1
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Brown ER, Gettler LT, Rosenbaum S. Effects of social environments on male primate HPG and HPA axis developmental programming. Dev Psychobiol 2024; 66:e22491. [PMID: 38698633 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22491] [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: 09/01/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024]
Abstract
Developmental plasticity is particularly important for humans and other primates because of our extended period of growth and maturation, during which our phenotypes adaptively respond to environmental cues. The hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axes are likely to be principal targets of developmental "programming" given their roles in coordinating fitness-relevant aspects of the phenotype, including sexual development, adult reproductive and social strategies, and internal responses to the external environment. In social animals, including humans, the social environment is believed to be an important source of cues to which these axes may adaptively respond. The effects of early social environments on the HPA axis have been widely studied in humans, and to some extent, in other primates, but there are still major gaps in knowledge specifically relating to males. There has also been relatively little research examining the role that social environments play in developmental programming of the HPG axis or the HPA/HPG interface, and what does exist disproportionately focuses on females. These topics are likely understudied in males in part due to the difficulty of identifying developmental milestones in males relative to females and the general quiescence of the HPG axis prior to maturation. However, there are clear indicators that early life social environments matter for both sexes. In this review, we examine what is known about the impact of social environments on HPG and HPA axis programming during male development in humans and nonhuman primates, including the role that epigenetic mechanisms may play in this programming. We conclude by highlighting important next steps in this research area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ella R Brown
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
- Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
| | - Stacy Rosenbaum
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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2
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Albert G, Davis A, Bird BM, Arnocky S, Hlay JK, McGee N, Richardson GB, Hodges-Simeon CR. Validating the Revised Mating Effort Questionnaire. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2024; 53:2091-2109. [PMID: 38478164 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-023-02793-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
The mating effort questionnaire (MEQ) is a multi-dimensional self-report instrument that captures factors reflecting individual effort in upgrading from a current partner, investment in a current partner, and mate seeking when not romantically paired. In the current studies, we sought to revise the MEQ so that it distinguishes among two facets of mate seeking-mate locating and mate attracting-to enable a more nuanced measurement and understanding of individual mating effort. Moreover, we developed additional items to better measure partner investment. In total, the number of items was increased from 12 to 26. In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis revealed that a four-factor solution, reflecting partner upgrading, mate locating, mate attracting, and partner investment, yielded the best fit. In Study 2, this structure was replicated using confirmatory factor analysis in an independent sample. Based on extant studies documenting the relationships between psychopathy, short-term mating effort, and sexual risk taking, a structural equation model (SEM) indicated that trait psychopathy positively predicted mate locating, mate attracting, and partner upgrading and negatively predicted partner investment. A separate SEM showed that partner upgrading positively predicted risky sexual behaviors, while partner upgrading and mate locating positively predicted acceptance of cosmetic surgery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Graham Albert
- Department of Anthropology, Boston University, 232 Bay State Rd, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Adam Davis
- Department of Psychology, Nipissing University, North Bay, ON, Canada
| | - Brian M Bird
- Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Steven Arnocky
- Department of Psychology, Nipissing University, North Bay, ON, Canada
| | - Jessica K Hlay
- Department of Anthropology, Boston University, 232 Bay State Rd, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Nathan McGee
- School of Human Services, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
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3
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Kotov DA, Corpuz R. No evidence for relationship between paternal post-partum depressive symptoms and testosterone or cortisol in first-time fathers. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1348031. [PMID: 38425562 PMCID: PMC10902172 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1348031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Male life history strategies are regulated by the neuroendocrine system. Testosterone (T) and cortisol regulate male behaviors including parenting and facilitate managing tradeoffs at key transitions in development such as first-time fatherhood. Both hormones demonstrate marked fluctuations in the postnatal period, and this presents an opportunity to investigate the role of T and cortisol in postpartum depressive symptoms-comparably less studied in fathers than in mothers in the evolutionary literature. Prior work on depressive symptoms has yet to integrate insights from the "dual hormone hypothesis (DHH)" which has focused on how T and cortisol interact to jointly regulate traits associated with dominance and status-seeking (i.e., mating effort) but has yet to be included in models of parenting effort. In this research, we use secondary data to investigate the relationship between DHH and traits ostensibly opposed to status seeking (i.e., depressive symptoms). First-time fathers (n = 193) provided morning saliva samples 10 months following parturition and reported on the presence of depressive symptoms (BDI-II). Responses were decomposed into three factors: cognitive, affective, and somatic. Using hybrid latent variable structural equation modeling, we did not find evidence that T predicted variability in cognitive, affective, or somatic depressive symptom factors. We found a null effect for cortisol as well. Finally, we could not find evidence that the DHH variable (T × cortisol interaction) predicted any variability in cognitive, affective, or somatic depressive symptoms. While we did not find evidence to support our hypotheses using a secondary data set, this study contributes to research on the neuroendocrinology of depression in fathers. Discussion focuses on the limitations of sample demographics, timing of saliva and self-report collection, and the lack of extant theory specific to paternal postpartum depression.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Randy Corpuz
- Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, United States
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4
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Levy SB, Bribiescas RG. Hierarchies in the energy budget: Thyroid hormones and the evolution of human life history patterns. Evol Anthropol 2023; 32:275-292. [PMID: 37584402 DOI: 10.1002/evan.22000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023]
Abstract
The evolution of human life history characteristics required dramatic shifts in energy allocation mechanisms compared with our primate ancestors. Thyroid hormones, such as thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), are sensitive to energy balance, and are significant determinants for both tissue-specific and whole-body metabolic rate. Thus, thyroid hormones are in part responsible for setting the body's overall energy budget and likely played an important role in the evolution of human life history patterns. We propose that the dynamics of mammalian T3 production, uptake, and action have evolved so that energy allocation prioritizes the high demands of brain development and functioning, often at the expense of growth and reproduction. This paper explores the role of thyroid hormone dynamics in the evolution of human encephalization, prolonged childhood and adolescence, long lifespans, reproduction, and human aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie B Levy
- Department of Anthropology, CUNY Hunter College, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
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5
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Susie Lee D, Semenchenko H. Father absence and pubertal timing in Korean boys and girls. Evol Med Public Health 2023; 11:174-184. [PMID: 37325803 PMCID: PMC10266580 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoad010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Background and objectives Pubertal timing is a key life history trait with long-term health consequences in both sexes. Evolutionary theory has guided extensive research on developmental influences, in particular growing up without a father, on earlier menarche. Far less is known whether a similar relationship exists for boys, especially beyond western contexts. We used longitudinal data from the nationally representative sample of Korean adolescents, which provided us with a unique opportunity for studying male puberty using a hitherto underutilized biomarker: age at first nocturnal ejaculation. Methodology We pre-registered and tested a prediction that growing up in father-absent households is associated with earlier puberty in both sexes. Large sample size (>6000) allowed testing the effect of father absence, which remains relatively uncommon in Korea, while adjusting for potential confounders using Cox proportional-hazard models. Results Self-reported age at first nocturnal ejaculation was on average 13.8 years, falling within the range known from other societies. Unlike previous findings mostly for white girls, we did not find evidence that Korean girls in father-absent households had a younger age at menarche. Boys in father-absent households reported having their first nocturnal ejaculation 3 months earlier on average, and the difference was evident before age 14. Conclusion and implications The association between father absence and pubertal timing appears sex- and age-dependent, and these differences may further interact with cultural norms regarding gender roles. Our study also highlights the utility of the recalled age of first ejaculation for male puberty research, which has lagged in both evolutionary biology and medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Susie Lee
- Corresponding author. Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Konrad-Zuse Strasse 1, 18057 Rostock, Germany. Tel: +49 381 2081-0; E-mail:
| | - Hanna Semenchenko
- Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Konrad-Zuse Strasse 1, 18057 Rostock, Germany
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6
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Boyette AH, Lew-Levy S, Valchy M, Gettler LT. Associations between men's reputations for fathering and their reproductive success among BaYaka foragers in the Congo Basin. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2023.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/19/2023]
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7
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Zhao S, Guo F, Hee JY, Tang K. The mediating role of sexually selected traits in the association of androgynous tendencies with lower sexual activeness among Chinese youths. Front Psychol 2022; 13:1011467. [PMID: 36275243 PMCID: PMC9583897 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1011467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Androgynous tendencies and persistently low fertility rates have been observed in many countries, causing major social concerns. The theory of sexual selection suggests a possible mechanism between androgyny and decreased sexual activeness, as masculinity and femininity constitute an important aspect of reproductive strategies. This theory has also been proven by evolutionary and societal evidence. Therefore, we investigate the association between masculinity and femininity with sexual activeness, as well as the influence of gender-role conformity on the frequency of sexual intercourse through sexually selected traits among 42,492 Chinese youths. Sexual activeness was measured using sexual attitudes, experience, behaviors, and pleasure. Mediation analysis was employed to investigate the effects of sexually selected traits on the association between masculinity and femininity with sexual activeness, and gender-role conformity with the frequency of sexual intercourse. Low sexual activeness was found to be associated with low gender-role conformity. Our findings also suggest that physical attractiveness, sexual motivation, and interpersonal relationships may mediate the association between sexual activeness and gender-role conformity, supporting the males-compete/females-choose model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuangyu Zhao
- Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Fuyu Guo
- Department of Epidemiology, T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Jia Yi Hee
- Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Kun Tang
- Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- *Correspondence: Kun Tang,
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8
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Falsification of the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire: No Evidence of Systemic Sexual Harassment in Academic STEM. PSYCH 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/psych4030034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Herein, the socio-psychological narrative of sexual harassment (SH) is critically evaluated. The notion of systemic SH in university departments of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is contradicted by the overwhelming (>90%) career satisfaction among female STEM academics. The Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ), central to the study of SH, inheres the nominalistic fallacy. SEQ usage deploys subjectivist methodologies, categorical ambiguity, the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy, and treats respondents as cyphers. Intercorrelation of SEQ factors reduces response statistics by 42%, while phase-space vector geometry indicates the SEQ does not measure SH. Personality analysis implies that serial abusers dominate the incidence of SH. The widespread notion that 20–25% of female college students suffer violent sexual assault rests on a misreading of published work. The 2016 Campus Climate Survey permits an upper limit estimate that 3.2% of female college students suffer rape at the hands of 4.3% of male student perpetrators, largely accompanied by drugs or alcohol. The 2018 National Academy (NAS) Report on sexual harassment in STEM exhibits negligent scholarship and carelessly generalizing statistics and may itself promote violation of the EEOC legal definition of SH. Despite instances of grievous sex-based abuse, there is no evidence that female STEM academics face systemic sexual harassment. Finally, evolutionary psychology and the social significance of personality provide a scientific understanding of SH.
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9
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Starkweather KE, Keith MH, Prall SP, Alam N, Zohora F, Emery Thompson M. Are fathers a good substitute for mothers? Paternal care and growth rates in Shodagor children. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63:e22148. [PMID: 34087947 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2020] [Revised: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Biparental care is a hallmark of human social organization, though paternal investment varies between and within societies. The facultative nature of paternal care in humans suggests males should invest when their care improves child survival and/or quality, though testing this prediction can be challenging because of the difficulties of empirically isolating paternal effects from those of other caregivers. Additionally, the broader context in which care is provided, vis-à-vis care from mothers and others, may lead to different child outcomes. Here, we examine the effects of paternal care on child growth among Shodagor fisher-traders, where fathers provide high levels of both additive and substitutive care, relative to mothers. We modeled seasonal z-scores and velocities for height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) outcomes using linear mixed models. Our evidence indicates that, as predicted, the context of paternal care is an important predictor of child outcomes. Results show that environmental seasonality and alloparental help contribute to a nuanced understanding of the impact of Shodagor paternal care on child physiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- K E Starkweather
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.,Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico.,Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - M H Keith
- Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - S P Prall
- Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
| | - N Alam
- Health Systems and Population Studies Division, ICDDR,B, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - F Zohora
- Health Systems and Population Studies Division, ICDDR,B, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - M Emery Thompson
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
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10
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Bode A, Kushnick G. Proximate and Ultimate Perspectives on Romantic Love. Front Psychol 2021; 12:573123. [PMID: 33912094 PMCID: PMC8074860 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.573123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Romantic love is a phenomenon of immense interest to the general public as well as to scholars in several disciplines. It is known to be present in almost all human societies and has been studied from a number of perspectives. In this integrative review, we bring together what is known about romantic love using Tinbergen’s “four questions” framework originating from evolutionary biology. Under the first question, related to mechanisms, we show that it is caused by social, psychological mate choice, genetic, neural, and endocrine mechanisms. The mechanisms regulating psychopathology, cognitive biases, and animal models provide further insights into the mechanisms that regulate romantic love. Under the second question, related to development, we show that romantic love exists across the human lifespan in both sexes. We summarize what is known about its development and the internal and external factors that influence it. We consider cross-cultural perspectives and raise the issue of evolutionary mismatch. Under the third question, related to function, we discuss the fitness-relevant benefits and costs of romantic love with reference to mate choice, courtship, sex, and pair-bonding. We outline three possible selective pressures and contend that romantic love is a suite of adaptions and by-products. Under the fourth question, related to phylogeny, we summarize theories of romantic love’s evolutionary history and show that romantic love probably evolved in concert with pair-bonds in our recent ancestors. We describe the mammalian antecedents to romantic love and the contribution of genes and culture to the expression of modern romantic love. We advance four potential scenarios for the evolution of romantic love. We conclude by summarizing what Tinbergen’s four questions tell us, highlighting outstanding questions as avenues of potential future research, and suggesting a novel ethologically informed working definition to accommodate the multi-faceted understanding of romantic love advanced in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Bode
- Human Behavioural Ecology Research Group, School of Archaeology and Anthropology, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Geoff Kushnick
- Human Behavioural Ecology Research Group, School of Archaeology and Anthropology, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
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11
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Fuentes A. Searching for the “Roots” of Masculinity in Primates and the Human Evolutionary Past. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1086/711582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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12
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Bribiescas RG. Evolutionary and Life History Insights into Masculinity and Warfare. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1086/711688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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13
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Ding F, Cheng G, Jia Y, Zhang W, Lin N, Zhang D, Mo W. The role of sex and femininity in preferences for unfamiliar infants among Chinese adults. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0242203. [PMID: 33180806 PMCID: PMC7660579 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Guided by parental investment theory and social role theory, this study aimed to understand current contradictory results regarding sex differences in response to infant faces by considering the effect of gender role orientation. We recruited 300 adults in China and asked them to complete an Interest in Infants questionnaire and a Bem Sex Role Inventory and then administered a behavioral assessment that used unfamiliar infant faces with varying expressions (laughing, neutral, and crying) as stimuli to gauge three components of motivation towards infants (i.e., liking, representational responding, and evoked responding). The results demonstrated that sex differences emerged only in self-reported interest in infants, but no difference was found between the sexes in terms of their hedonic reactions to infant faces. Furthermore, femininity was found to correlate with preferences for infants in both verbal and visual tests, but significant interactive effects of feminine traits and sex were found only in the behavioral test. The findings indicated that men's responses to infants were influenced more by their feminine traits than were women's responses, potentially explaining the greater extent to which paternal (vs. maternal) investment is facultative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangyuan Ding
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China
- Center for Mental Health Education, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China
| | - Gang Cheng
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, Guizhou, China
| | - Yuncheng Jia
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China
- Center for Mental Health Education, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China
| | - Wen Zhang
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, Guizhou, China
| | - Nan Lin
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, Guizhou, China
| | - Dajun Zhang
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China
- Center for Mental Health Education, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China
- * E-mail:
| | - Wenjing Mo
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China
- Center for Mental Health Education, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China
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14
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Gettler LT, Boyette AH, Rosenbaum S. Broadening Perspectives on the Evolution of Human Paternal Care and Fathers’ Effects on Children. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ANTHROPOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-anthro-102218-011216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Unlike most mammals, human fathers cooperate with mothers to care for young to an extraordinary degree. Human paternal care likely evolved alongside our unique life history strategy of raising slow-developing, energetically costly children, often in rapid succession. Adaptive frameworks generally assume that paternal provisioning played a critical role in this pattern's emergence. We draw on nonhuman primate data to propose that nonprovisioning forms of low-cost hominin male care were potentially foundational and ratcheted up through evolutionary time, helping facilitate social contexts for later subsistence specialization and sharing. We then argue for expanding the breadth of anthropological research on paternal effects in families, particularly in three domains: direct care and teaching;social capital cultivation; and reduction of family conflict. Anthropologists can greatly contribute to conversations about the determinants of children's development across contexts, but we need to ask more expansive questions about the pathways through which caregivers (including fathers) affect child outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee T. Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
| | - Adam H. Boyette
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stacy Rosenbaum
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
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15
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Abstract
Aging occurs in all sexually reproducing organisms. That is, physical degradation over time occurs from conception until death. While the life span of a species is often viewed as a benchmark of aging, the pace and intensity of physical degradation over time varies owing to environmental influences, genetics, allocation of energetic investment, and phylogenetic history. Significant variation in aging within mammals, primates, and great apes, including humans, is therefore common across species. The evolution of aging in the hominin lineage is poorly known; however, clues can be derived from the fossil record. Ongoing advances continue to shed light on the interactions between life-history variables such as reproductive effort and aging. This review presents our current understanding of the evolution of aging in humans, drawing on population variation, comparative research, trade-offs, and sex differences, as well as tissue-specific patterns of physical degradation. Implications for contemporary health challenges and the future of human evolutionary anthropology research are also discussed.
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16
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Sugianto NA, Newman C, Macdonald DW, Buesching CD. Reproductive and Somatic Senescence in the European Badger (Meles meles): Evidence from Lifetime Sex-Steroid Profiles. ZOOLOGY 2020; 141:125803. [PMID: 32574816 DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2020.125803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2019] [Revised: 05/02/2020] [Accepted: 05/04/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Among the Carnivora, there is sparse evidence for any substantive fitness benefits of post reproductive lifespan (PRLS, survival after reproductive cessation, RC). Using the European badger (Meles meles) as a model species, we analyzed sex-specific cross-sectional endocrinological and morphological data to investigate: 1) age-dependent reproductive decline in sex-steroid levels versus prime reproductive age; 2) age-dependent declines in somatic condition and reproductive advertisement (from subcaudal scent gland secretion); 3) changes in reproductive success with age due to somatic and endocrinological decline; 4) occurrence of RC, PRLS, and post reproductive representation (PrR) in the population with reference to pre-pubescent hormone levels and evidenced by fewer cub assignments from pedigree. We provide strong evidence for a gradual, not abrupt, decline in sex-steroid levels with age, with both sexes following a concave (down) quadratic trend. For both sexes, the onset of decline in somatic condition commenced at the age of 3 years. In contrast, decline in reproductive hormones started at age ca. 5.5 years in females and 6 years in males, with similar rates of decline thereafter. Subcaudal gland secretion volume also decreased in both sexes, especially after age 5, suggesting less investment in reproductive advertisement. After age 3, fewer (surviving) females were assigned cubs. This coincided with the onset of somatic decline but came earlier than hormonal decline (5.5 years onwards). The decrease in offspring assignments commenced later in males at age 5-6 years; concomitant with onset of testosterone decline at 6 years. This suggests that, contrary to females, in males declining body condition does not preclude reproductive success (no 'restraint') in advance of hormonal senescence ('constraint'). There was evidence of female PRLS, with very old adults living up to 2.59 ± 1.29 years after RC; although in males this evidence was weaker. We discuss the implications of these findings for RC and PRLS in the context of adaptive and non-adaptive hypotheses. There was evidence of over 2 years of Post Reproductive Life Span in both sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Adrianna Sugianto
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Abingdon Road, Tubney House, Tubney, Oxfordshire OX13 5QL, UK
| | - Chris Newman
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Abingdon Road, Tubney House, Tubney, Oxfordshire OX13 5QL, UK
| | - David W Macdonald
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Abingdon Road, Tubney House, Tubney, Oxfordshire OX13 5QL, UK
| | - Christina D Buesching
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Abingdon Road, Tubney House, Tubney, Oxfordshire OX13 5QL, UK.
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17
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Sex, Energy, Well-Being and Low Testosterone: An Exploratory Survey of U.S. Men's Experiences on Prescription Testosterone. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2019; 16:ijerph16183261. [PMID: 31491933 PMCID: PMC6765788 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16183261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Revised: 08/29/2019] [Accepted: 08/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Prescription testosterone sales in the United States have skyrocketed in the last two decades due to an aging population, direct-to-consumer advertising, and prescriber views of the benefits and risks to testosterone, among other factors. However, few studies have attempted to directly examine patient experiences on prescription testosterone therapy. The present exploratory study involved an online self-report survey of U.S. testosterone patients who were at least 21 years of age. The primary focus was on patient perspectives concerning motivations leading to the initiation of testosterone therapy and the perceived effects of treatment. Responses to open-ended questions drew upon a coding scheme incorporating both inductive and deductive approaches, influenced by the clinical, male life history theory, and behavioral endocrinology literature. Results indicated that the most frequent reasons men gave for taking prescription testosterone were low testosterone (37.1%), well-being (35.2%), energy (28.7%), libido (21.9%), and social energy (19.4%); older men claimed libido as a motivation for testosterone initiation more frequently than younger men (p < 0.001). Men most frequently claimed testosterone improved their energy (52.3%), libido (41.9%), and muscle (28.5%). Results are interpreted in the context of medical, life history theoretical and behavioral endocrinology approaches, including an emphasis on sex and energy.
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Schacht R, Kramer KL. Are We Monogamous? A Review of the Evolution of Pair-Bonding in Humans and Its Contemporary Variation Cross-Culturally. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Mattison SM, Quinlan RJ, Hare D. The expendable male hypothesis. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20180080. [PMID: 31303164 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Matriliny is a system of kinship in which descent and inheritance are conferred along the female line. The theoretically influential concept of the matrilineal puzzle posits that matriliny poses special problems for understanding men's roles in matrilineal societies. Ethnographic work describes the puzzle as the tension experienced by men between the desire to exert control over their natal kin (i.e. the lineage to which they belong) and over their affinal kin (i.e. their spouses and their biological children). Evolutionary work frames the paradox as one resulting from a man investing in his nieces and nephews at the expense of his own biological offspring. In both cases, the rationale for the puzzle rests on two fundamental assumptions: (i) that men are in positions of authority over women and over resources; and (ii) that men are interested in the outcomes of parenting. In this paper, we posit a novel hypothesis that suggests that certain ecological conditions render men expendable within local kinship configurations, nullifying the above assumptions. This arises when (i) women, without significant assistance from men, are capable of meeting the subsistence needs of their families; and (ii) men have little to gain from parental investment in children. We conclude that the expendable male hypothesis may explain the evolution of matriliny in numerous cases, and by noting that female-centred approaches that call into doubt assumptions inherent to male-centred models of kinship are justified in evolutionary perspective. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolution of female-biased kinship in humans and other mammals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siobhán M Mattison
- 1 Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico , Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 , USA
| | - Robert J Quinlan
- 2 Department of Anthropology, Washington State University , Pullman, WA 99163 , USA
| | - Darragh Hare
- 1 Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico , Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 , USA
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Luoto S, Krams I, Rantala MJ. A Life History Approach to the Female Sexual Orientation Spectrum: Evolution, Development, Causal Mechanisms, and Health. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2019; 48:1273-1308. [PMID: 30229521 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-018-1261-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2017] [Revised: 05/29/2018] [Accepted: 06/14/2018] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Women's capacity for sexual fluidity is at least as interesting a phenomenon from the point of view of evolutionary biology and behavioral endocrinology as exclusively homosexual orientation. Evolutionary hypotheses for female nonheterosexuality have failed to fully account for the existence of these different categories of nonheterosexual women, while also overlooking broader data on the causal mechanisms, physiology, ontogeny, and phylogeny of female nonheterosexuality. We review the evolutionary-developmental origins of various phenotypes in the female sexual orientation spectrum using the synergistic approach of Tinbergen's four questions. We also present femme-specific and butch-specific hypotheses at proximate and ultimate levels of analysis. This review article indicates that various nonheterosexual female phenotypes emerge from and contribute to hormonally mediated fast life history strategies. Life history theory provides a biobehavioral explanatory framework for nonheterosexual women's masculinized body morphology, psychological dispositions, and their elevated likelihood of experiencing violence, substance use, obesity, teenage pregnancy, and lower general health. This pattern of life outcomes can create a feedback loop of environmental unpredictability and harshness which destabilizes intrauterine hormonal conditions in mothers, leading to a greater likelihood of fast life history strategies, global health problems, and nonheterosexual preferences in female offspring. We further explore the potential of female nonheterosexuality to function as an alloparental buffer that enables masculinizing alleles to execute their characteristic fast life history strategies as they appear in the female and the male phenotype. Synthesizing life history theory with the female sexual orientation spectrum enriches existing scientific knowledge on the evolutionary-developmental mechanisms of human sex differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Severi Luoto
- English, Drama and Writing Studies, University of Auckland, Arts 1, Building 206, Room 616, 14A Symonds St., Auckland, 1010, New Zealand.
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
| | - Indrikis Krams
- Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Markus J Rantala
- Department of Biology & Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
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Mattison SM, Reynolds AZ, Wander K. Human Life Histories are Flexible, Not Fixed. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2019; 48:1329-1333. [PMID: 30511147 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-018-1350-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Accepted: 11/12/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Siobhán M Mattison
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA.
| | - Adam Z Reynolds
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Katherine Wander
- Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY, USA
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Gettler LT, Kuo PX, Rosenbaum S, Avila JL, McDade TW, Kuzawa CW. Sociosexuality, testosterone, and life history status: prospective associations and longitudinal changes among men in Cebu, Philippines. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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23
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Paternal investment and low birth weight - The mediating role of parity. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0210715. [PMID: 30677049 PMCID: PMC6345489 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2018] [Accepted: 01/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
According to life-history theory, paternal investment affects the well-being of offspring. We hypothesized that environmental stress caused by a lack of paternal investment may diminish maternal resource allocation during pregnancy, especially for women who already have dependent children. Our study was conducted on a representative group of more than 80,500 singleton, live-born, full-term infants born in Krakow, Poland in the period 1995-2009. Birth data were obtained from the birth registry. We found that missing data about fathers (a proxy measure of low paternal investment) was associated with higher probability of multiparous mothers giving birth to low-birth-weight infants (1.48; 95% CI 1.05-2.08), but this was not the case with primiparous mothers (1.19; 95% CI 0.89-1.59). The statistically significant synergistic effect between parity and paternal investment was found (Synergy Factor = 2.12; 95% CI 1.47-3.05, p<0.001). These findings suggest that in situations of low paternal investment, multiparous mothers face trade-offs between investing in existing versus unborn children, therefore investment in the latter is lower. Such a strategy may benefit maternal fitness due to investment in older children, who have higher reproductive value.
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An Updated Theoretical Framework for Human Sexual Selection: from Ecology, Genetics, and Life History to Extended Phenotypes. ADAPTIVE HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s40750-018-0103-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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25
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Behringer V, Stevens JMG, Deschner T, Sonnweber R, Hohmann G. Aging and sex affect soluble alpha klotho levels in bonobos and chimpanzees. Front Zool 2018; 15:35. [PMID: 30250491 PMCID: PMC6146871 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-018-0282-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2018] [Accepted: 09/07/2018] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Throughout life, physiological homeostasis is challenged and the capacity to cope with such challenges declines with increasing age. In many species, sex differences exist in life expectancy. Sex-specific differences have been related to extrinsic factors like mate competition and/or intrinsic proximate mechanisms such as hormonal changes. In humans, an intrinsic factor related to aging is soluble alpha klotho (α-Kl). Both sexes show an age-related decline in α-Kl, but throughout life women have higher levels than men of the same age. Sex differences in α-Kl have been linked to a shorter lifespan, as well as to specific morbidity factors such as atherosclerosis and arteries calcifications. In non-human animals, information on α-Kl levels is rare and restricted to experimental work. Our cross-sectional study is the first on α-Kl levels in two long-lived species: bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). As in most mammals, female bonobos and chimpanzees have longer life expectancy than males. METHODS We measured serum α-Kl levels of 140 subjects from 16 zoos with an ELISA to examine if α-Kl levels reflect this difference in life expectancy. RESULTS In both species and in both sexes, α-Kl levels declined with age suggesting that this marker has potential for aging studies beyond humans. We also found species-specific differences. Adult female bonobos had higher α-Kl levels than males, a difference that corresponds to the pattern found in humans. In chimpanzees, we found the opposite: males had higher α-Kl levels than females. CONCLUSION We suggest that contrasting sex differences in adult α-Kl levels mirror the dominance relations between females and males of the two Pan species; and that this might be related to corresponding sex differences in their exposure to stress. In humans, higher cortisol levels were found to be related to lower α-Kl levels. We conclude that there is great potential for studying aging processes in hominoids, and perhaps also in other non-human primates, by measuring α-Kl levels. To better understand the causes for sex differences in this aging marker, consideration of behavioural parameters such as competition and stress exposure will be required as well as other physiological markers.
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Affiliation(s)
- V. Behringer
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - J. M. G. Stevens
- Antwerp Zoo Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, K. Astridplein 26, 2018 Antwerp, Belgium
- Behavioral Ecology and Ecophysiology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - T. Deschner
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - R. Sonnweber
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - G. Hohmann
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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A comparison of testosterone and cortisol levels between gay fathers and non-fathers: A preliminary investigation. Physiol Behav 2018; 193:69-81. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2017] [Revised: 02/27/2018] [Accepted: 03/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Del Giudice M, Barrett ES, Belsky J, Hartman S, Martel MM, Sangenstedt S, Kuzawa CW. Individual differences in developmental plasticity: A role for early androgens? Psychoneuroendocrinology 2018; 90:165-173. [PMID: 29500952 PMCID: PMC5864561 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.02.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [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: 12/30/2017] [Revised: 02/20/2018] [Accepted: 02/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Developmental plasticity is a widespread property of living organisms, but different individuals in the same species can vary greatly in how susceptible they are to environmental influences. In humans, research has sought to link variation in plasticity to physiological traits such as stress reactivity, exposure to prenatal stress-related hormones such as cortisol, and specific genes involved in major neurobiological pathways. However, the determinants of individual differences in plasticity are still poorly understood. Here we present the novel hypothesis that, in both sexes, higher exposure to androgens during prenatal and early postnatal life should lead to increased plasticity in traits that display greater male variability (i.e., a majority of physical and behavioral traits). First, we review evidence of greater phenotypic variation and higher susceptibility to environmental factors in males; we then consider evolutionary models that explain greater male variability and plasticity as a result of sexual selection. These empirical and theoretical strands converge on the hypothesis that androgens may promote developmental plasticity, at least for traits that show greater male variability. We discuss a number of potential mechanisms that may mediate this effect (including upregulation of neural plasticity), and address the question of whether androgen-induced plasticity is likely to be adaptive or maladaptive. We conclude by offering suggestions for future studies in this area, and considering some research designs that could be used to empirically test our hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Del Giudice
- Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
| | - Emily S Barrett
- School of Public Health, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Jay Belsky
- Department of Human Ecology, University of California - Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Sarah Hartman
- Department of Human Ecology, University of California - Davis, Davis, CA, USA
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Testosterone and Jamaican Fathers : Exploring Links to Relationship Dynamics and Paternal Care. HUMAN NATURE-AN INTERDISCIPLINARY BIOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE 2018; 28:201-218. [PMID: 28074406 DOI: 10.1007/s12110-016-9283-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
This paper investigates relationships between men's testosterone and family life in a sample of approximately 350 Jamaican fathers of children 18-24 months of age. The study recognizes the role of testosterone as a proximate mechanism coordinating and reflecting male life history allocations within specific family and cultural contexts. A sample of Jamaican fathers and/or father figures reported to an assessment center for an interview based on a standardized questionnaire and provided a saliva sample for measuring testosterone level. Outcomes measured include subject demographics such as age and relationship status as well as partnership quality and sexuality and paternal attitudes and behavior. The variation in these fathers' relationship status (e.g., married co-residential fathers, fathers in new non-residential relationships) was not associated with men's testosterone. Too few stepfathers participated to enable a direct test of the prediction that stepfathers would have higher testosterone than biological fathers, although fathers who reported living with partners' (but not his own) children did not have higher testosterone than fathers not reporting residing with a non-biological child. Fathers' relationship quality was negatively related to their testosterone. Measures of paternal attitudes and behavior were not related to fathers' testosterone. Consistent with previous ethnography, this sample of Jamaican fathers exhibited variable life history profiles, including residential status. We discuss why fathers' relationship quality was found to be negatively related to their testosterone level, but other predictions were not upheld.
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Ivanov N, Vuong J, Gray PB. A Content Analysis of Testosterone Websites: Sex, Muscle, and Male Age-Related Thematic Differences. Am J Mens Health 2018; 12:388-397. [PMID: 29025355 PMCID: PMC5818115 DOI: 10.1177/1557988317734667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2017] [Revised: 08/14/2017] [Accepted: 08/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Male testosterone supplementation is a large and growing industry. How is testosterone marketed to male consumers online? The present exploratory study entailed a content coding analysis of the home pages of 49 websites focused on testosterone supplementation for men in the United States. Four hypotheses concerning anticipated age-related differences in content coding were also tested: more frequent longevity content toward older men, and more frequent social dominance/physical formidability, muscle, and sex content toward younger men. Codes were created based on inductive observations and drawing upon the medical, life history, and human behavioral endocrinology literatures. Approximately half ( n = 24) of websites were oriented toward younger men (estimated audience of men 40 years of age or younger) and half ( n = 25) toward older men (estimated audience over 40 years of age). Results indicated that the most frequent content codes concerned online sales (e.g., product and purchasing information). Apart from sales information, the most frequent codes concerned, in order, muscle, sex/sexual functioning, low T, energy, fat, strength, aging, and well-being, with all four hypotheses also supported. These findings are interpreted in the light of medical, evolutionary life history, and human behavioral endocrinology approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Ivanov
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA
| | - Jimmy Vuong
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA
| | - Peter B. Gray
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA
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Lawson DW, Nuñez-de la Mora A, Cooper GD, Prentice AM, Moore SE, Sear R. Marital Status and Sleeping Arrangements Predict Salivary Testosterone Levels in Rural Gambian Men. ADAPTIVE HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s40750-017-0066-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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Gray PB, McHale TS, Carré JM. A review of human male field studies of hormones and behavioral reproductive effort. Horm Behav 2017; 91:52-67. [PMID: 27449532 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2015] [Revised: 05/12/2016] [Accepted: 07/17/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to review field studies of human male hormones and reproductive behavior. We first discuss life history theory and related conceptual considerations. As illustrations, distinctive features of human male life histories such as coalitional aggression, long-term partnering and paternal care are noted, along with their relevance to overall reproductive effort and developmental plasticity. We address broad questions about what constitutes a human male field study of hormones and behavior, including the kinds of hormone and behavioral measures employed in existing studies. Turning to several sections of empirical review, we present and discuss evidence for links between prenatal and juvenile androgens and sexual attraction and aggression. This includes the proposal that adrenal androgens-DHEA and androstenedione-may play functional roles during juvenility as part of a life-stage specific system. We next review studies of adult male testosterone responses to competition, with these studies emphasizing men's involvement in individual and team sports. These studies show that men's testosterone responses differ with respect to variables such as playing home/away, winning/losing, and motivation. Field studies of human male hormones and sexual behavior also focus on testosterone, showing some evidence of patterned changes in men's testosterone to sexual activity. Moreover, life stage-specific changes in male androgens may structure age-related differences in sexual behavior, including decreases in sexual behavior with senescence. We overview the considerable body of research on male testosterone, partnerships and paternal care, noting the variation in social context and refinements in research design. A few field studies provide insight into relationships between partnering and paternal behavior and prolactin, oxytocin, and vasopressin. In the third section of the review, we discuss patterns, limitations and directions for future research. This includes discussion of conceptual and methodological issues future research might consider as well as opportunities for contributions in under-researched male life stages (juvenility, senescence) and hormones (e.g., vasopressin).
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter B Gray
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Box 455003, Las Vegas, NV 89154-5003, United States.
| | - Timothy S McHale
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Box 455003, Las Vegas, NV 89154-5003, United States
| | - Justin M Carré
- Department of Psychology, Nipissing University, 100 College Drive, North Bay, Ontario P1B 8L7, Canada
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Behringer V, Deschner T. Non-invasive monitoring of physiological markers in primates. Horm Behav 2017; 91:3-18. [PMID: 28202354 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2017.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2016] [Revised: 01/26/2017] [Accepted: 02/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The monitoring of endocrine markers that inform about an animal's physiological state has become an invaluable tool for studying the behavioral ecology of primates. While the collection of blood samples usually requires the animal to be caught and immobilized, non-invasively collected samples of saliva, urine, feces or hair can be obtained without any major disturbance of the subject of interest. Such samples enable repeated collection which is required for matching behavioral information over long time periods with detailed information on endocrine markers. We start our review by giving an overview of endocrine and immune markers that have been successfully monitored in relation to topics of interest in primate behavioral ecology. These topics include reproductive, nutritional and health status, changes during ontogeny, social behavior such as rank relationships, aggression and cooperation as well as welfare and conservation issues. We continue by explaining which hormones can be measured in which matrices, and potential problems with measurements. We then describe different methods of hormone measurements and address their advantages and disadvantages. We finally emphasize the importance of thorough validation procedures when measuring a specific hormone in a new species or matrix.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verena Behringer
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Primatology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Tobias Deschner
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Primatology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
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Wood BM, Watts DP, Mitani JC, Langergraber KE. Favorable ecological circumstances promote life expectancy in chimpanzees similar to that of human hunter-gatherers. J Hum Evol 2017; 105:41-56. [PMID: 28366199 PMCID: PMC5526083 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2016] [Revised: 01/04/2017] [Accepted: 01/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Demographic data on wild chimpanzees are crucial for understanding the evolution of chimpanzee and hominin life histories, but most data come from populations affected by disease outbreaks and anthropogenic disturbance. We present survivorship data from a relatively undisturbed and exceptionally large community of eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) at Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda. We monitored births, deaths, immigrations, and emigrations in the community between 1995 and 2016. Using known and estimated ages, we calculated survivorship curves for the whole community, for males and females separately, and for individuals ≤2 years old when identified. We used a novel method to address age estimation error by calculating stochastic survivorship curves. We compared Ngogo life expectancy, survivorship, and mortality rates to those from other chimpanzee communities and human hunter-gatherers. Life expectancy at birth for both sexes combined was 32.8 years, far exceeding estimates of chimpanzee life expectancy in other communities, and falling within the range of human hunter-gatherers (i.e., 27-37 years). Overall, the pattern of survivorship at Ngogo was more similar to that of human hunter-gatherers than to other chimpanzee communities. Maximum lifespan for the Ngogo chimpanzees, however, was similar to that reported at other chimpanzee research sites and was less than that of human-hunter gatherers. The absence of predation by large carnivores may contribute to some of the higher survivorship at Ngogo, but this cannot explain the much higher survivorship at Ngogo than at Kanyawara, another chimpanzee community in the same forest, which also lacks large carnivores. Higher survivorship at Ngogo appears to be an adaptive response to a food supply that is more abundant and varies less than that of Kanyawara. Future analyses of hominin life history evolution should take these results into account.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian M Wood
- Department of Anthropology, Yale University, 10 Sachem Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
| | - David P Watts
- Department of Anthropology, Yale University, 10 Sachem Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - John C Mitani
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, 101 West Hall, 1085 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Kevin E Langergraber
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 872402, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 872402, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
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Gettler LT, Ryan CP, Eisenberg DTA, Rzhetskaya M, Hayes MG, Feranil AB, Bechayda SA, Kuzawa CW. The role of testosterone in coordinating male life history strategies: The moderating effects of the androgen receptor CAG repeat polymorphism. Horm Behav 2017; 87:164-175. [PMID: 27794482 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2016] [Revised: 10/20/2016] [Accepted: 10/23/2016] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Partnered fathers often have lower testosterone than single non-parents, which is theorized to relate to elevated testosterone (T) facilitating competitive behaviors and lower T contributing to nurturing. Cultural- and individual-factors moderate the expression of such psychobiological profiles. Less is known about genetic variation's role in individual psychobiological responses to partnering and fathering, particularly as related to T. We examined the exon 1 CAG (polyglutamine) repeat (CAGn) within the androgen receptor (AR) gene. AR CAGn shapes T's effects after it binds to AR by affecting AR transcriptional activity. Thus, this polymorphism is a strong candidate to influence individual-level profiles of "androgenicity." While males with a highly androgenic profile are expected to engage in a more competitive-oriented life history strategy, low androgenic men are at increased risk of depression, which could lead to similar outcomes for certain familial dynamics, such as marriage stability and parenting. Here, in a large longitudinal study of Filipino men (n=683), we found that men who had high androgenicity (elevated T and shorter CAGn) or low androgenicity (lower T and longer CAGn) showed elevated likelihood of relationship instability over the 4.5-year study period and were also more likely be relatively uninvolved with childcare as fathers. We did not find that CAGn moderated men's T responses to the fatherhood transition. In total, our results provide evidence for invested fathering and relationship stability at intermediate levels of androgenicity and help inform our understanding of variation in male reproductive strategies and the individual hormonal and genetic differences that underlie it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, United States; The Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, United States.
| | - Calen P Ryan
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, United States
| | - Dan T A Eisenberg
- Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, United States; Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
| | - Margarita Rzhetskaya
- Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Molecular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
| | - M Geoffrey Hayes
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, United States; Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Molecular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, United States; Center for Genetic Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
| | - Alan B Feranil
- USC Office of Population Studies Foundation and Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and History, College of Arts and Sciences, University of San Carlos, Talamban Cebu City, Philippines
| | - Sonny Agustin Bechayda
- USC Office of Population Studies Foundation and Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and History, College of Arts and Sciences, University of San Carlos, Talamban Cebu City, Philippines
| | - Christopher W Kuzawa
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, United States; Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, United States
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Antón SC, Taboada HG, Middleton ER, Rainwater CW, Taylor AB, Turner TR, Turnquist JE, Weinstein KJ, Williams SA. Morphological variation in Homo erectus and the origins of developmental plasticity. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:20150236. [PMID: 27298467 PMCID: PMC4920293 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Homo erectus was the first hominin to exhibit extensive range expansion. This extraordinary departure from Africa, especially into more temperate climates of Eurasia, has been variously related to technological, energetic and foraging shifts. The temporal and regional anatomical variation in H. erectus suggests that a high level of developmental plasticity, a key factor in the ability of H. sapiens to occupy a variety of habitats, may also have been present in H. erectus. Developmental plasticity, the ability to modify development in response to environmental conditions, results in differences in size, shape and dimorphism across populations that relate in part to levels of resource sufficiency and extrinsic mortality. These differences predict not only regional variations but also overall smaller adult sizes and lower levels of dimorphism in instances of resource scarcity and high predator load. We consider the metric variation in 35 human and non-human primate 'populations' from known environmental contexts and 14 time- and space-restricted paleodemes of H. erectus and other fossil Homo Human and non-human primates exhibit more similar patterns of variation than expected, with plasticity evident, but in differing patterns by sex across populations. The fossil samples show less evidence of variation than expected, although H. erectus varies more than Neandertals.This article is part of the themed issue 'Major transitions in human evolution'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan C Antón
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Hannah G Taboada
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Emily R Middleton
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Missouri, M263 Medical Science Building, Columbia, MO 65212, USA
| | | | - Andrea B Taylor
- Department of Orthopaedics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27708, USA Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Trudy R Turner
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Jean E Turnquist
- Caribbean Primate Research Center and Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology (Retired), University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA
| | - Karen J Weinstein
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA 17013, USA
| | - Scott A Williams
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
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Lu A, Bergman TJ, McCann C, Stinespring-Harris A, Beehner JC. Growth trajectories in wild geladas (Theropithecus gelada). Am J Primatol 2016; 78:707-19. [PMID: 26950523 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2015] [Revised: 01/23/2016] [Accepted: 01/25/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Life history and socioecological factors have been linked to species-specific patterns of growth across female vertebrates. For example, greater maternal investment in offspring has been associated with more discrete periods of growth and reproduction. However, in primates it has been difficult to test such hypotheses because very few studies have obtained growth measurements from wild populations. Here we utilize a promising noninvasive photogrammetric method-parallel lasers-to examine shoulder-rump (SR) growth in a wild primate, the gelada (Theropithecus gelada, Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia). In this species, a graminivorous diet coupled with high extrinsic infant mortality risk suggests that maternal investment in neonates is low. Therefore, in contrast with other closely related papionins, we expected female geladas to exhibit less discrete periods of growth and reproduction. For both sexes, we compared size-for-age patterns (N = 154 females; N = 110 males) and changes in growth velocity relative to major life history milestones. Female geladas finished 88.5% of SR growth by first sexual swelling, and 97.2% by first reproduction, reaching adult body size by 7.72 years of age. Compared to closely related papionins, gelada females finished more growth by first reproduction, despite producing relatively small, and presumably "cheap," neonates. Male geladas finished 85.4% of growth at dispersal, and 96.0% at estimated first birth. Contrary to other polygynous primates, males are larger than females because they grow for a longer period of time (not because they grow faster), surpassing females around 6 years of age when female growth slows. Our results demonstrate that parallel lasers are an easy and promising new method that can be used to construct comprehensive life history perspectives that were once out of reach for wild populations. Am. J. Primatol. 78:707-719, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy Lu
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York
| | - Thore J Bergman
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Colleen McCann
- Wildlife Conservation Society/Bronx Zoo, Bronx, New York.,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York
| | | | - Jacinta C Beehner
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.,Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Brüne M. Borderline Personality Disorder: Why 'fast and furious'? EVOLUTION MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2016; 2016:52-66. [PMID: 26929090 PMCID: PMC4782519 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eow002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2015] [Accepted: 01/14/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The term 'Borderline Personality Disorder' (BPD) refers to a psychiatric syndrome that is characterized by emotion dysregulation, impulsivity, risk-taking behavior, irritability, feelings of emptiness, self-injury and fear of abandonment, as well as unstable interpersonal relationships. BPD is not only common in psychiatric populations but also more prevalent in the general community than previously thought, and thus represents an important public health issue. In contrast to most psychiatric disorders, some symptoms associated with BPD may improve over time, even without therapy, though impaired social functioning and interpersonal disturbances in close relationships often persist. Another counterintuitive and insufficiently resolved question is why depressive symptoms and risk-taking behaviors can occur simultaneously in the same individual. Moreover, there is an ongoing debate about the nosological position of BPD, which impacts on research regarding sex differences in clinical presentation and patterns of comorbidity.In this review, it is argued that many features of BPD may be conceptualized within an evolutionary framework, namely behavioral ecology. According to Life History Theory, BPD reflects a pathological extreme or distortion of a behavioral 'strategy' which unconsciously aims at immediate exploitation of resources, both interpersonal and material, based on predictions shaped by early developmental experiences. Such a view is consistent with standard medical conceptualizations of BPD, but goes beyond classic 'deficit'-oriented models, which may have profound implications for therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Brüne
- LWL University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychiatric Preventive Medicine, Division of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry and Psychiatric Preventive Medicine, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
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Abstract
The evolution of distinctively human life history and social organization is generally attributed to paternal provisioning based on pair bonds. Here we develop an alternative argument that connects the evolution of human pair bonds to the male-biased mating sex ratios that accompanied the evolution of human life history. We simulate an agent-based model of the grandmother hypothesis, compare simulated sex ratios to data on great apes and human hunter-gatherers, and note associations between a preponderance of males and mate guarding across taxa. Then we explore a recent model that highlights the importance of mating sex ratios for differences between birds and mammals and conclude that lessons for human evolution cannot ignore mammalian reproductive constraints. In contradiction to our claim that male-biased sex ratios are characteristically human, female-biased ratios are reported in some populations. We consider the likelihood that fertile men are undercounted and conclude that the mate-guarding hypothesis for human pair bonds gains strength from explicit links with our grandmothering life history.
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The evolution of prolonged life after reproduction. Trends Ecol Evol 2015; 30:407-16. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2015.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 132] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2015] [Revised: 04/17/2015] [Accepted: 04/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Alvarado LC, Muller MN, Emery Thompson M, Klimek M, Nenko I, Jasienska G. The Paternal Provisioning Hypothesis: effects of workload and testosterone production on men's musculature. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2015; 158:19-35. [PMID: 26123405 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2014] [Revised: 05/11/2015] [Accepted: 05/14/2015] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Testosterone supports male reproduction through a broad range of behavioral and physiological effects, including the maintenance of sexually dimorphic muscle used in male-male competition. Although it is often assumed that a persistent relationship exists between men's testosterone production and musculature, most studies either fail to find evidence for such a relationship, or document very weak associations. In nonhuman primates, by contrast, correlations between testosterone and muscle mass are higher. Here, we propose the "Paternal Provisioning Hypothesis," which predicts that men's skeletal muscle is less dependent on the effects of androgens than that of other primates, and more sensitive to the physical demands of men's work. This permits human fathers to downregulate testosterone, which has negative impacts on pair-bonding and parenting effort, but without sacrificing the strength and musculature necessary to provision mates and offspring. METHODS We tested predictions of the Paternal Provisioning Hypothesis by assessing parental status, salivary testosterone levels, anthropometry, and strength among 122 men (ages 18-78) at the Mogielica Human Ecology Study Site in rural Poland. We chose this population because men practice subsistence agriculture, regularly engaging in physically demanding labor. Grip and chest strength were assessed using a dynamometer, and upper-body musculature was estimated from arm muscle circumference. RESULTS In this population, testosterone showed no association with measures of strength or musculature, and was lower in older men and pair-bonded fathers. Marital and parental status and workload, by contrast, were positive predictors of muscle mass and strength measures. DISCUSSION These findings offer support for the Paternal Provisioning Hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Martin N Muller
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 87131, NM
| | | | - Magdalena Klimek
- Department of Environmental Health, Jagiellonian University, 31-007, Kraków, Poland
| | - Ilona Nenko
- Department of Environmental Health, Jagiellonian University, 31-007, Kraków, Poland
| | - Grazyna Jasienska
- Department of Environmental Health, Jagiellonian University, 31-007, Kraków, Poland
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41
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Vinicius L, Mace R, Migliano A. Variation in male reproductive longevity across traditional societies. PLoS One 2014; 9:e112236. [PMID: 25405763 PMCID: PMC4236073 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2014] [Accepted: 09/29/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Most accounts of human life history propose that women have short reproductive spans relative to their adult lifespans, while men not only remain fertile but carry on reproducing until late life. Here we argue that studies have overlooked evidence for variation in male reproductive ageing across human populations. We apply a Bayesian approach to census data from Agta hunter-gatherers and Gambian farmers to show that long post-reproductive lifespans characterise not only women but also males in some traditional human populations. We calculate three indices of reproductive ageing in men (oldest age at reproduction, male late-life reproduction, and post-reproductive representation) and identify a continuum of male reproductive longevity across eight traditional societies ranging from !Kung, Hadza and Agta hunter-gatherers exhibiting low levels of polygyny, early age at last reproduction and long post-reproductive lifespans, to male Gambian agriculturalists and Turkana pastoralists showing higher levels of polygyny, late-life reproduction and shorter post-reproductive lifespans. We conclude that the uniquely human detachment between rates of somatic senescence and reproductive decline, and the existence of post-reproductive lifespans, are features of both male and female life histories, and therefore not exclusive consequences of menopause.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucio Vinicius
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ruth Mace
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrea Migliano
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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42
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Stanyon R, Bigoni F. Sexual selection and the evolution of behavior, morphology, neuroanatomy and genes in humans and other primates. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2014; 46P4:579-590. [PMID: 25445181 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2014] [Revised: 09/20/2014] [Accepted: 10/01/2014] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Explaining human evolution means developing hypotheses about the occurrence of sex differences in the brain. Neuroanatomy is significantly influenced by sexual selection, involving the cognitive domain through competition for mates and mate choice. Male neuroanatomy emphasizes subcortical brain areas and visual-spatial skills whereas that of females emphasizes the neocortex and social cognitive areas. In primate species with high degrees of male competition, areas of the brain dealing with aggression are emphasized. Females have higher mirror neuron activity scores than males. Hundreds of genes differ in expression profiles between males and females. Sexually selected differences in gene expression can produce neuroanatomical sex differences. A feedback system links genes, gene expression, hormones, morphology, social structure and behavior. Sex differences, often through female choice, can be rapidly modulated by socialization. Human evolution is a dramatic case of how a trend toward pair bonding and monogamy lowered male competition and increased female choice as a necessary step in releasing the cognitive potential of our species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roscoe Stanyon
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Anthropology laboratories, via del Proconsolo 12, 50122 Florence, Italy.
| | - Francesca Bigoni
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Anthropology laboratories, via del Proconsolo 12, 50122 Florence, Italy
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Ellsworth RM, Bailey DH, Hill KR, Hurtado AM, Walker RS. Relatedness, Co-residence, and Shared Fatherhood among Ache Foragers of Paraguay. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2014. [DOI: 10.1086/678324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Mattison SM, Scelza B, Blumenfield T. Paternal Investment and the Positive Effects of Fathers among the Matrilineal Mosuo of Southwest China. AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/aman.12125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Siobhán M. Mattison
- Department of Biology, Boston University; Boston MA 02215
- Department of Anthropology, University of Auckland; Auckland 1142 New Zealand
| | - Brooke Scelza
- Department of Anthropology, UCLA; Los Angeles CA 90095
| | - Tami Blumenfield
- Department of Asian Studies, Furman University; Greenville SC 29613
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Brüne M. Life History Theory as Organizing Principle of Psychiatric Disorders: Implications and Prospects Exemplified by Borderline Personality Disorder. PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY 2014. [DOI: 10.1080/1047840x.2014.914120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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47
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Gettler LT. Applying socioendocrinology to evolutionary models: Fatherhood and physiology. Evol Anthropol 2014; 23:146-60. [DOI: 10.1002/evan.21412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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Behringer V, Deschner T, Deimel C, Stevens JMG, Hohmann G. Age-related changes in urinary testosterone levels suggest differences in puberty onset and divergent life history strategies in bonobos and chimpanzees. Horm Behav 2014; 66:525-33. [PMID: 25086337 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2014.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2014] [Revised: 07/19/2014] [Accepted: 07/23/2014] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Research on age-related changes in morphology, social behavior, and cognition suggests that the development of bonobos (Pan paniscus) is delayed in comparison to chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). However, there is also evidence for earlier reproductive maturation in bonobos. Since developmental changes such as reproductive maturation are induced by a number of endocrine processes, changes in hormone levels are indicators of different developmental stages. Age-related changes in testosterone excretion are an indirect marker for the onset of puberty in human and non-human primates. In this study we investigated patterns of urinary testosterone levels in male and female bonobos and chimpanzees to determine the onset of puberty. In contrast to other studies, we found that both species experience age-related changes in urinary testosterone levels. Older individuals of both sexes had significantly higher urinary testosterone levels than younger individuals, indicating that bonobos and chimpanzees experience juvenile pause. The males of both species showed a similar pattern of age-related changes in urinary testosterone levels, with a sharp increase in levels around the age of eight years. This suggests that species-differences in aggression and male mate competition evolved independently of developmental changes in testosterone levels. Females showed a similar pattern of age-related urinary testosterone increase. However, in female bonobos the onset was about three years earlier than in female chimpanzees. The earlier rise of urinary testosterone levels in female bonobos is in line with reports of their younger age of dispersal, and suggests that female bonobos experience puberty at a younger age than female chimpanzees.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Behringer
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Primatology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - T Deschner
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Primatology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - C Deimel
- Department of Anthropology, Indiana University Bloomington, 701 E Kirkwood Ave Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - J M G Stevens
- Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, K. Astridplein 26, B 2018, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - G Hohmann
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Primatology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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Stewart-Williams S, Thomas AG. The Ape That Thought It Was a Peacock: Does Evolutionary Psychology Exaggerate Human Sex Differences? PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY 2013. [DOI: 10.1080/1047840x.2013.804899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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50
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Van Arsdale AP. A Shifting Theoretical Framework for Biological Anthropology in 2012. AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/aman.12008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
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