mammal models, suggest a common strategy involving fast-acting estrogens in the control of this behavior across species. In addition, further analysis of female non-breeding aggression may shed light on potential sexual differences in the fine tuning of social behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucía Zubizarreta
- Laboratorio de Neurofisiología Celular y Sináptica, Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Avenida Gral. Flores 2125, Montevideo, Uruguay; Unidad Bases Neurales de la Conducta, Departamento de Neurofisiología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Avenida Italia 3318, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Ana C Silva
- Unidad Bases Neurales de la Conducta, Departamento de Neurofisiología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Avenida Italia 3318, Montevideo, Uruguay; Laboratorio de Neurociencias, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Iguá 4225, 11400 Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Laura Quintana
- Unidad Bases Neurales de la Conducta, Departamento de Neurofisiología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Avenida Italia 3318, Montevideo, Uruguay.
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Vernasco BJ, Moore IT. Testosterone as a mediator of the tradeoff between cooperation and competition in the context of cooperative reproductive behaviors. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2020; 288:113369. [PMID: 31857075 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2019.113369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2019] [Revised: 11/18/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Behavioral tradeoffs occur when the expression of one behavior detracts from the expression of another. Understanding the proximate mediators of behavioral tradeoffs is important as these tradeoffs can act as potential constraints on evolutionary responses to selection. Here, we describe the tradeoff between cooperation and competition faced by species that exhibit cooperative reproductive behaviors and propose that testosterone is a key hormonal mediator of the tradeoff. Cooperative reproductive behaviors occur when multiple individuals coordinate their efforts to gain a reproductive advantage over other individuals and/or those individuals attempting to reproduce in absence of cooperation. We propose that testosterone, a sex steroid known to mediate a number of physiological and behavioral actions associated with reproductive competition, is involved in mediating the tradeoff between cooperation and competition. To support this proposition, we first describe the importance of individual variation in behavior to the evolution of cooperative behaviors. We then describe how proximate mechanisms represent a prominent source of individual variation in social behaviors and highlight evidence suggesting testosterone mediates variation in cooperative behaviors. Two case studies in which the relationship between testosterone and cooperative behaviors have been investigated in detail are then summarized. Throughout we highlight the importance of studying individual variation to understand the mechanistic basis of behaviors, behavioral tradeoffs, and the evolution of cooperative reproductive behaviors more broadly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben J Vernasco
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA; School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
| | - Ignacio T Moore
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
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39
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Ren CC, Sylvia KE, Munley KM, Deyoe JE, Henderson SG, Vu MP, Demas GE. Photoperiod modulates the gut microbiome and aggressive behavior in Siberian hamsters. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 223:jeb.212548. [PMID: 31862850 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.212548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Seasonally breeding animals undergo shifts in physiology and behavior in response to changes in photoperiod (day length). Interestingly, some species, such as Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus), are more aggressive during the short-day photoperiods of the non-breeding season, despite gonadal regression. While our previous data suggest that Siberian hamsters employ a 'seasonal switch' from gonadal to adrenal regulation of aggression during short-day photoperiods, there is emerging evidence that the gut microbiome, an environment of symbiotic bacteria within the gastrointestinal tract, may also change seasonally and modulate social behaviors. The goal of this study was to compare seasonal shifts in the gut microbiome, circulating levels of adrenal dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and aggression in male and female Siberian hamsters. Hamsters were housed in either long-day (LD) or short-day (SD) photoperiods for 9 weeks. Fecal samples were collected and behaviors were recorded following 3, 6 and 9 weeks of housing, and circulating DHEA was measured at week 9. SD females that were responsive to changes in photoperiod (SD-R), but not SD-R males, displayed increased aggression following 9 weeks of treatment. SD-R males and females also exhibited distinct changes in the relative abundance of gut bacterial phyla and families, yet showed no change in circulating DHEA. The relative abundance of some bacterial families (e.g. Anaeroplasmataceae in females) was associated with aggression in SD-R but not LD or SD non-responder (SD-NR) hamsters after 9 weeks of treatment. Collectively, this study provides insight into the complex role of the microbiome in regulating social behavior in seasonally breeding species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clarissa C Ren
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Kristyn E Sylvia
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Kathleen M Munley
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Jessica E Deyoe
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Sarah G Henderson
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Michael P Vu
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Gregory E Demas
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
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40
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Munley KM, Deyoe JE, Ren CC, Demas GE. Melatonin mediates seasonal transitions in aggressive behavior and circulating androgen profiles in male Siberian hamsters. Horm Behav 2020; 117:104608. [PMID: 31669179 PMCID: PMC6980702 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2019] [Revised: 09/30/2019] [Accepted: 10/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Some seasonally-breeding animals are more aggressive during the short, "winter-like" days (SD) of the non-breeding season, despite gonadal regression and reduced circulating androgen levels. While the mechanisms underlying SD increases in aggression are not well understood, previous work from our lab suggests that pineal melatonin (MEL) and the adrenal androgen dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) are important in facilitating non-breeding aggression in Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus). To characterize the role of MEL in modulating seasonal transitions in aggressive behavior, we housed male hamsters in long days (LD) or SD, treated them with timed MEL (M) or saline injections, and measured aggression after 3, 6, and 9 weeks. Furthermore, to assess whether MEL mediates seasonal shifts in gonadal and adrenal androgen synthesis, serum testosterone (T) and DHEA concentrations were quantified 36 h before and immediately following an aggressive encounter. LD-M and SD males exhibited similar physiological and behavioral responses to treatment. Specifically, both LD-M and SD males displayed higher levels of aggression than LD males and reduced circulating DHEA and T in response to an aggressive encounter, whereas LD males elevated circulating androgens. Interestingly, LD and SD males exhibited distinct relationships between circulating androgens and aggressive behavior, in which changes in serum T following an aggressive interaction (∆T) were negatively correlated with aggression in LD males, while ∆DHEA was positively correlated with aggression in SD males. Collectively, these findings suggest that SD males transition from synthesis to metabolism of circulating androgens following an aggressive encounter, a mechanism that is modulated by MEL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen M Munley
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
| | - Jessica E Deyoe
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
| | - Clarissa C Ren
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
| | - Gregory E Demas
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
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Schuppe ER, Miles MC, Fuxjager MJ. Evolution of the androgen receptor: Perspectives from human health to dancing birds. Mol Cell Endocrinol 2020; 499:110577. [PMID: 31525432 DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2019.110577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2019] [Revised: 09/04/2019] [Accepted: 09/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Androgenic hormones orchestrate the development and activation of diverse reproductive phenotypes across vertebrates. Although extensive work investigates how selection for these traits modifies individual elements of this signaling system (e.g., hormone or androgen receptor [AR] levels), we know less about natural variation in the AR sequence across vertebrates. Our knowledge of AR sequence mutations is largely limited to work in human patients or cell-lines, providing a framework to contextualize single mutations at the expense of evolutionary timescale. Here we unite both perspectives in a review that explores the functional significance of AR on a domain-by-domain basis, using existing knowledge to highlight how and why each region might evolve. We then examine AR sequence variation on different timescales by examining sequence variation in clades originating in the Cambrian (vertebrates; >500 mya) and Cretaceous (birds; >65 mya). In each case, we characterize how the receptor has changed over time and discuss which regions are most likely to evolve in response to selection. Overall, domains that are required for androgenic signaling to function (e.g., DNA- and ligand-binding) tend to be conserved. Meanwhile, areas that interface with co-regulatory molecules can exhibit notable variation even between closely related species. We propose that accumulating mutations in regulatory regions is one way that AR structure might act as a substrate for selection to guide the evolution of reproductive traits. By synthesizing literature across disciplines and highlighting the evolutionary potential of specific AR regions, we hope to inspire new avenues of integrative research into endocrine system evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric R Schuppe
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Meredith C Miles
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA
| | - Matthew J Fuxjager
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA.
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Piña-Andrade S, Ramos G, Cárdenas-León M, Martínez A, Romero-Morales L, Martínez-Torres M, Cedillo-Ildefonso B, Luis J. Testosterone dependent territorial aggression is modulated by cohabitation with a female in male Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus). Horm Behav 2020; 117:104611. [PMID: 31669747 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Revised: 08/26/2019] [Accepted: 10/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Most mammal studies on the neuroendocrine mechanisms of territorial aggression have demonstrated that testosterone (T) is required for the display of territorial aggression. However, the relationship between T and aggression is more complex and may be modulated by social factor. The aim of this study was to determine the role of T in territorial aggression in the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus), and the effect of social factors on the modulation of this behavior. The relationship between T and territorial aggression was analyzed using castration and T replacement in two social contexts: male-male and male-female cohabitation. Plasma T concentrations in males of all groups were quantified by radioimmunoassay (RIA). T concentrations were compared using two-way ANOVA. Only sham-castrated and castrated males with T replacement in male-female cohabitation showed aggression, whereas castrated gerbils in the same condition were not aggressive. This indicates that T is the hormone that maintains territorial aggression, but mating is a modulator stimulus. The modulator effect of mating in territorial aggression was associated with an increase in T, but it seems that other mechanisms are involved in the regulation of this behavior, since castrated males with T replacement in the male-male cohabitation did not exhibit aggression, although they had T concentrations as high as these males that received the same treatment, but that cohabited with a female. These results suggest that T is involved in the mechanisms that regulate territorial aggression in the male Mongolian gerbil, and that the cohabitation with a female modulates this behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Piña-Andrade
- Laboratorio de Biología de la Reproducción, UMF, FES Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. de los Barrios No. 1, Tlalnepantla, Edo. de México, México
| | - Guillermo Ramos
- Laboratorio de Biología de la Reproducción, UMF, FES Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. de los Barrios No. 1, Tlalnepantla, Edo. de México, México.
| | - Mario Cárdenas-León
- Laboratorio de Biología de la Reproducción, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición, Salvador Zubirán, Ciudad de México, México.
| | - Ana Martínez
- Laboratorio de Biología de la Reproducción, UMF, FES Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. de los Barrios No. 1, Tlalnepantla, Edo. de México, México
| | - Luis Romero-Morales
- Laboratorio de Biología de la Reproducción, UMF, FES Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. de los Barrios No. 1, Tlalnepantla, Edo. de México, México
| | - Martín Martínez-Torres
- Laboratorio de Biología de la Reproducción, UMF, FES Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. de los Barrios No. 1, Tlalnepantla, Edo. de México, México.
| | - Benita Cedillo-Ildefonso
- Laboratorio de Psicología Experimental, FES Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México
| | - Juana Luis
- Laboratorio de Biología de la Reproducción, UMF, FES Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. de los Barrios No. 1, Tlalnepantla, Edo. de México, México.
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Bentz AB, Rusch DB, Buechlein A, Rosvall KA. The neurogenomic transition from territory establishment to parenting in a territorial female songbird. BMC Genomics 2019; 20:819. [PMID: 31699031 PMCID: PMC6836416 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-019-6202-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 10/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The brain plays a critical role in upstream regulation of processes central to mating effort, parental effort, and self-maintenance. For seasonally breeding animals, the brain is likely mediating trade-offs among these processes within a short breeding season, yet research thus far has only explored neurogenomic changes from non-breeding to breeding states or select pathways (e.g., steroids) in male and/or lab-reared animals. Here, we use RNA-seq to explore neural plasticity in three behaviorally relevant neural tissues (ventromedial telencephalon [VmT], hypothalamus [HYPO], and hindbrain [HB]), comparing free-living female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) as they shift from territory establishment to incubation. We additionally highlight changes in aggression-related genes to explore the potential for a neurogenomic shift in the mechanisms regulating aggression, a critical behavior both in establishing and maintaining a territory and in defense of offspring. Results HB had few differentially expressed genes, but VmT and HYPO had hundreds. In particular, VmT had higher expression of genes related to neuroplasticity and processes beneficial for competition during territory establishment, but down-regulated immune processes. HYPO showed signs of high neuroplasticity during incubation, and a decreased potential for glucocorticoid signaling. Expression of aggression-related genes also shifted from steroidal to non-steroidal pathways across the breeding season. Conclusions These patterns suggest trade-offs between enhanced activity and immunity in the VmT and between stress responsiveness and parental care in the HYPO, along with a potential shift in the mechanisms regulating aggression. Collectively, these data highlight important gene regulatory pathways that may underlie behavioral plasticity in females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra B Bentz
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA. .,Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA.
| | - Douglas B Rusch
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA.,Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
| | - Aaron Buechlein
- Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
| | - Kimberly A Rosvall
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA.,Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA
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Will A, Wynne‐Edwards K, Zhou R, Kitaysky A. Of 11 candidate steroids, corticosterone concentration standardized for mass is the most reliable steroid biomarker of nutritional stress across different feather types. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:11930-11943. [PMID: 31695898 PMCID: PMC6822065 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2019] [Revised: 08/28/2019] [Accepted: 09/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Measuring corticosterone in feathers has become an informative tool in avian ecology, enabling researchers to investigate carry-over effects and responses to environmental variability. Few studies have, however, explored whether corticosterone is the only hormone expressed in feathers and is the most indicative of environmental stress. Essential questions remain as to how to compare hormone concentrations across different types of feathers and whether preening adds steroids, applied after feather growth.We used liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry to quantify a suite of 11 steroid hormones in back, breast, tail, and primary feathers naturally grown at overlapping time intervals by rhinoceros auklet Cerorhinca monocerata captive-reared fledglings and wild-caught juveniles. The captive-reared birds were raised on either a restricted or control diet. Measured steroids included intermediates in the adrenal steroidogenesis pathway to glucocorticoids and the sex steroids pathway to androgens and estrogens.Corticosterone was detected in the majority of feathers of each type. We also detected cortisone in back feathers, androstenedione in breast feathers, and testosterone in primary feathers. Captive fledglings raised on a restricted diet had higher concentrations of corticosterone in all four feather types than captive fledglings raised on a control diet. Corticosterone concentrations were reliably repeatable across feather types when standardized for feather mass, but not for feather length. Of the seven hormones looked for in uropygial gland secretions, only corticosterone was detected in one out of 23 samples.We conclude that corticosterone is the best feather-steroid biomarker for detection of developmental nutritional stress, as it was the only hormone to manifest a signal of nutritional stress, and that exposure to stress can be compared among different feather types when corticosterone concentrations are standardized by feather mass.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis Will
- Institute of Arctic BiologyUniversity of Alaska FairbanksFairbanksAlaska
| | | | - Ruokun Zhou
- Veterinary Medicine & Hotchkiss Brain InstituteUniversity of CalgaryCalgaryAlberta
| | - Alexander Kitaysky
- Institute of Arctic BiologyUniversity of Alaska FairbanksFairbanksAlaska
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Balthazart J. New concepts in the study of the sexual differentiation and activation of reproductive behavior, a personal view. Front Neuroendocrinol 2019; 55:100785. [PMID: 31430485 PMCID: PMC6858558 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2019.100785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2019] [Revised: 08/13/2019] [Accepted: 08/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Since the beginning of this century, research methods in neuroendocrinology enjoyed extensive refinements and innovation. These advances allowed collection of huge amounts of new data and the development of new ideas but have not led to this point, with a few exceptions, to the development of new conceptual advances. Conceptual advances that took place largely resulted from the ingenious insights of several investigators. I summarize here some of these new ideas as they relate to the sexual differentiation and activation by sex steroids of reproductive behaviors and I discuss how our research contributed to the general picture. This selective review clearly demonstrates the importance of conceptual changes that have taken place in this field since beginning of the 21st century. The recent technological advances suggest that our understanding of hormones, brain and behavior relationships will continue to improve in a very fundamental manner over the coming years.
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The brain as a target of hormonal contraceptives: Evidence from animal studies. Front Neuroendocrinol 2019; 55:100799. [PMID: 31614151 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2019.100799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Revised: 10/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Hormonal contraceptives are frequently prescribed drugs among women, mainly for their reversible contraceptive purposes but also for beneficial effects in some gynecological pathologies. Despite extensive studies aimed at elucidating the physical effects of hormonal contraceptives and ameliorating some unwanted outcomes, little is known yet about the effects of these drugs on brain function and related behavior, which are known to be modulated by endogenous steroid hormones. We describe the current literature on preclinical studies in animals undertaken to investigate effects of hormonal contraceptives on brain function and behavior. These studies suggest that hormonal contraceptives influence neurohormones, neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, and emotional, cognitive, social and sexual behaviors. Animals allow examination of the basic biological mechanisms of these drugs, devoid of the psychological aspect often associated to hormonal contraceptives' use in women. Understanding the neurobiological effects of these drugs may improve women's health and may help women making informed choices on hormonal contraception.
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Wingfield JC, Goymann W, Jalabert C, Soma KK. Concepts derived from the Challenge Hypothesis. Horm Behav 2019; 115:104550. [PMID: 31265826 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.06.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2019] [Revised: 06/28/2019] [Accepted: 06/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The Challenge Hypothesis was developed to explain why and how regulatory mechanisms underlying patterns of testosterone secretion vary so much across species and populations as well as among and within individuals. The hypothesis has been tested many times over the past 30years in all vertebrate groups as well as some invertebrates. Some experimental tests supported the hypothesis but many did not. However, the emerging concepts and methods extend and widen the Challenge Hypothesis to potentially all endocrine systems, and not only control of secretion, but also transport mechanisms and how target cells are able to adjust their responsiveness to circulating levels of hormones independently of other tissues. The latter concept may be particularly important in explaining how tissues respond differently to the same hormone concentration. Responsiveness of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonad (HPG) axis to environmental and social cues regulating reproductive functions may all be driven by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) or gonadotropin-inhibiting hormone (GnIH), but the question remains as to how different contexts and social interactions result in stimulation of GnRH or GnIH release. These concepts, although suspected for many decades, continue to be explored as integral components of environmental endocrinology and underlie fundamental mechanisms by which animals, including ourselves, cope with a changing environment. Emerging mass spectrometry techniques will have a tremendous impact enabling measurement of multiple steroids in specific brain regions. Such data will provide greater spatial resolution for studying how social challenges impact multiple steroids within the brain. Potentially the Challenge Hypothesis will continue to stimulate new ways to explore hormone-behavior interactions and generate future hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- John C Wingfield
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
| | - Wolfgang Goymann
- Department of Behavioral Neurobiology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Cecilia Jalabert
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Djavad Mofawaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Kiran K Soma
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Djavad Mofawaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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Bentz AB, Philippi KJ, Rosvall KA. Evaluating seasonal patterns of female aggression: Case study in a cavity‐nesting bird with intense female–female competition. Ethology 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra B. Bentz
- Department of Biology Indiana University Bloomington Indiana
- Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior Indiana University Bloomington Indiana
| | | | - Kimberly A. Rosvall
- Department of Biology Indiana University Bloomington Indiana
- Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior Indiana University Bloomington Indiana
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Nicolini Y, Tramacere A, Parmigiani S, Dadomo H. Back to Stir It Up: Erectile Dysfunction in an Evolutionary, Developmental, and Clinical Perspective. JOURNAL OF SEX RESEARCH 2019; 56:378-390. [PMID: 29932774 DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2018.1480743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
In this review, we analyze erectile dysfunction (ED) in the context of sexual selection. We highlight that ED is a specific human male characteristic linked to the loss of the baculum or penile bone and results from a range of physical and psychological factors. We discuss evolutionary interpretations that consider dysfunctional penile erection as an honest signal of a low-quality male. We further emphasize the importance of considering psychosocial context and early attachment dynamics for understanding the etiology of some types of ED. Finally, we suggest that the integration of developmental factors for understanding the emergence of this sexual disorder is instrumental for the calibration of more effective therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ylenia Nicolini
- a Unit of Neuroscience, Department of Medicine and Surgery , University of Parma
| | - Antonella Tramacere
- b Lichtenberg-Kolleg/The Göttingen Institute for Advanced Study and the German Primate Center/Leibniz Institute for Primate Research , Georg-August-Universität Göttingen; Max Planck for the Science of Human History , Jena , Germany
| | - Stefano Parmigiani
- c Evolutionary and Functional Biology Unit, Department of Chemistry , Life Sciences and Sustainability, University of Parma
| | - Harold Dadomo
- a Unit of Neuroscience, Department of Medicine and Surgery , University of Parma
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Abstract
The tremendous diversity of animal behaviors has inspired generations of scientists from an array of biological disciplines. To complement investigations of ecological and evolutionary factors contributing to behavioral evolution, modern sequencing, gene editing, computational and neuroscience tools now provide a means to discover the proximate mechanisms upon which natural selection acts to generate behavioral diversity. Social behaviors are motivated behaviors that can differ tremendously between closely related species, suggesting phylogenetic plasticity in their underlying biological mechanisms. In addition, convergent evolution has repeatedly given rise to similar forms of social behavior and mating systems in distantly related species. Social behavioral divergence and convergence provides an entry point for understanding the neurogenetic mechanisms contributing to behavioral diversity. We argue that the greatest strides in discovering mechanisms contributing to social behavioral diversity will be achieved through integration of interdisciplinary comparative approaches with modern tools in diverse species systems. We review recent advances and future potential for discovering mechanisms underlying social behavioral variation; highlighting patterns of social behavioral evolution, oxytocin and vasopressin neuropeptide systems, genetic/transcriptional "toolkits," modern experimental tools, and alternative species systems, with particular emphasis on Microtine rodents and Lake Malawi cichlid fishes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary V Johnson
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Larry J Young
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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