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Brooker JS, Webb CE, de Waal FBM, Clay Z. The expression of empathy in human's closest relatives, bonobos and chimpanzees: current and future directions. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:1556-1575. [PMID: 38597291 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Empathy is a complex, multi-dimensional capacity that facilitates the sharing and understanding of others' emotions. As our closest living relatives, bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (P. troglodytes) provide an opportunity to explore the origins of hominin social cognition, including empathy. Despite certain assumptions that bonobos and chimpanzees may differ empathically, these species appear to overlap considerably in certain socio-emotional responses related to empathy. However, few studies have systematically tested for species variation in Pan empathic or socio-emotional tendencies. To address this, we synthesise the growing literature on Pan empathy to inform our understanding of the selection pressures that may underlie the evolution of hominin empathy, and its expression in our last common ancestor. As bonobos and chimpanzees show overlaps in their expression of complex socio-emotional phenomena such as empathy, we propose that group comparisons may be as or more meaningful than species comparisons when it comes to understanding the evolutionary pressures for such behaviour. Furthermore, key differences, such as how humans and Pan communicate, appear to distinguish how we experience empathy compared to our closest living relatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jake S Brooker
- Department of Psychology, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Christine E Webb
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Frans B M de Waal
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Zanna Clay
- Department of Psychology, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
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2
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Diaz AA, Hernández-Pacheco R, Rosati AG. Individual differences in sociocognitive traits in semi-free-ranging rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Am J Primatol 2024:e23660. [PMID: 38961748 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2024] [Revised: 05/02/2024] [Accepted: 06/21/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024]
Abstract
Characterizing individual differences in cognition is crucial for understanding the evolution of cognition as well as to test the biological consequences of different cognitive traits. Here, we harnessed the strengths of a uniquely large, naturally-living primate population at the Cayo Santiago Biological Field Station to characterized individual differences in rhesus monkey performance across two social cognitive tasks. A total of n = 204 semi-free-ranging adult rhesus monkeys participated in a data collection procedure, where we aimed to test individuals on both tasks at two time-points that were one year apart. In the socioemotional responses task, we assessed monkeys' attention to conspecific photographs with neutral versus negative emotional expressions. We found that monkeys showed overall declines in interest in conspecific photographs with age, but relative increases in attention to threat stimuli specifically, and further that these responses exhibited long-term stability across repeated testing. In the gaze following task we assessed monkeys' propensity to co-orient with an experimenter. Here, we found no evidence for age-related change in responses, and responses showed only limited repeatability over time. Finally, we found some evidence for common individual variation for performance across the tasks: monkeys that showed greater interest in conspecific photographs were more likely to follow a human's gaze. These results show how studies of comparative cognitive development and aging can provide insights into the evolution of cognition, and identify core primate social cognitive traits that may be related across and within individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis A Diaz
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, California, USA
| | | | - Alexandra G Rosati
- Departments of Psychology and Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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3
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Curry BA, Drane AL, Atencia R, Feltrer Y, Calvi T, Milnes EL, Moittié S, Weigold A, Knauf-Witzens T, Sawung Kusuma A, Howatson G, Palmer C, Stembridge MR, Gorzynski JE, Eves ND, Dawkins TG, Shave RE. Left ventricular trabeculation in Hominidae: divergence of the human cardiac phenotype. Commun Biol 2024; 7:682. [PMID: 38877299 PMCID: PMC11178792 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06280-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Although the gross morphology of the heart is conserved across mammals, subtle interspecific variations exist in the cardiac phenotype, which may reflect evolutionary divergence among closely-related species. Here, we compare the left ventricle (LV) across all extant members of the Hominidae taxon, using 2D echocardiography, to gain insight into the evolution of the human heart. We present compelling evidence that the human LV has diverged away from a more trabeculated phenotype present in all other great apes, towards a ventricular wall with proportionally greater compact myocardium, which was corroborated by post-mortem chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) hearts. Speckle-tracking echocardiographic analyses identified a negative curvilinear relationship between the degree of trabeculation and LV systolic twist, revealing lower rotational mechanics in the trabeculated non-human great ape LV. This divergent evolution of the human heart may have facilitated the augmentation of cardiac output to support the metabolic and thermoregulatory demands of the human ecological niche.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryony A Curry
- Centre for Heart, Lung and Vascular Health, School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada
| | - Aimee L Drane
- International Primate Heart Project, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cyncoed Road, Cardiff, CF23 6XD, UK.
- Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK.
| | - Rebeca Atencia
- Jane Goodall Institute, Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Centre, Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo
| | - Yedra Feltrer
- International Primate Heart Project, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cyncoed Road, Cardiff, CF23 6XD, UK
| | - Thalita Calvi
- Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage, Solwesi Road, Chingola, Zambia
| | - Ellie L Milnes
- Wildlife Health, Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL9 7TA, UK
- Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, NW1 4RY, UK
- Centre for Veterinary Wildlife Research, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort, Pretoria, 0110, South Africa
| | - Sophie Moittié
- Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Congo Dam Access Road, Freetown, Sierra Leone
- School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George's University, St. George's, West Indies, Grenada
| | - Annika Weigold
- Wilhelma Zoological-Botanical Gardens, Wilhelma 13, Stuttgart, 70376, Germany
| | | | - Arga Sawung Kusuma
- Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, Central Kalimantan Orangutan Reintroduction Project at Nyaru Menteng, Jalan Cilik Riwut km 28, Palangkaraya, 73111, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
| | - Glyn Howatson
- Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK
- Water Research Group, Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences, North West University, Potchefstroom, 2531, South Africa
| | - Christopher Palmer
- Biological Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Mike R Stembridge
- Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff, CF23 6XD, UK
| | - John E Gorzynski
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Neil D Eves
- Centre for Heart, Lung and Vascular Health, School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada
| | - Tony G Dawkins
- Centre for Heart, Lung and Vascular Health, School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada
| | - Rob E Shave
- Centre for Heart, Lung and Vascular Health, School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada.
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Rosenbaum S, Kuzawa CW. The promise of great apes as model organisms for understanding the downstream consequences of early life experiences. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 152:105240. [PMID: 37211151 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Early life experiences have a significant influence on adult health and aging processes in humans. Despite widespread interest in the evolutionary roots of this phenomenon, very little research on this topic has been conducted in humans' closest living relatives, the great apes. The longitudinal data sets that are now available on wild and captive great ape populations hold great promise to clarify the nature, evolutionary function, and mechanisms underlying these connections in species which share key human life history characteristics. Here, we explain features of great ape life history and socioecologies that make them of particular interest for this topic, as well as those that may limit their utility as comparative models; outline the ways in which available data are complementary to and extend the kinds of data that are available for humans; and review what is currently known about the connections among early life experiences, social behavior, and adult physiology and biological fitness in our closest living relatives. We conclude by highlighting key next steps for this emerging area of research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Christopher W Kuzawa
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, USA; Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, USA
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Rosati AG, Thompson ME, Atencia R, Buckholtz JW. Distinct developmental trajectories for risky and impulsive decision-making in chimpanzees. J Exp Psychol Gen 2023; 152:1551-1564. [PMID: 36689365 PMCID: PMC10271938 DOI: 10.1037/xge0001347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Human adolescence is characterized by a suite of changes in decision-making and emotional regulation that promote risky and impulsive behavior. Accumulating evidence suggests that behavioral and physiological shifts seen in human adolescence are shared by some primates, yet it is unclear if the same cognitive mechanisms are recruited. We examined developmental changes in risky choice, intertemporal choice, and emotional responses to decision outcomes in chimpanzees, our closest-living relatives. We found that adolescent chimpanzees were more risk-seeking than adults, as in humans. However, chimpanzees showed no developmental change in intertemporal choice, unlike humans, although younger chimpanzees did exhibit elevated emotional reactivity to waiting compared to adults. Comparisons of cortisol and testosterone indicated robust age-related variation in these biomarkers, and patterns of individual differences in choices, emotional reactivity, and hormones also supported a developmental dissociation between risk and choice impulsivity. These results show that some but not all core features of human adolescent decision-making are shared with chimpanzees. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra G. Rosati
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan USA
| | | | - Rebeca Atencia
- Jane Goodall Institute Congo, Pointe Noire, Republic of Congo
| | - Joshua W. Buckholtz
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA USA
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Integrating Reference Intervals into Chimpanzee Welfare Research. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13040639. [PMID: 36830426 PMCID: PMC9951686 DOI: 10.3390/ani13040639] [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: 12/27/2022] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Animal welfare researchers are committed to developing novel approaches to enhance the quality of life of chimpanzees living in professional care. To systematically monitor physical, mental, and emotional states, welfare scientists highlight the importance of integrating non-invasive, animal-based welfare indicators. This study aimed to create species-specific reference intervals for behavioral measures and physiological biomarkers. Specifically, we analyzed data from 40 adult chimpanzees (22 females, 18 males) residing at 16 zoological facilities to generate reference intervals for behavioral states and events, behavioral diversity, fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (GCMs), and fecal immunoglobulin-A (IgA). Comparisons of sex and age using linear regression models revealed significant differences for several behaviors. The proportion of time spent engaged in mutual/multiple social grooming significantly decreased as individuals aged. Furthermore, males spent a higher proportion of time performing aggressive contact behaviors and displaying to other chimpanzees when compared to females. Males also performed sexual examination behaviors at a higher rate than females. Behavioral diversity, fecal GCM, and fecal IgA did not vary by sex or age. In the future, values for individual chimpanzees can be compared to the ranges reported here for particular age/sex classes. Ultimately, animal care professionals can utilize reference intervals to make evidence-based decisions regarding management practices and environmental conditions.
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Puberty initiates a unique stage of social learning and development prior to adulthood: Insights from studies of adolescence in wild chimpanzees. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 58:101176. [PMID: 36427434 PMCID: PMC9699942 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In humans, puberty initiates a period of rapid growth, change, and formative neurobehavioral development. Brain and behavior changes during this maturational window contribute to opportunities for social learning. Here we provide new insights into adolescence as a unique period of social learning and development by describing field studies of our closest living relatives, chimpanzees. Like humans, chimpanzees have a multiyear juvenile life stage between weaning and puberty onset followed by a multiyear adolescent life stage after pubertal onset but prior to socially-recognized adulthood. As they develop increasing autonomy from caregivers, adolescent chimpanzees explore and develop many different types of social relationships with a wide range of individuals in a highly flexible social environment. We describe how adolescent social motivations and experiences differ from those of juveniles and adults and expose adolescents to high levels of uncertainty, risk, and vulnerability, as well as opportunities for adaptive social learning. We discuss how these adolescent learning experiences may be shaped by early life and in turn shape varied adult social outcomes. We outline how future chimpanzee field research can contribute in new ways to a more integrative interdisciplinary understanding of adolescence as a developmental window of adaptive social learning and resilience.
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Barrault C, Soldati A, Hobaiter C, Mugisha S, De Moor D, Zuberbühler K, Dezecache G. Thermal imaging reveals social monitoring during social feeding in wild chimpanzees. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210302. [PMID: 35934961 PMCID: PMC9358323 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the affective lives of animals has been a long-standing challenge in science. Recent technological progress in infrared thermal imaging has enabled researchers to monitor animals' physiological states in real-time when exposed to ecologically relevant situations, such as feeding in the company of others. During social feeding, an individual's physiological states are likely to vary with the nature of the resource and perceptions of competition. Previous findings in chimpanzees have indicated that events perceived as competitive cause decreases in nasal temperatures, whereas the opposite was observed for cooperative interactions. Here, we tested how food resources and audience structure impacted on how social feeding events were perceived by wild chimpanzees. Overall, we found that nasal temperatures were lower when meat was consumed as compared to figs, consistent with the idea that social feeding on more contested resources is perceived as more dangerous and stressful. Nasal temperatures were significant affected by interactions between food type and audience composition, in particular the number of males, their dominance status, and their social bond status relative to the subject, while no effects for the presence of females were observed. Our findings suggest that male chimpanzees closely monitor and assess their social environment during competitive situations, and that infrared imaging provides an important complement to access psychological processes beyond observable social behaviours. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Cognition, communication and social bonds in primates’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Barrault
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.,Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda
| | - Adrian Soldati
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.,Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda.,School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Catherine Hobaiter
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda.,School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | | | - Delphine De Moor
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.,Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda.,School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Guillaume Dezecache
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda.,Université Clermont Auvergne, LAPSCO CNRS, Clermont-Ferrand, France
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Soldati A, Fedurek P, Dezecache G, Call J, Zuberbühler K. Audience sensitivity in chimpanzee display pant hoots. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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10
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Abstract
Many male traits are well explained by sexual selection theory as adaptations to mating competition and mate choice, whereas no unifying theory explains traits expressed more in females. Anne Campbell's "staying alive" theory proposed that human females produce stronger self-protective reactions than males to aggressive threats because self-protection tends to have higher fitness value for females than males. We examined whether Campbell's theory has more general applicability by considering whether human females respond with greater self-protectiveness than males to other threats beyond aggression. We searched the literature for physiological, behavioral, and emotional responses to major physical and social threats, and found consistent support for females' responding with greater self-protectiveness than males. Females mount stronger immune responses to many pathogens; experience a lower threshold to detect, and lesser tolerance of, pain; awaken more frequently at night; express greater concern about physically dangerous stimuli; exert more effort to avoid social conflicts; exhibit a personality style more focused on life's dangers; react to threats with greater fear, disgust and sadness; and develop more threat-based clinical conditions than males. Our findings suggest that in relation to threat human females have relatively heightened protective reactions compared to males. The pervasiveness of this result across multiple domains suggests that general mechanisms might exist underlying females' unique adaptations. An understanding of such processes would enhance knowledge of female health and well-being.
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