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Woodman JP, Gokcekus S, Beck KB, Green JP, Nussey DH, Firth JA. The ecology of ageing in wild societies: linking age structure and social behaviour. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20220464. [PMID: 39463244 PMCID: PMC11513650 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 10/29/2024] Open
Abstract
The age of individuals has consequences not only for their fitness and behaviour but also for the functioning of the groups they form. Because social behaviour often changes with age, population age structure is expected to shape the social organization, the social environments individuals experience and the operation of social processes within populations. Although research has explored changes in individual social behaviour with age, particularly in controlled settings, there is limited understanding of how age structure governs sociality in wild populations. Here, we synthesize previous research into age-related effects on social processes in natural populations, and discuss the links between age structure, sociality and ecology, specifically focusing on how population age structure might influence social structure and functioning. We highlight the potential for using empirical data from natural populations in combination with social network approaches to uncover pathways linking individual social ageing, population age structure and societal functioning. We discuss the broader implications of these insights for understanding the social impacts of anthropogenic effects on animal population demography and for building a deeper understanding of societal ageing in general.This article is part of the discussion meeting issue 'Understanding age and society using natural populations'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joe P. Woodman
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, OxfordOX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Samin Gokcekus
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, OxfordOX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Kristina B. Beck
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, OxfordOX1 3SZ, UK
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Jonathan P. Green
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, OxfordOX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Dan H. Nussey
- Institute of Ecology & Evolution, The University of Edinburgh, EdinburghEH9 3JT, UK
| | - Josh A. Firth
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, OxfordOX1 3SZ, UK
- School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
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2
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Moiron M, Bouwhuis S. Age-dependent shaping of the social environment in a long-lived seabird: a quantitative genetic approach. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20220465. [PMID: 39463241 PMCID: PMC11513638 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0465] [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: 03/04/2024] [Revised: 05/31/2024] [Accepted: 07/24/2024] [Indexed: 10/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Individual differences in social behaviour can result in fine-scale variation in spatial distribution and, hence, in the social environment experienced. Given the expected fitness consequences associated with differences in social environments, it is imperative to understand the factors that shape them. One potential such factor is age. Age-specific social behaviour-often referred to as 'social ageing'-has only recently attracted attention, requiring more empirical work across taxa. Here, we use 29 years of longitudinal data collected in a pedigreed population of long-lived, colonially breeding common terns (Sterna hirundo) to investigate sources of variation in, and quantitative genetic underpinnings of, an aspect of social ageing: the shaping of the social environment experienced, using the number of neighbours during breeding as a proxy. Our analyses reveal age-specific declines in the number of neighbours during breeding, as well as selective disappearance of individuals with a high number of neighbours. Moreover, we find this social trait, as well as individual variation in the slope of its age-specific decline, to be heritable. These results suggest that social ageing might underpin part of the variation in the overall multicausal ageing phenotype, as well as undergo microevolution, highlighting the potential role of social ageing as a facilitator for, or constraint of, the evolutionary potential of natural populations.This article is part of the discussion meeting issue 'Understanding age and society using natural populations'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Moiron
- Institute of Avian Research, Wilhelmshaven26386, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld33501, Germany
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3
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Schroeder J, Dunning J, Chan AHH, Chik HYJ, Burke T. Not so social in old age: demography as one driver of decreasing sociality. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20220458. [PMID: 39463245 PMCID: PMC11513642 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2024] [Revised: 07/18/2024] [Accepted: 09/23/2024] [Indexed: 10/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Humans become more selective with whom they spend their time, and as a result, the social networks of older humans are smaller than those of younger ones. In non-human animals, processes such as competition and opportunity can result in patterns of declining sociality with age. While there is support for declining sociality with age in mammals, evidence from wild bird populations is lacking. Here, we test whether sociality declines with age in a wild, insular bird population, where we know the exact ages of individuals. Using 6 years of sociality data, we find that as birds aged, their degree and betweenness decreased. The number of same-age birds still alive also decreased with age. Our results suggest that a longitudinal change in sociality with age may be, in part, an emergent effect of natural changes in demography. This highlights the need to investigate the changing costs and benefits of sociality across a lifetime.This article is part of the discussion meeting issue 'Understanding age and society using natural populations'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Schroeder
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, AscotSL5 7PY, UK
| | - Jamie Dunning
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, AscotSL5 7PY, UK
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, LeedsLS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - Alex Hoi Han Chan
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, KonstanzPostbox 687, Germany
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, Radolfzell78464, Germany
| | - Heung Ying Janet Chik
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen9747 AG, The Netherlands
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Terry Burke
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, SheffieldS10 2TN, UK
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4
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Albery GF, Hasik AZ, Morris S, Morris A, Kenyon F, McBean D, Pemberton JM, Nussey DH, Firth JA. Divergent age-related changes in parasite infection occur independently of behaviour and demography in a wild ungulate. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230508. [PMID: 39463254 PMCID: PMC11513643 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Revised: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 10/29/2024] Open
Abstract
As animals age, they exhibit a suite of phenotypic changes, often including reductions in movement and social behaviour ('behavioural ageing'). By altering an individual's exposure to parasites, behavioural ageing may influence infection status trajectories over the lifespan. However, these processes could be confounded by age-related changes in other phenotypic traits, or by selective disappearance of certain individuals owing to parasite-induced mortality. Here, we uncover contrasting age-related patterns of infection across three helminth parasites in wild adult female red deer (Cervus elaphus). Counts of strongyle nematodes (order: Strongylida) increased with age, while counts of liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) and tissue worm (Elaphostrongylus cervi) decreased, and lungworm (Dictyocaulus) counts did not change. These relationships could not be explained by socio-spatial behaviours, spatial structuring, or selective disappearance, suggesting behavioural ageing is unlikely to be responsible for driving age trends. Instead, social connectedness and strongyle infection were positively correlated, such that direct age-infection trends were directly contrasted with the effects implied by previously documented behavioural ageing. This suggests that behavioural ageing may reduce parasite exposure, potentially countering other age-related changes. These findings demonstrate that different parasites can show contrasting age trajectories depending on diverse intrinsic and extrinsic factors, and that behaviour's role in these processes is likely to be complex and multidirectional.This article is part of the discussion meeting issue 'Understanding age and society using natural populations'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory F. Albery
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Edinburgh, EdinburghEH9 3FL, UK
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC20057, USA
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin12587, Germany
- School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, D02 PN40, Ireland
| | - Adam Z. Hasik
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Edinburgh, EdinburghEH9 3FL, UK
| | - Sean Morris
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Edinburgh, EdinburghEH9 3FL, UK
| | - Alison Morris
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Edinburgh, EdinburghEH9 3FL, UK
| | - Fiona Kenyon
- Moredun Research Institute, PenicuikEH26 0PZ, UK
| | - David McBean
- Moredun Research Institute, PenicuikEH26 0PZ, UK
| | | | - Daniel H. Nussey
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Edinburgh, EdinburghEH9 3FL, UK
| | - Josh A. Firth
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, OxfordOX1 3SZ, UK
- School of Biology, University of Leeds, LeedsLS2 9JT, UK
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Firth JA, Albery GF, Bouwhuis S, Brent LJN, Salguero-Gómez R. Understanding age and society using natural populations. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20220469. [PMID: 39463246 PMCID: PMC11513640 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2024] [Accepted: 10/01/2024] [Indexed: 10/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Ageing affects almost all aspects of life and therefore is an important process across societies, human and non-human animal alike. This article introduces new research exploring the complex interplay between individual-level ageing and demography, and the consequences this interplay holds for the structure and functioning of societies across various natural populations. We discuss how this Special Issue provides a foundation for integrating perspectives from evolutionary biology, behavioural ecology and demography to provide new insights into how ageing shapes individuals' social behaviour and social associations, and how this in turn impacts social networks, social processes (such as disease or information transfer) and fitness. Through examining these topics across taxa, from invertebrates to birds and mammals, we outline how contemporary studies are using natural populations to advance our understanding of the relationship between age and society in innovative ways. We highlight key emerging research themes from this Special Issue, such as how sociality affects lifespan and health, the genetic and ecological underpinnings of social ageing and the adaptive strategies employed by different species. We conclude that this Special Issue underscores the importance of studying social ageing using diverse systems and interdisciplinary approaches for advancing evolutionary and ecological insights into both ageing and sociality more generally.This article is part of the discussion meeting issue 'Understanding age and society using natural populations '.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josh A. Firth
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
- Department of Biology, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
| | - Gregory F. Albery
- School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | - Lauren J. N. Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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Siracusa ER, Pavez-Fox MA, Negron-Del Valle JE, Phillips D, Platt ML, Snyder-Mackler N, Higham JP, Brent LJN, Silk MJ. Social ageing can protect against infectious disease in a group-living primate. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20220462. [PMID: 39463240 PMCID: PMC11528358 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0462] [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: 12/08/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 10/29/2024] Open
Abstract
The benefits of social living are well established, but sociality also comes with costs, including infectious disease risk. This cost-benefit ratio of sociality is expected to change across individuals' lifespans, which may drive changes in social behaviour with age. To explore this idea, we combine data from a group-living primate for which social ageing has been described with epidemiological models to show that having lower social connectedness when older can protect against the costs of a hypothetical, directly transmitted endemic pathogen. Assuming no age differences in epidemiological characteristics (susceptibility to, severity and duration of infection), older individuals suffered lower infection costs, which was explained largely because they were less connected in their social networks than younger individuals. This benefit of 'social ageing' depended on epidemiological characteristics and was greatest when infection severity increased with age. When infection duration increased with age, social ageing was beneficial only when pathogen transmissibility was low. Older individuals benefited most from having a lower frequency of interactions (strength) and network embeddedness (closeness) and benefited less from having fewer social partners (degree). Our study provides a first examination of the epidemiology of social ageing, demonstrating the potential for pathogens to influence the evolutionary dynamics of social ageing in natural populations.This article is part of the discussion meeting issue 'Understanding age and society using natural populations'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin R. Siracusa
- School of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Melissa A. Pavez-Fox
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | | | - Daniel Phillips
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Michael L. Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Marketing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- School for Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - James P. Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lauren J. N. Brent
- School of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Matthew J. Silk
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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Fürtbauer I, Shergold C, Christensen C, Bracken AM, Heistermann M, Papadopoulou M, O'Riain MJ, King AJ. Linking energy availability, movement and sociality in a wild primate ( Papio ursinus). Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20220466. [PMID: 39463242 PMCID: PMC11513646 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2024] [Revised: 05/23/2024] [Accepted: 08/20/2024] [Indexed: 10/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Proximate mechanisms of 'social ageing', i.e. shifts in social activity and narrowing of social networks, are understudied. It is proposed that energetic deficiencies (which are often seen in older individuals) may restrict movement and, in turn, sociality, but empirical tests of these intermediary mechanisms are lacking. Here, we study wild chacma baboons (Papio ursinus), combining measures of faecal triiodothyronine (fT3), a non-invasive proxy for energy availability, high-resolution GPS data (movement and social proximity) and accelerometry (social grooming durations). Higher (individual mean-centred) fT3 was associated with increased residency time (i.e. remaining in the same area longer), which, in turn, was positively related to social opportunities (i.e. close physical proximity). Individuals with more frequent social opportunities received more grooming, whereas for grooming given, fT3 moderated this effect, suggesting an energetic cost of giving grooming. While our results support the spirit of the energetic deficiencies hypothesis, the directionality of the relationship between energy availability and movement is unexpected and suggests that lower-energy individuals may use strategies to reduce the costs of intermittent locomotion. Thus, future work should consider whether age-related declines in sociality may be a by-product of a strategy to conserve energy.This article is part of the discussion meeting issue 'Understanding age and society using natural populations'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ines Fürtbauer
- Biosciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, SwanseaSA2 8PP, UK
| | - Chloe Shergold
- Biosciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, SwanseaSA2 8PP, UK
| | - Charlotte Christensen
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science, University of Zurich, Zurich8057, Switzerland
| | - Anna M. Bracken
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, GlasgowG12 8QQ, UK
| | | | - Marina Papadopoulou
- Biosciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, SwanseaSA2 8PP, UK
| | - M. Justin O'Riain
- Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, Biological Sciences Department, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, Rondebosch7701, South Africa
| | - Andrew J. King
- Biosciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, SwanseaSA2 8PP, UK
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8
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Hasenjager MJ, Fefferman NH. Social ageing and higher-order interactions: social selectiveness can enhance older individuals' capacity to transmit knowledge. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20220461. [PMID: 39463239 PMCID: PMC11513644 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 02/18/2024] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 10/29/2024] Open
Abstract
In long-lived organisms, experience can accumulate with age, such that older individuals may act as repositories of ecological and social knowledge. Such knowledge is often beneficial and can spread via social transmission, leading to the expectation that ageing individuals will remain socially well-integrated. However, social ageing involves multiple processes that modulate the relationship between age and social connectivity in complex ways. We developed a generative model to explore how social ageing may drive changes in social network position and shape older individuals' capacity to transmit knowledge to others. We further employ novel hypernetwork analyses that capture higher-order interactions (i.e. involving ≥ 3 participants) to reveal potential relationships between age and sociality that conventional dyadic networks may overlook. We find that older individuals in our simulations effectively facilitate transmission across a range of scenarios, especially when transmission resembles a complex contagion or when social selectivity (i.e. prioritization of key relationships) rapidly emerges with age. These patterns result from the formation of tight-knit sets of older associates that co-occur in multiple groups, thereby reinforcing one another's capacity to transmit knowledge. Our findings suggest key avenues for future empirical work and illustrate the use of hypernetworks in advancing the study of social behaviour.This article is part of the discussion meeting issue 'Understanding age and society using natural populations'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J. Hasenjager
- Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Nina H. Fefferman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
- Department of Mathematics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
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9
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Jacobs PJ, Vos S, Bishop CE, Hart DW, Bennett NC, Waterman JM. Oxidative Stress in an African Ground Squirrel, a Case of Healthy Aging and Reproduction. Antioxidants (Basel) 2024; 13:1401. [PMID: 39594543 PMCID: PMC11591065 DOI: 10.3390/antiox13111401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2024] [Revised: 11/10/2024] [Accepted: 11/13/2024] [Indexed: 11/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Oxidative stress plays a crucial role in mediating life-history processes, where it can compromise survival and reproduction through harmful alterations to DNA, lipids, and proteins. In this study, we investigated oxidative stress in Cape ground squirrels (Xerus inauris), a longer-lived African ground squirrel species with a high reproductive skew and unique life history strategies. We measured oxidative stress as total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total oxidant status (TOS), and an oxidative stress index (OSI) in blood plasma from individuals of approximately known ages. Our results reveal a distinct pattern of decreasing oxidative stress with age, consistent across both sexes. Females exhibited lower OSI and TOS levels than males. Males employing different life-history strategies, namely natal (staying at home), had significantly lower oxidative stress compared to the band (roaming male groups), likely due to variations in metabolic rate, activity, and feeding rates. However, both strategies exhibited reduced oxidative stress with age, though the underlying mechanisms require further investigation. We propose that selection pressures favoring survival contributed to the observed reduction in oxidative stress with age, potentially maximizing lifetime reproductive success in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Juan Jacobs
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa; (D.W.H.); (N.C.B.); (J.M.W.)
| | - Sjoerd Vos
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada; (S.V.); (C.E.B.)
| | - Chelsea E. Bishop
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada; (S.V.); (C.E.B.)
| | - Daniel William Hart
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa; (D.W.H.); (N.C.B.); (J.M.W.)
| | - Nigel Charles Bennett
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa; (D.W.H.); (N.C.B.); (J.M.W.)
| | - Jane M. Waterman
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa; (D.W.H.); (N.C.B.); (J.M.W.)
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada; (S.V.); (C.E.B.)
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10
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Siracusa ER, Pavez-Fox MA, Negron-Del Valle JE, Phillips D, Platt ML, Snyder-Mackler N, Higham JP, Brent LJN, Silk MJ. Social ageing can protect against infectious disease in a group-living primate. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.09.584237. [PMID: 38559098 PMCID: PMC10979879 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.09.584237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
The benefits of social living are well established, but sociality also comes with costs, including infectious disease risk. This cost-benefit ratio of sociality is expected to change across individuals' lifespans, which may drive changes in social behaviour with age. To explore this idea, we combine data from a group-living primate for which social ageing has been described with epidemiological models to show that having lower social connectedness when older can protect against the costs of a hypothetical, directly transmitted endemic pathogen. Assuming no age differences in epidemiological characteristics (susceptibility to, severity, and duration of infection), older individuals suffered lower infection costs, which was explained largely because they were less connected in their social networks than younger individuals. This benefit of 'social ageing' depended on epidemiological characteristics and was greatest when infection severity increased with age. When infection duration increased with age, social ageing was beneficial only when pathogen transmissibility was low. Older individuals benefited most from having a lower frequency of interactions (strength) and network embeddedness (closeness) and benefited less from having fewer social partners (degree). Our study provides a first examination of the epidemiology of social ageing, demonstrating the potential for pathogens to influence evolutionary dynamics of social ageing in natural populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin R. Siracusa
- School of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | | | | | - Daniel Phillips
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Arizona, USA
| | - Michael L. Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
- Department of Marketing, University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Arizona, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Arizona, USA
- School for Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Arizona, USA
| | - James P. Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, USA
| | - Lauren J. N. Brent
- School of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Matthew J. Silk
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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11
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Albery GF, Webber QMR, Farine D, Picardi S, Vander Wal E, Manlove KR. Expanding theory, methodology and empirical systems at the spatial-social interface. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20220534. [PMID: 39230454 PMCID: PMC11449169 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0534] [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: 07/30/2024] [Accepted: 07/31/2024] [Indexed: 09/05/2024] Open
Abstract
All animals exhibit some combination of spatial and social behaviours. A diversity of interactions occurs between such behaviours, producing emergent phenomena at the spatial-social interface. Untangling and interrogating these complex, intertwined processes can be vital for identifying the mechanisms, causes and consequences of behavioural variation in animal ecology. Nevertheless, the integrated study of the interactions between spatial and social phenotypes and environments (at the spatial-social interface) is in its relative infancy. In this theme issue, we present a collection of papers chosen to expand the spatial-social interface along several theoretical, methodological and empirical dimensions. They detail new perspectives, methods, study systems and more, as well as offering roadmaps for applied outputs and detailing exciting new directions for the field to move in the future. In this Introduction, we outline the contents of these papers, placing them in the context of what comes before, and we synthesize a number of takeaways and future directions for the spatial-social interface. This article is part of the theme issue 'The spatial-social interface: a theoretical and empirical integration'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory F Albery
- School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin , Dublin, Ireland
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University , Washington, DC, USA
| | - Quinn M R Webber
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph , Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Damien Farine
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich , Zurich, Switzerland
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University , Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior , Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Simona Picardi
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences, University of Idaho , Moscow, ID, USA
| | - Eric Vander Wal
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland , St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Kezia R Manlove
- Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University , Logan, UT, USA
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12
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Webber Q. Integrating life history and behavioral aging in the wild. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2414773121. [PMID: 39226369 PMCID: PMC11406274 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2414773121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/05/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Quinn Webber
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G2W1, Canada
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13
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Philson CS. Social behavior: Male and female lions age differently. Curr Biol 2024; 34:R821-R823. [PMID: 39255765 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.07.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/12/2024]
Abstract
Social aging - the change in social behavior across an individual's lifespan - has been found in many animals. A new study in African lions shows that female and male lions differ in their pattern of social aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Conner S Philson
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
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14
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Rudd LF, Packer C, Biro D, Firth JA, Albery GF. Sex-specific social aging in wild African lions. Curr Biol 2024; 34:4039-4046.e2. [PMID: 39111314 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.07.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2024] [Revised: 06/18/2024] [Accepted: 07/09/2024] [Indexed: 09/12/2024]
Abstract
There is a growing interest in social behavior change with age,1,2,3,4,5 and the impacts of sociality on longevity,6,7,8 but current knowledge is broadly limited to primates, societies structured by dominance hierarchies, or single-sex studies. It is less clear how social aging patterns emerge in carnivores. The African lion (Panthera leo), a species that lives in egalitarian fission-fusion societies, presents an exceptional opportunity to examine social aging. Across felids, lions are unique in their dependence on conspecifics for many essential processes,9,10,11 and there is vast knowledge of lion behavioral ecology,10,11,12,13,14 including documented reproductive senescence in both sexes.14,15 Applying spatial-social network analyses across 30 years of data on the wild Serengeti lion population, we show that sex strongly modulates patterns of social aging and longevity. Group size increased with age for both sexes, but only males experienced significant changes in associate numbers (degree), specifically to females, which peaked in mid-life before declining. While aging females experienced declines in intra-sex connectivity (strength) and bond strength (mean strength), they peaked in both to males during mid-life. Male inter-sex strength also peaked in mid-life, while conversely their intra-sex strength and mean strength significantly dipped in mid-life. Although social associations were important for survival in both sexes, the investment diverged significantly: females' overall network connectivity was key for longevity, while the number of associates was important for males. These findings illustrate important potential effects of social aging in a wild carnivore and demonstrate how these diverge strongly between the sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren F Rudd
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK.
| | - Craig Packer
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Dora Biro
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA
| | - Josh A Firth
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK; School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Gregory F Albery
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA; Trinity College Dublin, Dublin D02 PN40, Republic of Ireland
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15
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Bartolomucci A, Kane AE, Gaydosh L, Razzoli M, McCoy BM, Ehninger D, Chen BH, Howlett SE, Snyder-Mackler N. Animal Models Relevant for Geroscience: Current Trends and Future Perspectives in Biomarkers, and Measures of Biological Aging. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2024; 79:glae135. [PMID: 39126297 PMCID: PMC11316208 DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glae135] [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: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2024] Open
Abstract
For centuries, aging was considered inevitable and immutable. Geroscience provides the conceptual framework to shift this focus toward a new view that regards aging as an active biological process, and the biological age of an individual as a modifiable entity. Significant steps forward have been made toward the identification of biomarkers for and measures of biological age, yet knowledge gaps in geroscience are still numerous. Animal models of aging are the focus of this perspective, which discusses how experimental design can be optimized to inform and refine the development of translationally relevant measures and biomarkers of biological age. We provide recommendations to the field, including: the design of longitudinal studies in which subjects are deeply phenotyped via repeated multilevel behavioral/social/molecular assays; the need to consider sociobehavioral variables relevant for the species studied; and finally, the importance of assessing age of onset, severity of pathologies, and age-at-death. We highlight approaches to integrate biomarkers and measures of functional impairment using machine learning approaches designed to estimate biological age as well as to predict future health declines and mortality. We expect that advances in animal models of aging will be crucial for the future of translational geroscience but also for the next chapter of medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Bartolomucci
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Alice E Kane
- Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Lauren Gaydosh
- Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Maria Razzoli
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Brianah M McCoy
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Dan Ehninger
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Bonn, Germany
| | - Brian H Chen
- California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, Sutter Health, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Susan E Howlett
- Departments of Pharmacology and Medicine (Geriatric Medicine), Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
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16
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Bartolomucci A, Tung J, Harris KM. The fortunes and misfortunes of social life across the life course: A new era of research from field, laboratory and comparative studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 162:105655. [PMID: 38583652 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2024] [Revised: 03/31/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
Social gradients in health and aging have been reported in studies across many human populations, and - as the papers included in this special collection highlight - also occur across species. This paper serves as a general introduction to the special collection of Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews entitled "Social dimensions of health and aging: population studies, preclinical research, and comparative research using animal models". Authors of the fourteen reviews are primarily members of a National Institute of Aging-supported High Priority Research Network on "Animal Models for the Social Dimensions of Health and Aging". The collection is introduced by a foreword, commentaries, and opinion pieces by leading experts in related fields. The fourteen reviews are divided into four sections: Section 1: Biodemography and life course studies; Section 2: Social behavior and healthy aging in nonhuman primates; Section 3: Social factors, stress, and hallmarks of aging; Section 4: Neuroscience and social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Bartolomucci
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
| | - Jenny Tung
- Department of Primate Behavior and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Canada; Duke Population Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
| | - Kathleen Mullan Harris
- Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
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17
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Kirkland JM, Edgar EL, Patel I, Feustel P, Belin S, Kopec AM. Synaptic pruning during adolescence shapes adult social behavior in both males and females. Dev Psychobiol 2024; 66:e22473. [PMID: 38433422 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22473] [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: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
Evolutionarily conserved, peer-directed social behaviors are essential to participate in many aspects of human society. These behaviors directly impact psychological, physiological, and behavioral maturation. Adolescence is an evolutionarily conserved period during which reward-related behaviors, including social behaviors, develop via developmental plasticity in the mesolimbic dopaminergic "reward" circuitry of the brain. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is an intermediate reward relay center that develops during adolescence and mediates both social behaviors and dopaminergic signaling. In several developing brain regions, synaptic pruning mediated by microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain, is important for normal behavioral development. We previously demonstrated that during adolescence, in rats, microglial synaptic pruning shapes the development of NAc and social play behavior in males and females. In this report, we hypothesize that interrupting microglial pruning in NAc during adolescence will have persistent effects on male and female social behavior in adulthood. We found that inhibiting microglial pruning in the NAc during adolescence had different effects on social behavior in males and females. In males, inhibiting pruning increased familiar exploration and increased nonsocial contact. In females, inhibiting pruning did not change familiar exploration behavior but increased active social interaction. This leads us to infer that naturally occurring NAc pruning serves to reduce social behaviors toward a familiar conspecific in both males and females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia M Kirkland
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Albany Medical College, Albany, New York, USA
| | - Erin L Edgar
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Albany Medical College, Albany, New York, USA
| | - Ishan Patel
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Albany Medical College, Albany, New York, USA
| | - Paul Feustel
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Albany Medical College, Albany, New York, USA
| | - Sophie Belin
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Albany Medical College, Albany, New York, USA
| | - Ashley M Kopec
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Albany Medical College, Albany, New York, USA
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18
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Sadoughi B, Mundry R, Schülke O, Ostner J. Social network shrinking is explained by active and passive effects but not increasing selectivity with age in wild macaques. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232736. [PMID: 38471563 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Evidence of social disengagement, network narrowing and social selectivity with advancing age in several non-human animals challenges our understanding of the causes of social ageing. Natural animal populations are needed to test whether social ageing and selectivity occur under natural predation and extrinsic mortality pressures, and longitudinal studies are particularly valuable to disentangle the contribution of within-individual ageing from the demographic processes that shape social ageing at the population level. Data on wild Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis) were collected between 2013 and 2020 at the Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. We investigated the social behaviour of 61 adult females observed for 13 270 h to test several mechanistic hypotheses of social ageing and evaluated the consistency between patterns from mixed-longitudinal and within-individual analyses. With advancing age, females reduced the size of their social network, which could not be explained by an overall increase in the time spent alone, but by an age-related decline in mostly active, but also passive, behaviour, best demonstrated by within-individual analyses. A selective tendency to approach preferred partners was maintained into old age but did not increase. Our results contribute to our understanding of the driver of social ageing in natural animal populations and suggest that social disengagement and selectivity follow independent trajectories during ageing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baptiste Sadoughi
- Department of Behavioral Ecology, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, Kellnerweg 6, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Research Group Primate Social Evolution, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Roger Mundry
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Department for Primate Cognition, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Oliver Schülke
- Department of Behavioral Ecology, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, Kellnerweg 6, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Research Group Primate Social Evolution, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Julia Ostner
- Department of Behavioral Ecology, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, Kellnerweg 6, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Research Group Primate Social Evolution, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
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19
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Arellano-Véliz NA, Jeronimus BF, Kunnen ES, Cox RFA. The interacting partner as the immediate environment: Personality, interpersonal dynamics, and bodily synchronization. J Pers 2024; 92:180-201. [PMID: 36825360 DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In social interactions, humans tend to naturally synchronize their body movements. We investigated interpersonal synchronization in conversations and examined its relationship with personality differences and post-interaction appraisals. METHOD In a 15-minute semi-structured conversation, 56 previously-unfamiliar dyads introduced themselves, followed by self-disclosing and argumentative conversations. Their bodily movements were video-recorded in a standardized room (112 young adults, aged 18-33, mean = 20.54, SD = 2.74; 58% Dutch, 31% German, 11% other). Interpersonal bodily synchronization was estimated as (a) synchronization strength using Windowed Lagged Cross-Correlations and (b) Dynamic Organization (Determinism/Entropy/Laminarity/Mean Line) using Cross-Recurrence Quantification Analysis. Bodily synchronization was associated with differences in Agreeableness and Extraversion (IPIP-NEO-120) and post-conversational appraisals (affect/closeness/enjoyment) in mixed-effect models. RESULTS Agreeable participants exhibited higher complexity in bodily synchronization dynamics (higher Entropy) than disagreeable individuals, who also reported more negative affect afterward. Interpersonal synchronization was stronger among extroverts than among introverts and extroverts appraised conversations as more positive and enjoyable. Bodily synchronization strength and dynamic organization were related to the type of conversation (self-disclosing/argumentative). CONCLUSIONS Interpersonal dynamics were intimately connected to differences in Agreeableness and Extraversion, varied across situations, and these parameters affected how pleasant, close, and enjoyable each conversation felt.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bertus F Jeronimus
- Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - E Saskia Kunnen
- Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Ralf F A Cox
- Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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20
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Semple BD, Mychasiuk R. Sex and Age-at-Injury as Determinants of Social Behavior Outcomes After TBI. ADVANCES IN NEUROBIOLOGY 2024; 42:205-218. [PMID: 39432044 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-69832-3_10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2024]
Abstract
While our understanding of long-term disability after traumatic brain injury (TBI) has habitually focused on cognitive and sensorimotor functioning, it is increasingly appreciated that changes in social function for survivors of a brain injury are common and have a profound impact on one's quality of life. In this chapter, we highlight the consequences of TBI on social behavior, taking into account evidence from studies of patient populations as well as from preclinical animal models. After first considering the protracted nature of the development of social behavior across the lifespan, including the neurobiological networks that underlie social functioning, we discuss how TBI results in social behavior impairments and how these manifest. We focus particularly on how age-at-injury influences TBI-induced social impairments, with most of the evidence suggesting age-dependent vulnerability after injury at a younger age. In addition, we explore how biological sex is a key determinant of social behavior impairments after TBI, while gender in humans may also influence the nature and extent of social outcomes. Finally, we identify key knowledge gaps and emphasize the need for further research in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bridgette D Semple
- Department of Neuroscience, The School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
| | - Richelle Mychasiuk
- Department of Neuroscience, The School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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21
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Albery GF, Bansal S, Silk MJ. Comparative approaches in social network ecology. Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14345. [PMID: 38069575 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14345] [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: 05/03/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2024]
Abstract
Social systems vary enormously across the animal kingdom, with important implications for ecological and evolutionary processes such as infectious disease dynamics, anti-predator defence, and the evolution of cooperation. Comparing social network structures between species offers a promising route to help disentangle the ecological and evolutionary processes that shape this diversity. Comparative analyses of networks like these are challenging and have been used relatively little in ecology, but are becoming increasingly feasible as the number of empirical datasets expands. Here, we provide an overview of multispecies comparative social network studies in ecology and evolution. We identify a range of advancements that these studies have made and key challenges that they face, and we use these to guide methodological and empirical suggestions for future research. Overall, we hope to motivate wider publication and analysis of open social network datasets in animal ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory F Albery
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Shweta Bansal
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Matthew J Silk
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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22
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Fila M, Pawlowska E, Szczepanska J, Blasiak J. Different Aspects of Aging in Migraine. Aging Dis 2023; 14:2028-2050. [PMID: 37199585 PMCID: PMC10676778 DOI: 10.14336/ad.2023.0313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Migraine is a common neurological disease displaying an unusual dependence on age. For most patients, the peak intensity of migraine headaches occurs in 20s and lasts until 40s, but then headache attacks become less intense, occur less frequently and the disease is more responsive to therapy. This relationship is valid in both females and males, although the prevalence of migraine in the former is 2-4 times greater than the latter. Recent concepts present migraine not only as a pathological event, but rather as a part of evolutionary adaptive response to protect organism against consequences of stress-induced brain energy deficit. However, these concepts do not fully explain that unusual dependence of migraine prevalence on age. Many aspects of aging, both molecular/cellular and social/cognitive, are interwound in migraine pathogenesis, but they neither explain why only some persons are affected by migraine, nor suggest any causal relationship. In this narrative/hypothesis review we present information on associations of migraine with chronological aging, brain aging, cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion as well as social, cognitive, epigenetic, and metabolic aging. We also underline the role of oxidative stress in these associations. We hypothesize that migraine affects only individuals who have inborn, genetic/epigenetic, or acquired (traumas, shocks or complexes) migraine predispositions. These predispositions weakly depend on age and affected individuals are more prone to migraine triggers than others. Although the triggers can be related to many aspects of aging, social aging may play a particularly important role as the prevalence of its associated stress has a similar age-dependence as the prevalence of migraine. Moreover, social aging was shown to be associated with oxidative stress, important in many aspects of aging. In perspective, molecular mechanisms underlying social aging should be further explored and related to migraine with a closer association with migraine predisposition and difference in prevalence by sex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michal Fila
- Department of Developmental Neurology and Epileptology, Polish Mother’s Memorial Hospital Research Institute, 93-338 Lodz, Poland.
| | - Elzbieta Pawlowska
- Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Medical University of Lodz, 92-216 Lodz, Poland.
| | - Joanna Szczepanska
- Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Medical University of Lodz, 92-216 Lodz, Poland.
| | - Janusz Blasiak
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/143, 90-236, Lodz, Poland.
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23
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Albery GF, Sweeny AR, Webber Q. How behavioural ageing affects infectious disease. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 155:105426. [PMID: 37839673 PMCID: PMC10842249 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105426] [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: 12/31/2022] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
Ageing is associated with profound changes in behaviour that could influence exposure and susceptibility to infectious disease. As well as determining emergent patterns of infection across individuals of different ages, behavioural ageing could interact with, confound, or counteract age-related changes in other traits. Here, we examine how behavioural ageing can manifest and influence patterns of infection in wild animals. We discuss a range of age-related changes that involve interactions between behaviour and components of exposure and susceptibility to infection, including social ageing and immunosenescence, acquisition of novel parasites and pathogens with age, changes in spatial behaviours, and age-related hygiene and sickness behaviours. Overall, most behavioural changes are expected to result in a reduced exposure rate, but there is relatively little evidence for this phenomenon, emerging largely from a rarity of explicit tests of exposure changes over the lifespan. This review offers a framework for understanding how ageing, behaviour, immunity, and infection interact, providing a series of hypotheses and testable predictions to improve our understanding of health in ageing societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory F Albery
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA; Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK; Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Amy R Sweeny
- School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, England, UK
| | - Quinn Webber
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
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24
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Cook PA, Costello RA, Formica VA, Brodie ED. Individual and Population Age Impact Social Behavior and Network Structure in a Long-Lived Insect. Am Nat 2023; 202:667-680. [PMID: 37963123 DOI: 10.1086/726063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
AbstractSocial behaviors vary among individuals, and social networks vary among groups. Understanding the causes of such variation is important for predicting or altering ecological processes such as infectious disease outbreaks. Here, we ask whether age contributes to variation in social behavior at multiple levels of organization: within individuals over time, among individuals of different ages, among local social environments, and among populations. We used experimental manipulations of captive populations and a longitudinal dataset to test whether social behavior is associated with age across these levels in a long-lived insect, the forked fungus beetle (Bolitotherus cornutus). In cross-sectional analyses, we found that older beetles were less connected in their social networks. Longitudinal data confirmed that this effect was due in part to changes in behavior over time; beetles became less social over 2 years, possibly because of increased social selectivity or reproductive investment. Beetles of different ages also occupied different local social neighborhoods. The effects of age on behavior scaled up: populations of older individuals had fewer interactions, fewer but more variable relationships, longer network path lengths, and lower clustering than populations of young individuals. Age therefore impacted not only individual sociality but also the network structures that mediate critical population processes.
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25
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Rothwell ES, Carp SB, Bliss-Moreau E. The importance of social behavior in nonhuman primate studies of aging: A mini-review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 154:105422. [PMID: 37806369 PMCID: PMC10716830 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Social behavior plays an important role in supporting both psychological and physical health across the lifespan. People's social lives change as they age, and the nature of these changes differ based on whether people are on healthy aging trajectories or are experiencing neurodegenerative diseases that cause dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Nonhuman primate models of aging have provided a base of knowledge comparing aging trajectories in health and disease, but these studies rarely emphasize social behavior changes as a consequence of the aging process. What data exist hold particular value, as negative effects of disease and aging on social behavior are likely to have disproportionate impacts on quality of life. In this mini review, we examine the literature on nonhuman primate models of aging with a focus on social behavior, in the context of both health and disease. We propose that adopting a greater focus on social behavior outcomes in nonhuman primates will improve our understanding of the intersection of health, aging and sociality in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily S Rothwell
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Medicine University of Pittsburgh, 3501 Fifth Avenue, Biomedical Science Tower 3, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
| | - Sarah B Carp
- Neuroscience & Behavior Unit, California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, County Road 98 at Hutchinson Drive, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Eliza Bliss-Moreau
- Neuroscience & Behavior Unit, California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, County Road 98 at Hutchinson Drive, Davis, CA 95616, USA; Department of Psychology, University of California Davis, County Road 98 at Hutchinson Drive, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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26
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Cavieres G, Bozinovic F, Bogdanovich JM, Rivera DS. Impact of prolonged chronic social isolation stress on behavior and multifractal complexity of metabolic rate in Octodon degus. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1239157. [PMID: 37928446 PMCID: PMC10622977 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1239157] [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: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Social interaction can improve animal performance through the prevention of stress-related events, the provision of security, and the enhancement of reproductive output and survival. We investigated the effects of prolonged chronic social isolation stress on behavioral, cognitive, and physiological performance in the social, long-lived rodent Octodon degus. Degu pups were separated into two social stress treatments: control (CTRL) and chronically isolated (CI) individuals from post-natal and post-weaning until adulthood. We quantified anxiety-like behavior and cognitive performance with a battery of behavioral tests. Additionally, we measured their basal metabolic rate (BMR) and analyzed the multifractal properties of the oxygen consumption time series using Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis, a well-known method for assessing the fractal characteristics of biological signals. Our results showed that CI induced a significant increase in anxiety-like behaviors and led to a reduction in social and working memory in male degus. In addition, CI-treated degus reduced the multifractal complexity of BMR compared to CTRL, which implies a decrease in the ability to respond to environmental stressors and, as a result, an unhealthy state. In contrast, we did not observe significant effects of social stress on BMR. Multivariate analyses showed a clear separation of behavior and physiological variables into two clusters, corresponding to CI and CTRL degus. This study provides novel insights into the effects of prolonged chronic social isolation stress on behavior, cognitive performance, and metabolic complexity in this rodent animal model. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first study to integrate cognitive-behavioral performance and multifractal dynamics of a physiological signal in response to prolonged social isolation. These findings highlight the importance of social interactions for the well-being and overall performance of social animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grisel Cavieres
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
- Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Francisco Bozinovic
- Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - José Miguel Bogdanovich
- Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Daniela S. Rivera
- GEMA Center for Genomics, Ecology and Environment, Facultad de Ciencias, Ingeniería y Tecnología, Universidad Mayor, Santiago, Chile
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Hernández-Pacheco R, Steiner UK, Rosati AG, Tuljapurkar S. Advancing methods for the biodemography of aging within social contexts. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 153:105400. [PMID: 37739326 PMCID: PMC10591901 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105400] [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: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
Several social dimensions including social integration, status, early-life adversity, and their interactions across the life course can predict health, reproduction, and mortality in humans. Accordingly, the social environment plays a fundamental role in the emergence of phenotypes driving the evolution of aging. Recent work placing human social gradients on a biological continuum with other species provides a useful evolutionary context for aging questions, but there is still a need for a unified evolutionary framework linking health and aging within social contexts. Here, we summarize current challenges to understand the role of the social environment in human life courses. Next, we review recent advances in comparative biodemography and propose a biodemographic perspective to address socially driven health phenotype distributions and their evolutionary consequences using a nonhuman primate population. This new comparative approach uses evolutionary demography to address the joint dynamics of populations, social dimensions, phenotypes, and life history parameters. The long-term goal is to advance our understanding of the link between individual social environments, population-level outcomes, and the evolution of aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raisa Hernández-Pacheco
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 N Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90840-0004, USA.
| | - Ulrich K Steiner
- Freie Universität Berlin, Biological Institute, Königin-Luise Str. 1-3, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Alexandra G Rosati
- Departments of Psychology and Anthropology, University of Michigan, 530 Church St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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28
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Berendzen KM, Bales KL, Manoli DS. Attachment across the lifespan: Examining the intersection of pair bonding neurobiology and healthy aging. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 153:105339. [PMID: 37536581 PMCID: PMC11073483 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/30/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023]
Abstract
Increasing evidence suggests that intact social bonds are protective against age-related morbidity, while bond disruption and social isolation increase the risk for multiple age-related diseases. Social attachments, the enduring, selective bonds formed between individuals, are thus essential to human health. Socially monogamous species like the prairie vole (M. ochrogaster) form long-term pair bonds, allowing us to investigate the mechanisms underlying attachment and the poorly understood connection between social bonds and health. In this review, we explore several potential areas of focus emerging from data in humans and other species associating attachment and healthy aging, and evidence from prairie voles that may clarify this link. We examine gaps in our understanding of social cognition and pair bond behavior. Finally, we discuss physiologic pathways related to pair bonding that promote resilience to the processes of aging and age-related disease. Advances in the development of molecular genetic tools in monogamous species will allow us to bridge the mechanistic gaps presented and identify conserved research and therapeutic targets relevant to human health and aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen M. Berendzen
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco, CA 95158, USA
- Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco, CA 95158, USA
- Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco, CA 95158, USA
- Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco, CA 95158, USA
| | - Karen L. Bales
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis; Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis; Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Devanand S. Manoli
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco, CA 95158, USA
- Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco, CA 95158, USA
- Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco, CA 95158, USA
- Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco, CA 95158, USA
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco, CA 95158, USA
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29
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Thompson González N, Machanda Z, Emery Thompson M. Age-related social selectivity: An adaptive lens on a later life social phenotype. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 152:105294. [PMID: 37380041 PMCID: PMC10529433 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
Age-related social selectivity is a process in which older humans reduce their number of social partners to a subset of positive and emotionally fulfilling relationships. Although selectivity has been attributed to humans' unique perceptions of time horizons, recent evidence demonstrates that these social patterns and processes occur in other non-human primates, suggesting an evolutionarily wider phenomenon. Here, we develop the hypothesis that selective social behavior is an adaptive strategy that allows social animals to balance the costs and benefits of navigating social environments in the face of age-related functional declines. We first aim to distinguish social selectivity from the non-adaptive social consequences of aging. We then outline multiple mechanisms by which social selectivity in old age may enhance fitness and healthspan. Our goal is to lay out a research agenda to identify selective strategies and their potential benefits. Given the importance of social support for health across primates, understanding why aging individuals lose social connections and how they can remain resilient has vital applications to public health research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Thompson González
- Integrative Anthropological Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Zarin Machanda
- Department of Anthropology, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
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30
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Kirkland JM, Edgar EL, Patel I, Kopec AM. Impaired microglia-mediated synaptic pruning in the nucleus accumbens during adolescence results in persistent dysregulation of familiar, but not novel social interactions in sex-specific ways. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.02.539115. [PMID: 37205324 PMCID: PMC10187149 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.02.539115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Evolutionarily conserved, peer-directed social behaviors are essential to participate in many aspects of human society. These behaviors directly impact psychological, physiological, and behavioral maturation. Adolescence is an evolutionarily conserved period during which reward-related behaviors, including social behaviors, develop via developmental plasticity in the mesolimbic dopaminergic 'reward' circuitry of the brain. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is an intermediate reward relay center that develops during adolescence and mediates both social behaviors and dopaminergic signaling. In several developing brain regions, synaptic pruning mediated by microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain, is important for normal behavioral development. In rats, we previously demonstrated that microglial synaptic pruning also mediates NAc and social development during sex-specific adolescent periods and via sex-specific synaptic pruning targets. In this report, we demonstrate that interrupting microglial pruning in NAc during adolescence persistently dysregulates social behavior towards a familiar, but not novel social partner in both sexes, via sex-specific behavioral expression. This leads us to infer that naturally occurring NAc pruning serves to reduce social behaviors primarily directed toward a familiar conspecific in both sexes, but in sex-specific ways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia M. Kirkland
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Albany Medical College
| | - Erin L. Edgar
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Albany Medical College
| | - Ishan Patel
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Albany Medical College
| | - Ashley M. Kopec
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Albany Medical College
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31
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Roatti V, Cowlishaw G, Huchard E, Carter A. Social network inheritance and differentiation in wild baboons. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230219. [PMID: 37234491 PMCID: PMC10206475 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Immatures' social development may be fundamental to understand important biological processes, such as social information transmission through groups, that can vary with age and sex. Our aim was to determine how social networks change with age and differ between sexes in wild immature baboons, group-living primates that readily learn socially. Our results show that immature baboons inherited their mothers' networks and differentiated from them as they aged, increasing their association with partners of similar age and the same sex. Males were less bonded to their matriline and became more peripheral with age compared to females. Our results may pave the way to further studies testing a new hypothetical framework: in female-philopatric societies, social information transmission may be constrained at the matrilineal level by age- and sex-driven social clustering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vittoria Roatti
- Anthropology Department, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Zoological Society of London, Institute of Zoology, London NW1 4RY, UK
| | - Guy Cowlishaw
- Zoological Society of London, Institute of Zoology, London NW1 4RY, UK
| | - Elise Huchard
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier, CNRS, University of Montpellier, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Alecia Carter
- Anthropology Department, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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32
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Rolland A, Pasquier E, Malvezin P, Cassandra C, Dumas M, Dussutour A. Behavioural changes in slime moulds over time. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220063. [PMID: 36802777 PMCID: PMC9939273 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Changes in behaviour over the lifetime of single-cell organisms have primarily been investigated in response to environmental stressors. However, growing evidence suggests that unicellular organisms undergo behavioural changes throughout their lifetime independently of the external environment. Here we studied how behavioural performances across different tasks vary with age in the acellular slime mould Physarum polycephalum. We tested slime moulds aged from 1 week to 100 weeks. First, we showed that migration speed decreases with age in favourable and adverse environments. Second, we showed that decision making and learning abilities do not deteriorate with age. Third, we revealed that old slime moulds can recover temporarily their behavioural performances if they go throughout a dormant stage or if they fuse with a young congener. Last, we observed the response of slime mould facing a choice between cues released by clone mates of different age. We found that both old and young slime moulds are attracted preferentially toward cues left by young slime moulds. Although many studies have studied behaviour in unicellular organisms, few have taken the step of looking for changes in behaviour over the lifetime of individuals. This study extends our knowledge of the behavioural plasticity of single-celled organisms and establishes slime moulds as a promising model to investigate the effect of ageing on behaviour at the cellular level. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Collective behaviour through time'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angèle Rolland
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI), Toulouse University, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse 31062, France
| | - Emilie Pasquier
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI), Toulouse University, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse 31062, France
| | - Paul Malvezin
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI), Toulouse University, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse 31062, France
| | - Craig Cassandra
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI), Toulouse University, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse 31062, France
| | - Mathilde Dumas
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI), Toulouse University, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse 31062, France
| | - A. Dussutour
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI), Toulouse University, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse 31062, France
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33
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Siracusa ER, Pereira AS, Brask JB, Negron-Del Valle JE, Phillips D, Platt ML, Higham JP, Snyder-Mackler N, Brent LJN. Ageing in a collective: the impact of ageing individuals on social network structure. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220061. [PMID: 36802789 PMCID: PMC9939263 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 02/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Ageing affects many phenotypic traits, but its consequences for social behaviour have only recently become apparent. Social networks emerge from associations between individuals. The changes in sociality that occur as individuals get older are thus likely to impact network structure, yet this remains unstudied. Here we use empirical data from free-ranging rhesus macaques and an agent-based model to test how age-based changes in social behaviour feed up to influence: (i) an individual's level of indirect connectedness in their network and (ii) overall patterns of network structure. Our empirical analyses revealed that female macaques became less indirectly connected as they aged for some, but not for all network measures examined. This suggests that indirect connectivity is affected by ageing, and that ageing animals can remain well integrated in some social contexts. Surprisingly, we did not find evidence for a relationship between age distribution and the structure of female macaque networks. We used an agent-based model to gain further understanding of the link between age-based differences in sociality and global network structure, and under which circumstances global effects may be detectable. Overall, our results suggest a potentially important and underappreciated role of age in the structure and function of animal collectives, which warrants further investigation. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Collective behaviour through time'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin R. Siracusa
- School of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| | - André S. Pereira
- School of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
- Research Centre for Anthropology and Health, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Josefine Bohr Brask
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | | | - Daniel Phillips
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Arizona, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Cayo Biobank Research Unit
- School of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
- Research Centre for Anthropology and Health, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Arizona, AZ 85281, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Arizona, AZ 85281, USA
- School for Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Arizona, AZ 85281, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Marketing, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Michael L. Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Marketing, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104, USA
| | - James P. Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Arizona, AZ 85281, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Arizona, AZ 85281, USA
- School for Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Arizona, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Lauren J. N. Brent
- School of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
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Within-individual changes reveal increasing social selectivity with age in rhesus macaques. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2209180119. [PMID: 36445967 PMCID: PMC9894112 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2209180119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Accumulating evidence in humans and other mammals suggests older individuals tend to have smaller social networks. Uncovering the cause of these declines can inform how changes in social relationships with age affect health and fitness in later life. While age-based declines in social networks have been thought to be detrimental, physical and physiological limitations associated with age may lead older individuals to adjust their social behavior and be more selective in partner choice. Greater selectivity with age has been shown in humans, but the extent to which this phenomenon occurs across the animal kingdom remains an open question. Using longitudinal data from a population of rhesus macaques on Cayo Santiago, we provide compelling evidence in a nonhuman animal for within-individual increases in social selectivity with age. Our analyses revealed that adult female macaques actively reduced the size of their networks as they aged and focused on partners previously linked to fitness benefits, including kin and partners to whom they were strongly and consistently connected earlier in life. Females spent similar amounts of time socializing as they aged, suggesting that network shrinkage does not result from lack of motivation or ability to engage, nor was this narrowing driven by the deaths of social partners. Furthermore, females remained attractive companions and were not isolated by withdrawal of social partners. Taken together, our results provide rare empirical evidence for social selectivity in nonhumans, suggesting that patterns of increasing selectivity with age may be deeply rooted in primate evolution.
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35
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Cooper EB, Watowich MM, Beeby N, Whalen C, Montague MJ, Brent LJN, Snyder-Mackler N, Higham JP. Concentrations of urinary neopterin, but not suPAR, positively correlate with age in rhesus macaques. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.1007052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Identifying biomarkers of age-related changes in immune system functioning that can be measured non-invasively is a significant step in progressing research on immunosenescence and inflammaging in free-ranging and wild animal populations. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the suitability of two urinary compounds, neopterin and suPAR, as biomarkers of age-related changes in immune activation and inflammation in a free-ranging rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) population. We also investigated age-associated variation in gene transcription from blood samples to understand the underlying proximate mechanisms that drive age-related changes in urinary neopterin or suPAR. Neopterin was significantly positively correlated with age, and had a moderate within-individual repeatability, indicating it is applicable as a biomarker of age-related changes. The age-related changes in urinary neopterin are not apparently driven by an age-related increase in the primary signaler of neopterin, IFN-y, but may be driven instead by an age-related increase in both CD14+ and CD14− monocytes. suPAR was not correlated with age, and had low repeatability within-individuals, indicating that it is likely better suited to measure acute inflammation rather than chronic age-related increases in inflammation (i.e., “inflammaging”). Neopterin and suPAR had a correlation of 25%, indicating that they likely often signal different processes, which if disentangled could provide a nuanced picture of immune-system function and inflammation when measured in tandem.
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36
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Albery GF, Clutton-Brock TH, Morris A, Morris S, Pemberton JM, Nussey DH, Firth JA. Ageing red deer alter their spatial behaviour and become less social. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:1231-1238. [PMID: 35864228 PMCID: PMC10859100 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01817-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Social relationships are important to many aspects of animals' lives, and an individual's connections may change over the course of their lifespan. Currently, it is unclear whether social connectedness declines within individuals as they age, and what the underlying mechanisms might be, so the role of age in structuring animal social systems remains unresolved, particularly in non-primates. Here we describe senescent declines in social connectedness using 46 years of data in a wild, individually monitored population of a long-lived mammal (European red deer, Cervus elaphus). Applying a series of spatial and social network analyses, we demonstrate that these declines occur because of within-individual changes in social behaviour, with correlated changes in spatial behaviour (smaller home ranges and movements to lower-density, lower-quality areas). These findings demonstrate that within-individual socio-spatial behavioural changes can lead older animals in fission-fusion societies to become less socially connected, shedding light on the ecological and evolutionary processes structuring wild animal populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory F Albery
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA.
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
- Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | | | - Alison Morris
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Sean Morris
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - Daniel H Nussey
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Josh A Firth
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Merton College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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37
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Social senescence in red deer. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:1062-1063. [PMID: 35864229 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01766-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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38
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Brambilla A, von Hardenberg A, Canedoli C, Brivio F, Sueur C, Stanley CR. Long term analysis of social structure: evidence of age‐based consistent associations in male Alpine ibex. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alice Brambilla
- Dept of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, Univ. of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
- Alpine Wildlife Research Center, Gran Paradiso National Park Torino Italy
| | - Achaz von Hardenberg
- Conservation Biology Research Group, Dept of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Chester Chester UK
| | - Claudia Canedoli
- Dept of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Univ. of Milano Bicocca Milano Italy
| | | | - Cédric Sueur
- Univ. de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178 Strasbourg France
- Inst. Universitaire de France, Saint‐Michel 103 Paris France
| | - Christina R. Stanley
- Conservation Biology Research Group, Dept of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Chester Chester UK
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