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Bortolotti A, Conti A, Romagnoli A, Sacco PL. Imagination vs. routines: festive time, weekly time, and the predictive brain. Front Hum Neurosci 2024; 18:1357354. [PMID: 38736532 PMCID: PMC11082368 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1357354] [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: 12/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024] Open
Abstract
This paper examines the relationship between societal structures shaped by traditions, norms, laws, and customs, and creative expressions in arts and media through the lens of the predictive coding framework in cognitive science. The article proposes that both dimensions of culture can be viewed as adaptations designed to enhance and train the brain's predictive abilities in the social domain. Traditions, norms, laws, and customs foster shared predictions and expectations among individuals, thereby reducing uncertainty in social environments. On the other hand, arts and media expose us to simulated experiences that explore alternative social realities, allowing the predictive machinery of the brain to hone its skills through exposure to a wider array of potentially relevant social circumstances and scenarios. We first review key principles of predictive coding and active inference, and then explore the rationale of cultural traditions and artistic culture in this perspective. Finally, we draw parallels between institutionalized normative habits that stabilize social worlds and creative and imaginative acts that temporarily subvert established conventions to inject variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Bortolotti
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, University “G. D'Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Alice Conti
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, University “G. D'Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | | | - Pier Luigi Sacco
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, University “G. D'Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- metaLAB (at) Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
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2
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Neiworth JJ, Knighten AD, Leppink-Shands C. Is inferential reasoning a distinctly human cognitive feature? Testing reasoning in cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus). J Comp Psychol 2023; 137:249-264. [PMID: 37307353 PMCID: PMC11131473 DOI: 10.1037/com0000356] [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] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Logical inference is often assumed a human-unique ability, although many species of apes and monkeys have shown some facility within a two-cup task in which one cup is baited, the primate is shown the cup which is empty (an exclusion cue), and subsequently chooses the other baited cup. In published reports, New World monkey species show a limited ability to choose successfully, often with half or more of the subjects tested not showing the ability with auditory cues or with exclusion cues. In this study, five cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) were tested in a two-cup task with visual or auditory cues which revealed the presence or absence of bait, and in a second study, were tested with a four-cup array using a variety of walls to define the baiting space and a variety of visual cues including inclusion and exclusion. Tamarins demonstrated the ability to use either visual or auditory exclusion cues to find rewards in the two-cup study, although the visual cue required some exposure before accuracy was expressed. Experiment 2 revealed that two of three tamarins' first guesses to find rewards matched best a logic model. When they made errors, they typically chose cups adjacent to the cued location or made choices that seemed generated from avoiding empty cups. These results suggest that tamarins can deduce the location of food using reasoning, although the ability is only applied robustly to first guesses, while second guesses are motivated by approach/avoidance and proximity to cued locations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
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3
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Rolls ET. Emotion, motivation, decision-making, the orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and the amygdala. Brain Struct Funct 2023:10.1007/s00429-023-02644-9. [PMID: 37178232 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-023-02644-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
The orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala are involved in emotion and in motivation, but the relationship between these functions performed by these brain structures is not clear. To address this, a unified theory of emotion and motivation is described in which motivational states are states in which instrumental goal-directed actions are performed to obtain rewards or avoid punishers, and emotional states are states that are elicited when the reward or punisher is or is not received. This greatly simplifies our understanding of emotion and motivation, for the same set of genes and associated brain systems can define the primary or unlearned rewards and punishers such as sweet taste or pain. Recent evidence on the connectivity of human brain systems involved in emotion and motivation indicates that the orbitofrontal cortex is involved in reward value and experienced emotion with outputs to cortical regions including those involved in language, and is a key brain region involved in depression and the associated changes in motivation. The amygdala has weak effective connectivity back to the cortex in humans, and is implicated in brainstem-mediated responses to stimuli such as freezing and autonomic activity, rather than in declarative emotion. The anterior cingulate cortex is involved in learning actions to obtain rewards, and with the orbitofrontal cortex and ventromedial prefrontal cortex in providing the goals for navigation and in reward-related effects on memory consolidation mediated partly via the cholinergic system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edmund T Rolls
- Oxford Centre for Computational Neuroscience, Oxford, UK.
- Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
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4
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Jiang Y, McDonald KR, Pearson JM, Platt ML. Neuronal mechanisms of dynamic strategic competition. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-2524549. [PMID: 36993358 PMCID: PMC10055525 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2524549/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Competitive social interactions, as in chess or poker, often involve multiple moves and countermoves deployed tactically within a broader strategic plan. Such maneuvers are supported by mentalizing or theory-of-mind-reasoning about the beliefs, plans, and goals of an opponent. The neuronal mechanisms underlying strategic competition remain largely unknown. To address this gap, we studied humans and monkeys playing a virtual soccer game featuring continuous competitive interactions. Humans and monkeys deployed similar tactics within broadly identical strategies, which featured unpredictable trajectories and precise timing for kickers, and responsiveness to opponents for goalies. We used Gaussian Process (GP) classification to decompose continuous gameplay into a series of discrete decisions predicated on the evolving states of self and opponent. We extracted relevant model parameters as regressors for neuronal activity in macaque mid-superior temporal sulcus (mSTS), the putative homolog of human temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), an area selectively engaged during strategic social interactions. We discovered two spatially-segregated populations of mSTS neurons that signaled actions of self and opponent, sensitivities to state changes, and previous and current trial outcomes. Inactivating mSTS reduced kicker unpredictability and impaired goalie responsiveness. These findings demonstrate mSTS neurons multiplex information about the current states of self and opponent as well as history of previous interactions to support ongoing strategic competition, consistent with hemodynamic activity found in human TPJ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaoguang Jiang
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Kelsey R. McDonald
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - John M. Pearson
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - Michael L. Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Marketing Department, the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
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Moeller S, Unakafov AM, Fischer J, Gail A, Treue S, Kagan I. Human and macaque pairs employ different coordination strategies in a transparent decision game. eLife 2023; 12:81641. [PMID: 36633125 PMCID: PMC9937648 DOI: 10.7554/elife.81641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Many real-world decisions in social contexts are made while observing a partner's actions. To study dynamic interactions during such decisions, we developed a setup where two agents seated face-to-face to engage in game-theoretical tasks on a shared transparent touchscreen display ('transparent games'). We compared human and macaque pairs in a transparent version of the coordination game 'Bach-or-Stravinsky', which entails a conflict about which of two individually-preferred opposing options to choose to achieve coordination. Most human pairs developed coordinated behavior and adopted dynamic turn-taking to equalize the payoffs. All macaque pairs converged on simpler, static coordination. Remarkably, two animals learned to coordinate dynamically after training with a human confederate. This pair selected the faster agent's preferred option, exhibiting turn-taking behavior that was captured by modeling the visibility of the partner's action before one's own movement. Such competitive turn-taking was unlike the prosocial turn-taking in humans, who equally often initiated switches to and from their preferred option. Thus, the dynamic coordination is not restricted to humans but can occur on the background of different social attitudes and cognitive capacities in rhesus monkeys. Overall, our results illustrate how action visibility promotes the emergence and maintenance of coordination when agents can observe and time their mutual actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Moeller
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center – Leibniz Institute for Primate ResearchGöttingenGermany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate CognitionGöttingenGermany
| | - Anton M Unakafov
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center – Leibniz Institute for Primate ResearchGöttingenGermany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate CognitionGöttingenGermany
- Georg-Elias-Müller-Institute of Psychology, University of GottingenGöttingenGermany
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-OrganizationGöttingenGermany
- Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological NetworksGottingenGermany
| | - Julia Fischer
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate CognitionGöttingenGermany
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center – Leibniz Institute for Primate ResearchGöttingenGermany
- Department of Primate Cognition, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of GottingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Alexander Gail
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center – Leibniz Institute for Primate ResearchGöttingenGermany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate CognitionGöttingenGermany
- Georg-Elias-Müller-Institute of Psychology, University of GottingenGöttingenGermany
- Bernstein Center for Computational NeuroscienceGöttingenGermany
| | - Stefan Treue
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center – Leibniz Institute for Primate ResearchGöttingenGermany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate CognitionGöttingenGermany
- Georg-Elias-Müller-Institute of Psychology, University of GottingenGöttingenGermany
- Bernstein Center for Computational NeuroscienceGöttingenGermany
| | - Igor Kagan
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center – Leibniz Institute for Primate ResearchGöttingenGermany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate CognitionGöttingenGermany
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6
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Costa RFP, Romano V, Pereira AS, Hart JDA, MacIntosh A, Hayashi M. Mountain gorillas benefit from social distancing too: Close proximity from tourists affects gorillas' sociality. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.12859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Raquel F. P. Costa
- Research Department Japan Monkey Center Inuyama Aichi Japan
- Primate Cognition Research Group, Centre for Philosophy of Science of the University of Lisbon Lisbon Portugal
| | - Valéria Romano
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178 Strasbourg France
- IMBE, Aix Marseille Univ., Avignon Univ., CNRS, IRD Marseille France
| | - André S. Pereira
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter Exeter UK
- Research Centre for Anthropology and Health, Department of Life Sciences University of Coimbra Coimbra Portugal
| | - Jordan D. A. Hart
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter Exeter UK
| | - Andrew MacIntosh
- Inuyama Campus, Kyoto University Wildlife Research Center Inuyama Japan
- Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences, Kyoto University Kyoto Japan
| | - Misato Hayashi
- Research Department Japan Monkey Center Inuyama Aichi Japan
- Chubu Gakuin University Kakamigahara Japan
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7
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Pathak A, Menon SN, Sinha S. Mesoscopic architecture enhances communication across the macaque connectome revealing structure-function correspondence in the brain. Phys Rev E 2022; 106:054304. [PMID: 36559437 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.106.054304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Analyzing the brain in terms of organizational structures at intermediate scales provides an approach to unravel the complexity arising from interactions between its large number of components. Focusing on a wiring diagram that spans the cortex, basal ganglia, and thalamus of the macaque brain, we identify robust modules in the network that provide a mesoscopic-level description of its topological architecture. Surprisingly, we find that the modular architecture facilitates rapid communication across the network, instead of localizing activity as is typically expected in networks having community organization. By considering processes of diffusive spreading and coordination, we demonstrate that the specific pattern of inter- and intramodular connectivity in the network allows propagation to be even faster than equivalent randomized networks with or without modular structure. This pattern of connectivity is seen at different scales and is conserved across principal cortical divisions, as well as subcortical structures. Furthermore, we find that the physical proximity between areas is insufficient to explain the modular organization, as similar mesoscopic structures can be obtained even after factoring out the effect of distance constraints on the connectivity. By supplementing the topological information about the macaque connectome with physical locations, volumes, and functions of the constituent areas and analyzing this augmented dataset, we reveal a counterintuitive role played by the modular architecture of the brain in promoting global coordination of its activity. It suggests a possible explanation for the ubiquity of modularity in brain networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anand Pathak
- The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, CIT Campus, Taramani, Chennai 600113, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai 400 094, India
| | - Shakti N Menon
- The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, CIT Campus, Taramani, Chennai 600113, India
| | - Sitabhra Sinha
- The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, CIT Campus, Taramani, Chennai 600113, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai 400 094, India
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8
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Hanson KL, Grant SE, Funk LH, Schumann CM, Bauman MD. Impact of Maternal Immune Activation on Nonhuman Primate Prefrontal Cortex Development: Insights for Schizophrenia. Biol Psychiatry 2022; 92:460-469. [PMID: 35773097 PMCID: PMC9888668 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Late adolescence is a period of dynamic change in the brain as humans learn to navigate increasingly complex environments. In particular, prefrontal cortical (PFC) regions undergo extensive remodeling as the brain is fine-tuned to orchestrate cognitive control over attention, reasoning, and emotions. Late adolescence also presents a uniquely vulnerable period as neurodevelopmental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, become evident and worsen into young adulthood. Challenges in early development, including prenatal exposure to infection, may set the stage for a cascade of maladaptive events that ultimately result in aberrant PFC connectivity and function before symptoms emerge. A growing body of research suggests that activation of the mother's immune system during pregnancy may act as a disease primer, in combination with other environmental and genetic factors, contributing to an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, including schizophrenia. Animal models provide an invaluable opportunity to examine the course of brain and behavioral changes in offspring exposed to maternal immune activation (MIA). Although the vast majority of MIA research has been carried out in rodents, here we highlight the translational utility of the nonhuman primate (NHP) as a model species more closely related to humans in PFC structure and function. In this review, we consider the protracted period of brain and behavioral maturation in the NHP, describe emerging findings from MIA NHP offspring in the context of rodent preclinical models, and lastly explore the translational relevance of the NHP MIA model to expand understanding of the etiology and developmental course of PFC pathology in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kari L Hanson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, California; MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, Davis, California
| | - Simone E Grant
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, California
| | - Lucy H Funk
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, California
| | - Cynthia M Schumann
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, California; MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, Davis, California.
| | - Melissa D Bauman
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, California; MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, Davis, California; California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, Davis, California.
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9
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Testard C, Brent LJN, Andersson J, Chiou KL, Negron-Del Valle JE, DeCasien AR, Acevedo-Ithier A, Stock MK, Antón SC, Gonzalez O, Walker CS, Foxley S, Compo NR, Bauman S, Ruiz-Lambides AV, Martinez MI, Skene JHP, Horvath JE, Unit CBR, Higham JP, Miller KL, Snyder-Mackler N, Montague MJ, Platt ML, Sallet J. Social connections predict brain structure in a multidimensional free-ranging primate society. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabl5794. [PMID: 35417242 PMCID: PMC9007502 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abl5794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Reproduction and survival in most primate species reflects management of both competitive and cooperative relationships. Here, we investigated the links between neuroanatomy and sociality in free-ranging rhesus macaques. In adults, the number of social partners predicted the volume of the mid-superior temporal sulcus and ventral-dysgranular insula, implicated in social decision-making and empathy, respectively. We found no link between brain structure and other key social variables such as social status or indirect connectedness in adults, nor between maternal social networks or status and dependent infant brain structure. Our findings demonstrate that the size of specific brain structures varies with the number of direct affiliative social connections and suggest that this relationship may arise during development. These results reinforce proposed links between social network size, biological success, and the expansion of specific brain circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Testard
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Lauren J. N. Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | | | - Kenneth L. Chiou
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Josue E. Negron-Del Valle
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Alex R. DeCasien
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, NYCEP, New York, NY, USA
- Section on Developmental Neurogenomics, National Institute of Mental Health, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | - Michala K. Stock
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Susan C. Antón
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, NYCEP, New York, NY, USA
| | - Olga Gonzalez
- Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Christopher S. Walker
- Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Sean Foxley
- Wellcome Integrative Neuroimaging Centre, fMRIB, Oxford, UK
- Department of Radiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Nicole R. Compo
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico
- Comparative Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Samuel Bauman
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico
| | | | - Melween I. Martinez
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico
| | - J. H. Pate Skene
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Julie E. Horvath
- Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC 27707, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | | | - James P. Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, NYCEP, New York, NY, 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
- ASU-Banner Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Michael J. Montague
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Michael L. Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Marketing Department, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Jérôme Sallet
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Wellcome Integrative Neuroimaging Centre, Oxford, UK
- Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute, Inserm, Université Lyon 1, Bron U1208, France
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10
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Quantifying within-group variation in sociality—covariation among metrics and patterns across primate groups and species. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03133-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
It has long been recognized that the patterning of social interactions within a group can give rise to a social structure that holds very different places for different individuals. Such within-group variation in sociality correlates with fitness proxies in fish, birds, and mammals. Broader integration of this research has been hampered by the lack of agreement on how to integrate information from a plethora of dyadic interactions into individual-level metrics. As a step towards standardization, we collected comparative data on affinitive and affiliative interactions from multiple groups each of five species of primates to assess whether the same aspects of sociality are measured by different metrics and indices. We calculated 16 different sociality metrics used in previous research and thought to represent three different sociality concepts. We assessed covariation of metrics within groups and then summarized covariation patterns across all 15 study groups, which varied in size from 5 to 41 adults. With some methodological and conceptual caveats, we found that the number of weak ties individuals formed within their groups represented a dimension of sociality that was largely independent from the overall number of ties as well as from the number and strength of the strong ties they formed. Metrics quantifying indirect connectedness exhibited strong covariation with strong tie metrics and thus failed to capture a third aspect of sociality. Future research linking affiliation and affinity to fitness or other individual level outcomes should quantify inter-individual variation in three aspects: the overall number of ties, the number of weak ties, and the number or strength of strong ties individuals form, after taking into account effects of social network density.
Significance statement
In recent years, long-term studies of individually known animals have revealed strong correlations between individual social bonds and social integration, on the one hand, and reproductive success and survival on the other hand, suggesting strong natural selection on affiliative and affinitive behavior within groups. It proved difficult to generalize from these studies because they all measured sociality in slightly different ways. Analyzing covariation between 16 previously used metrics identified only three rather independent dimensions of variation. Thus, different studies have tapped into the same biological phenomenon. How individuals are weakly connected within their group needs further attention.
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11
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Hvitved AN. Engaging Ethicists in Animal Research Policymaking. ILAR J 2021; 60:318-323. [PMID: 31836879 DOI: 10.1093/ilar/ilz023] [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: 12/17/2018] [Revised: 10/27/2019] [Accepted: 10/31/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The significance of ethical considerations for animal research policy has long been acknowledged, but the role of philosophical ethics in the policymaking process has been less clear. By comparing the ethical framework of animal research policy with that for human subjects research, this article considers how the legacies of these two policy areas influence current policy and suggests that ethicists and ethical scholarship have been underutilized in developing animal research policy. An important aspect of policymaking is gathering and responding to input provided by various stakeholders. Given their expertise in a highly relevant area, ethicists should be considered key stakeholders in animal research policy deliberations. This article explores the role of ethicists and ethical scholarship in influencing animal research policy and suggests that a more robust engagement with the professional ethics community throughout the deliberative process is vital for policymakers to adequately account for ethical considerations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela N Hvitved
- William H. Miller III Department of Philosophy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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12
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Moran NP, Caspers BA, Chakarov N, Ernst UR, Fricke C, Kurtz J, Lilie ND, Lo LK, Müller C, R R, Takola E, Trimmer PC, van Benthem KJ, Winternitz J, Wittmann MJ. Shifts between cooperation and antagonism driven by individual variation: a systematic synthesis review. OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas P. Moran
- Centre for Ocean Life DTU‐Aqua, Technical Univ. of Denmark Lyngby Denmark
- Dept of Evolutionary Biology, Bielefeld Univ. Bielefeld Germany
| | | | | | - Ulrich R. Ernst
- Inst. for Evolution and Biodiversity, Univ. of Münster Münster Germany
- Apicultural State Inst., Univ. of Hohenheim Stuttgart Germany
| | - Claudia Fricke
- Inst. for Evolution and Biodiversity, Univ. of Münster Münster Germany
| | - Joachim Kurtz
- Inst. for Evolution and Biodiversity, Univ. of Münster Münster Germany
| | - Navina D. Lilie
- Dept of Evolutionary Biology, Bielefeld Univ. Bielefeld Germany
- Dept of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld Univ. Bielefeld Germany
| | - Lai Ka Lo
- Inst. for Evolution and Biodiversity, Univ. of Münster Münster Germany
| | | | - Reshma R
- Inst. for Evolution and Biodiversity, Univ. of Münster Münster Germany
| | - Elina Takola
- Inst. of Ecology and Evolution, Friedrich Schiller Univ. Jena Jena Germany
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13
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Ainsworth M, Sallet J, Joly O, Kyriazis D, Kriegeskorte N, Duncan J, Schüffelgen U, Rushworth MFS, Bell AH. Viewing Ambiguous Social Interactions Increases Functional Connectivity between Frontal and Temporal Nodes of the Social Brain. J Neurosci 2021; 41:6070-6086. [PMID: 34099508 PMCID: PMC8276745 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0870-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Social behavior is coordinated by a network of brain regions, including those involved in the perception of social stimuli and those involved in complex functions, such as inferring perceptual and mental states and controlling social interactions. The properties and function of many of these regions in isolation are relatively well understood, but less is known about how these regions interact while processing dynamic social interactions. To investigate whether the functional connectivity between brain regions is modulated by social context, we collected fMRI data from male monkeys (Macaca mulatta) viewing videos of social interactions labeled as "affiliative," "aggressive," or "ambiguous." We show activation related to the perception of social interactions along both banks of the superior temporal sulcus, parietal cortex, medial and lateral frontal cortex, and the caudate nucleus. Within this network, we show that fronto-temporal functional connectivity is significantly modulated by social context. Crucially, we link the observation of specific behaviors to changes in functional connectivity within our network. Viewing aggressive behavior was associated with a limited increase in temporo-temporal and a weak increase in cingulate-temporal connectivity. By contrast, viewing interactions where the outcome was uncertain was associated with a pronounced increase in temporo-temporal, and cingulate-temporal functional connectivity. We hypothesize that this widespread network synchronization occurs when cingulate and temporal areas coordinate their activity when more difficult social inferences are being made.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Processing social information from our environment requires the activation of several brain regions, which are concentrated within the frontal and temporal lobes. However, little is known about how these areas interact to facilitate the processing of different social interactions. Here we show that functional connectivity within and between the frontal and temporal lobes is modulated by social context. Specifically, we demonstrate that viewing social interactions where the outcome was unclear is associated with increased synchrony within and between the cingulate cortex and temporal cortices. These findings suggest that the coordination between the cingulate and temporal cortices is enhanced when more difficult social inferences are being made.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Ainsworth
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom, CB2 7EF
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, OX2 6GG
| | - Jérôme Sallet
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, OX2 6GG
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, OX3 9DU
- Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, Université Lyon 1, 69500 Bron, France
| | - Olivier Joly
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom, CB2 7EF
| | - Diana Kyriazis
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom, CB2 7EF
| | - Nikolaus Kriegeskorte
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom, CB2 7EF
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York, NY 10027
| | - John Duncan
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom, CB2 7EF
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, OX2 6GG
| | - Urs Schüffelgen
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, OX2 6GG
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, OX3 9DU
| | - Matthew F S Rushworth
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, OX2 6GG
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, OX3 9DU
| | - Andrew H Bell
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom, CB2 7EF
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, OX2 6GG
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, OX3 9DU
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14
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Testard C, Tremblay S, Platt M. From the field to the lab and back: neuroethology of primate social behavior. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2021; 68:76-83. [PMID: 33567386 PMCID: PMC8243779 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2020] [Revised: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Social mammals with more numerous and stronger social relationships live longer, healthier lives. Despite the established importance of social relationships, our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms by which they are pursued, formed, and maintained in primates remains largely confined to highly controlled laboratory settings which do not allow natural, dynamic social interactions to unfold. In this review, we argue that the neurobiological study of primate social behavior would benefit from adopting a neuroethological approach, that is, a perspective grounded in natural, species-typical behavior, with careful selection of animal models according to the scientific question at hand. We highlight macaques and marmosets as key animal models for human social behavior and summarize recent findings in the social domain for both species. We then review pioneering studies of dynamic social behaviors in small animals, which can inspire studies in larger primates where the technological landscape is now ripe for an ethological overhaul.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Testard
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Sébastien Tremblay
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Michael Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Psychology Department, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Marketing Department, The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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15
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Testard C, Larson SM, Watowich MM, Kaplinsky CH, Bernau A, Faulder M, Marshall HH, Lehmann J, Ruiz-Lambides A, Higham JP, Montague MJ, Snyder-Mackler N, Platt ML, Brent LJN. Rhesus macaques build new social connections after a natural disaster. Curr Biol 2021; 31:2299-2309.e7. [PMID: 33836140 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2020] [Revised: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of weather-related disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and droughts. Understanding resilience and vulnerability to these intense stressors and their aftermath could reveal adaptations to extreme environmental change. In 2017, Puerto Rico suffered its worst natural disaster, Hurricane Maria, which left 3,000 dead and provoked a mental health crisis. Cayo Santiago island, home to a population of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), was devastated by the same storm. We compared social networks of two groups of macaques before and after the hurricane and found an increase in affiliative social connections, driven largely by monkeys most socially isolated before Hurricane Maria. Further analysis revealed monkeys invested in building new relationships rather than strengthening existing ones. Social adaptations to environmental instability might predispose rhesus macaques to success in rapidly changing anthropogenic environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Testard
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Sam M Larson
- Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | - Cassandre H Kaplinsky
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary, Social and Interdisciplinary Anthropology, University of Roehampton, Roehampton, UK
| | - Antonia Bernau
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Matthew Faulder
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Harry H Marshall
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton, London, UK
| | - Julia Lehmann
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton, London, UK
| | - Angelina Ruiz-Lambides
- Carribean Primate Research Center-Cayo Santiago, University of Puerto Rico, Cayo Santiago Island, Puerto Rico
| | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Michael J Montague
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA; 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
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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16
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Garcia C, Bouret S, Druelle F, Prat S. Balancing costs and benefits in primates: ecological and palaeoanthropological views. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20190667. [PMID: 33423629 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Maintaining the balance between costs and benefits is challenging for species living in complex and dynamic socio-ecological environments, such as primates, but also crucial for shaping life history, reproductive and feeding strategies. Indeed, individuals must decide to invest time and energy to obtain food, services and partners, with little direct feedback on the success of their investments. Whereas decision-making relies heavily upon cognition in humans, the extent to which it also involves cognition in other species, based on their environmental constraints, has remained a challenging question. Building mental representations relating behaviours and their long-term outcome could be critical for other primates, but there are actually very little data relating cognition to real socio-ecological challenges in extant and extinct primates. Here, we review available data illustrating how specific cognitive processes enable(d) modern primates and extinct hominins to manage multiple resources (e.g. food, partners) and to organize their behaviour in space and time, both at the individual and at the group level. We particularly focus on how they overcome fluctuating and competing demands, and select courses of action corresponding to the best possible packages of potential costs and benefits in reproductive and foraging contexts. This article is part of the theme issue 'Existence and prevalence of economic behaviours among non-human primates'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cécile Garcia
- UMR 7206, CNRS-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle-Université de Paris, CNRS-Musfum national d'Histoire naturelle-UPVD, Musée de l'Homme, 17 Place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris, France
| | - Sébastien Bouret
- Institut du Cerveau (ICM), CNRS UMR 7225-INSERM U1127-UPMC UMR S 1127, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière 47, boulevard de l'Hôpital, 75013 Paris, France
| | - François Druelle
- UMR 7194 (Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique), CNRS-Musfum national d'Histoire naturelle-UPVD, Musée de l'Homme, 17 Place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris, France.,Functional Morphology Laboratory, University of Antwerp, Campus Drie Eiken, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Sandrine Prat
- UMR 7194 (Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique), CNRS-Musfum national d'Histoire naturelle-UPVD, Musée de l'Homme, 17 Place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris, France
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17
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Hippocampal Lnx1-NMDAR multiprotein complex mediates initial social memory. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:3956-3969. [PMID: 31772302 PMCID: PMC8550978 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-019-0606-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Revised: 11/11/2019] [Accepted: 11/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Social interaction and communication are evolutionary conserved behaviours that are developed in mammals to establish partner cognition. Deficit in sociability has been represented in human patients and animal models of neurodevelopmental disorders, which are connected with genetic variants of synaptic glutamate receptors and associated PDZ-binding proteins. However, it remains elusive how these key proteins are specialized in the cellular level for the initial social behaviour during postnatal developmental stage. Here we identify a hippocampal CA3 specifically expressed PDZ scaffold protein Lnx1 required for initial social behaviour. Through gene targeting we find that Lnx1 deficiency led to a hippocampal subregional disorder in neuronal activity and social memory impairments for partner discrimination observed in juvenile mice which also show cognitive defects in adult stage. We further demonstrate that Lnx1 deletion causes NMDA receptor (NMDAR) hypofunction and this is attributable to decreased GluN2B expression in PSD compartment and disruption of the Lnx1-NMDAR-EphB2 complex. Specific restoration of Lnx1 or EphB2 protein in the CA3 area of Lnx1-/- mice rescues the defective synaptic function and social memory. These findings thus reveal crucial roles of postsynaptic NMDAR multiprotein complex that regulates the formation of initial social memory during the adolescent period.
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18
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Ong WS, Madlon-Kay S, Platt ML. Neuronal correlates of strategic cooperation in monkeys. Nat Neurosci 2021; 24:116-128. [PMID: 33230321 PMCID: PMC7929784 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-020-00746-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2018] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
We recorded neural activity in male monkeys playing a variant of the game 'chicken' in which they made decisions to cooperate or not cooperate to obtain rewards of different sizes. Neurons in the middle superior temporal sulcus (mSTS)-previously implicated in social perception-signaled strategic information, including payoffs, intentions of the other player, reward outcomes and predictions about the other player. Moreover, a subpopulation of mSTS neurons selectively signaled cooperatively obtained rewards. Neurons in the anterior cingulate gyrus, previously implicated in vicarious reinforcement and empathy, carried less information about strategic variables, especially cooperative reward. Strategic signals were not reducible to perceptual information about the other player or motor contingencies. These findings suggest that the capacity to compute models of other agents has deep roots in the strategic social behavior of primates and that the anterior cingulate gyrus and the mSTS support these computations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Song Ong
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Seth Madlon-Kay
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Michael L Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Marketing Department, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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19
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Jablonski NG. Social and affective touch in primates and its role in the evolution of social cohesion. Neuroscience 2020; 464:117-125. [PMID: 33246063 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.11.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2020] [Revised: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Primates are long-lived, highly social mammals who maintain long-term social bonds and cohesive social groups through many affiliative mechanisms, foremost among them social touch. From birth through adulthood, social touch - primarily mutual grooming - creates and maintains relationships of trust and reliance, which are the basis for individual physical and emotional well-being and reproductive success. Because social touch helps to establish, maintain, and repair social alliances in primates, it contributes to the emotional stability of individuals and the cohesion of social groups. In these fundamental ways, thus, social touch supports the slow life histories of primates. The reinforcing neurochemistry of social touch insures that it is a pleasurable activity and this, in turn, makes it a behavioral commodity that can be traded between primates for desirable rewards such as protection against future aggression or opportunities to handle infants. Social touch is essential to normal primate development, and individuals deprived of social touch exhibit high levels of anxiety and lower fertility compared to those receiving regular social touch. Understanding the centrality of social touch to primate health and well-being throughout the lifespan provides the foundation for appreciating the importance of social touch in human life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina G Jablonski
- Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
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20
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Arre AM, Clark CS, Santos LR. Do young rhesus macaques know what others see?: A comparative developmental perspective. Am J Primatol 2020; 82:e23054. [PMID: 31566777 PMCID: PMC7103490 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2019] [Revised: 08/01/2019] [Accepted: 09/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Humans undergo robust ontogenetic shifts in the theory of mind capabilities. Are these developmental changes unique to human development or are they shared with other closely related non-human species? To explore this issue, we tested the development of the theory of mind capacities in a population of 236 infant and juvenile rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Using a looking-time method, we examined what developing monkeys know about others' perceptions. Specifically, we tested whether younger monkeys predict that a person will reach for an object where she last saw it. Overall, we found a significant interaction between a monkey's age and performance on this task (p = .014). Juvenile monkeys (between two and 5 years of age) show a nonsignificant trend towards human infant-like patterns of performance, looking longer during the unexpected condition as compared to the expected condition, though this difference is nonsignificant (p = .09). However, contrary to findings in human infants, infant rhesus macaques show a different trend. Infant monkeys on average look slightly longer on average during the expected condition than the unexpected condition, though this pattern was not significant (p = .06). Our developmental results in monkeys provide some hints about the development of the theory of mind capacities in non-humans. First, young rhesus macaques appear to show some interest in the perception of other agents. Second, young rhesus seems able to make predictions based on the visual perspective of another agent, though the developmental pattern of this ability is not as clear nor as robust as in humans. As such, though an understanding of others' perceptions is early-emerging in human infants, it may require more experience interacting with other social agents in our non-human relatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyssa M. Arre
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511
| | - Chelsey S. Clark
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544
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21
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Social motivation is associated with increased weight granted to cooperation-related impressions in face evaluation tasks. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0230011. [PMID: 32310985 PMCID: PMC7170278 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
It is a trope in psychological science to define the human species as inherently social. Yet, despite its key role in human behaviour, the mechanisms by which social bonding actually shapes social behaviour have not been fully characterized. Across six studies, we show that the motivation for social bonding does not indiscriminately increase individuals’ willingness to approach others but that it is instead associated with specific variations in social evaluations. Studies 1–4 demonstrate that social motivation is associated with a larger importance granted to cooperation-related impressions, i.e. perceived trustworthiness, during social evaluations. Studies 5 and 6 further reveal that this weighting difference leads strongly socially motivated participants to approach more partners that are perceived as both dominant and trustworthy. Taken together, our results provide support for the idea that humans’ social motivation is associated with specific social preferences that could favour successful cooperative interactions and a widening of people’s cooperative circle.
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22
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Prounis GS, Ophir AG. One cranium, two brains not yet introduced: Distinct but complementary views of the social brain. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 108:231-245. [PMID: 31743724 PMCID: PMC6949399 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2019] [Revised: 10/04/2019] [Accepted: 11/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Social behavior is pervasive across the animal kingdom, and elucidating how the brain enables animals to respond to social contexts is of great interest and profound importance. Our understanding of 'the social brain' has been fractured as it has matured. Two drastically different conceptualizations of the social brain have emerged with relatively little awareness of each other. In this review, we briefly recount the history behind the two dominant definitions of a social brain. The divide that has emerged between these visions can, in part, be attributed to differential attention to cortical or sub-cortical regions in the brain, and differences in methodology, comparative perspectives, and emphasis on functional specificity or generality. We discuss how these factors contribute to a lack of communication between research efforts, and propose ways in which each version of the social brain can benefit from the perspectives, tools, and approaches of the other. Interface between the two characterizations of social brain networks is sure to provide essential insight into what the social brain encompasses.
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Affiliation(s)
- George S Prounis
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Alexander G Ophir
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
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23
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Unakafov AM, Schultze T, Gail A, Moeller S, Kagan I, Eule S, Wolf F. Emergence and suppression of cooperation by action visibility in transparent games. PLoS Comput Biol 2020; 16:e1007588. [PMID: 31917809 PMCID: PMC6975562 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2019] [Revised: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 12/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Real-world agents, humans as well as animals, observe each other during interactions and choose their own actions taking the partners' ongoing behaviour into account. Yet, classical game theory assumes that players act either strictly sequentially or strictly simultaneously without knowing each other's current choices. To account for action visibility and provide a more realistic model of interactions under time constraints, we introduce a new game-theoretic setting called transparent games, where each player has a certain probability of observing the partner's choice before deciding on its own action. By means of evolutionary simulations, we demonstrate that even a small probability of seeing the partner's choice before one's own decision substantially changes the evolutionary successful strategies. Action visibility enhances cooperation in an iterated coordination game, but reduces cooperation in a more competitive iterated Prisoner's Dilemma. In both games, "Win-stay, lose-shift" and "Tit-for-tat" strategies are predominant for moderate transparency, while a "Leader-Follower" strategy emerges for high transparency. Our results have implications for studies of human and animal social behaviour, especially for the analysis of dyadic and group interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anton M. Unakafov
- Georg-Elias-Müller-Institute of Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
- Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks, Goettingen, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, Goettingen, Germany
- German Primate Center—Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Thomas Schultze
- Georg-Elias-Müller-Institute of Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Alexander Gail
- Georg-Elias-Müller-Institute of Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
- German Primate Center—Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Sebastian Moeller
- Georg-Elias-Müller-Institute of Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
- German Primate Center—Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Igor Kagan
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
- German Primate Center—Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Stephan Eule
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
- Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks, Goettingen, Germany
- German Primate Center—Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Fred Wolf
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
- Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks, Goettingen, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, Goettingen, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Goettingen, Germany
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24
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Nieder A. Neural constraints on human number concepts. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2019; 60:28-36. [PMID: 31810008 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2019.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Revised: 10/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
True counting and arithmetic abilities are unique to humans and are inextricably linked to symbolic competence. However, our unprecedented numerical skills are deeply rooted in our neuronal heritage as primates and vertebrates. In this article, I argue that numerical competence in humans is the result of three neural constraints. First, I propose that the neuronal mechanisms of quantity estimation are part of our evolutionary heritage and can be witnessed across primate and vertebrate phylogeny. Second, I suggest that a basic understanding of number, what numerical quantity means, is innately wired into the brain and gives rise to an intuitive number sense, or number instinct. Third and finally, I argue that symbolic counting and arithmetic in humans is rooted in an evolutionarily and ontogenetically primeval neural system for non-symbolic number representations. These three neural constraints jointly determine the basic processing of number concepts in the human mind.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Nieder
- Animal Physiology Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
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25
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Burgos-Robles A, Gothard KM, Monfils MH, Morozov A, Vicentic A. Conserved features of anterior cingulate networks support observational learning across species. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 107:215-228. [PMID: 31509768 PMCID: PMC6875610 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2019] [Revised: 08/27/2019] [Accepted: 09/06/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The ability to observe, interpret, and learn behaviors and emotions from conspecifics is crucial for survival, as it bypasses direct experience to avoid potential dangers and maximize rewards and benefits. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and its extended neural connections are emerging as important networks for the detection, encoding, and interpretation of social signals during observational learning. Evidence from rodents and primates (including humans) suggests that the social interactions that occur while individuals are exposed to important information in their environment lead to transfer of information across individuals that promotes adaptive behaviors in the form of either social affiliation, alertness, or avoidance. In this review, we first showcase anatomical and functional connections of the ACC in primates and rodents that contribute to the perception of social signals. We then discuss species-specific cognitive and social functions of the ACC and differentiate between neural activity related to 'self' and 'other', extending into the difference between social signals received and processed by the self, versus observing social interactions among others. We next describe behavioral and neural events that contribute to social learning via observation. Finally, we discuss some of the neural mechanisms underlying observational learning within the ACC and its extended network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony Burgos-Robles
- Department of Biology, Neuroscience Institute, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Katalin M Gothard
- Department of Physiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
| | - Marie H Monfils
- Department of Psychology, Institute for Mental Health Research, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Alexei Morozov
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Roanoke, VA 24016, USA
| | - Aleksandra Vicentic
- Division of Neuroscience and Basic Behavioral Science, National Institute of Mental Health, Rockville, MD 20852, USA.
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Zhou Y, Sharma J, Ke Q, Landman R, Yuan J, Chen H, Hayden DS, Fisher JW, Jiang M, Menegas W, Aida T, Yan T, Zou Y, Xu D, Parmar S, Hyman JB, Fanucci-Kiss A, Meisner O, Wang D, Huang Y, Li Y, Bai Y, Ji W, Lai X, Li W, Huang L, Lu Z, Wang L, Anteraper SA, Sur M, Zhou H, Xiang AP, Desimone R, Feng G, Yang S. Atypical behaviour and connectivity in SHANK3-mutant macaques. Nature 2019; 570:326-331. [DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1278-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2018] [Accepted: 05/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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Kulahci IG, Quinn JL. Dynamic Relationships between Information Transmission and Social Connections. Trends Ecol Evol 2019; 34:545-554. [PMID: 30902359 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2019.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2018] [Revised: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 02/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the drivers of sociality is a major goal in biology. Individual differences in social connections determine the overall group structure and have consequences for a variety of processes, including if and when individuals acquire information from conspecifics. Effects in the opposite direction, where information acquisition and transmission have consequences for social connections, are also likely to be widespread. However, these effects are typically overlooked. We propose that individuals who successfully learn about their environment become valuable social partners and become highly connected, leading to feedback-based dynamic relationships between social connections and information transmission. These dynamics have the potential to change our understanding of social evolution, including how selection acts on behavior and how sociality influences population-level processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ipek G Kulahci
- School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, Distillery Fields, North Mall Campus, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
| | - John L Quinn
- School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, Distillery Fields, North Mall Campus, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
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Developmental trajectory of social influence integration into perceptual decisions in children. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:2713-2722. [PMID: 30692264 PMCID: PMC6377450 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1808153116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The opinions of others have a profound influence on decision making in adults. The impact of social influence appears to change during childhood, but the underlying mechanisms and their development remain unclear. We tested 125 neurotypical children between the ages of 6 and 14 years on a perceptual decision task about 3D-motion figures under informational social influence. In these children, a systematic bias in favor of the response of another person emerged at around 12 years of age, regardless of whether the other person was an age-matched peer or an adult. Drift diffusion modeling indicated that this social influence effect in neurotypical children was due to changes in the integration of sensory information, rather than solely a change in decision behavior. When we tested a smaller cohort of 30 age- and IQ-matched autistic children on the same task, we found some early decision bias to social influence, but no evidence for the development of systematic integration of social influence into sensory processing for any age group. Our results suggest that by the early teens, typical neurodevelopment allows social influence to systematically bias perceptual processes in a visual task previously linked to the dorsal visual stream. That the same bias did not appear to emerge in autistic adolescents in this study may explain some of their difficulties in social interactions.
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Kentner AC, Bilbo SD, Brown AS, Hsiao EY, McAllister AK, Meyer U, Pearce BD, Pletnikov MV, Yolken RH, Bauman MD. Maternal immune activation: reporting guidelines to improve the rigor, reproducibility, and transparency of the model. Neuropsychopharmacology 2019; 44:245-258. [PMID: 30188509 PMCID: PMC6300528 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0185-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 159] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2018] [Revised: 07/04/2018] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
The 2017 American College of Neuropychopharmacology (ACNP) conference hosted a Study Group on 4 December 2017, Establishing best practice guidelines to improve the rigor, reproducibility, and transparency of the maternal immune activation (MIA) animal model of neurodevelopmental abnormalities. The goals of this session were to (a) evaluate the current literature and establish a consensus on best practices to be implemented in MIA studies, (b) identify remaining research gaps warranting additional data collection and lend to the development of evidence-based best practice design, and (c) inform the MIA research community of these findings. During this session, there was a detailed discussion on the importance of validating immunogen doses and standardizing the general design (e.g., species, immunogenic compound used, housing) of our MIA models both within and across laboratories. The consensus of the study group was that data does not currently exist to support specific evidence-based model selection or methodological recommendations due to lack of consistency in reporting, and that this issue extends to other inflammatory models of neurodevelopmental abnormalities. This launched a call to establish a reporting checklist focusing on validation, implementation, and transparency modeled on the ARRIVE Guidelines and CONSORT (scientific reporting guidelines for animal and clinical research, respectively). Here we provide a summary of the discussions in addition to a suggested checklist of reporting guidelines needed to improve the rigor and reproducibility of this valuable translational model, which can be adapted and applied to other animal models as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda C. Kentner
- 0000 0001 0021 3995grid.416498.6School of Arts & Sciences, Health Psychology Program, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, MA USA
| | - Staci D. Bilbo
- 000000041936754Xgrid.38142.3cDepartment of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA ,0000 0004 0386 9924grid.32224.35Lurie Center for Autism, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, MA USA
| | - Alan S. Brown
- 0000000419368729grid.21729.3fDepartment of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY USA ,0000 0000 8499 1112grid.413734.6New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY USA
| | - Elaine Y. Hsiao
- 0000 0000 9632 6718grid.19006.3eDepartment of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - A. Kimberley McAllister
- 0000 0004 1936 9684grid.27860.3bCenter for Neuroscience, University of California Davis, Davis, CA USA
| | - Urs Meyer
- 0000 0004 1937 0650grid.7400.3Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich-Vetsuisse, Winterthurerstrasse, Zurich, Switzerland ,0000 0004 1937 0650grid.7400.3Neuroscience Centre Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Brad D. Pearce
- 0000 0001 0941 6502grid.189967.8Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, and Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Neuroscience Program, Emory University, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Mikhail V. Pletnikov
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Robert H. Yolken
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Pediatrics, Stanley Division of Developmental Neurovirology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Melissa D. Bauman
- 0000 0004 1936 9684grid.27860.3bThe UC Davis MIND Institute, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, USA
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Nummela SU, Jutras MJ, Wixted JT, Buffalo EA, Miller CT. Recognition Memory in Marmoset and Macaque Monkeys: A Comparison of Active Vision. J Cogn Neurosci 2018; 31:1318-1328. [PMID: 30513042 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
The core functional organization of the primate brain is remarkably conserved across the order, but behavioral differences evident between species likely reflect derived modifications in the underlying neural processes. Here, we performed the first study to directly compare visual recognition memory in two primate species-rhesus macaques and marmoset monkeys-on the same visual preferential looking task as a first step toward identifying similarities and differences in this cognitive process across the primate phylogeny. Preferences in looking behavior on the task were broadly similar between the species, with greater looking times for novel images compared with repeated images as well as a similarly strong preference for faces compared with other categories. Unexpectedly, we found large behavioral differences among the two species in looking behavior independent of image familiarity. Marmosets exhibited longer looking times, with greater variability compared with macaques, regardless of image content or familiarity. Perhaps most strikingly, marmosets shifted their gaze across the images more quickly, suggesting a different behavioral strategy when viewing images. Although such differences limit the comparison of recognition memory across these closely related species, they point to interesting differences in the mechanisms underlying active vision that have significant implications for future neurobiological investigations with these two nonhuman primate species. Elucidating whether these patterns are reflective of species or broader phylogenetic differences (e.g., between New World and Old World monkeys) necessitates a broader sample of primate taxa from across the Order.
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Nogueira VB, Imparato DO, de Souza SJ, de Sousa MBC. Sex-biased gene expression in the frontal cortex of common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) and potential behavioral correlates. Brain Behav 2018; 8:e01148. [PMID: 30378298 PMCID: PMC6305938 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2017] [Revised: 09/27/2018] [Accepted: 09/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), a small New World monkey, has been widely used as a biological model in neuroscience to elucidate neural circuits involved in cognition and to understand brain dysfunction in neuropsychiatric disorders. In this regard, the availability of gene expression data derived from next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies represents an opportunity for a molecular contextualization. Sexual dimorphism account for differences in diseases prevalence and prognosis. Here, we explore sex differences on frontal cortex of gene expression in common marmoset's adults. METHODS Gene expression profiles in six different tissues (cerebellum, frontal cortex, liver, heart, and kidney) were analyzed in male and female marmosets. To emphasize the translational value of this species for behavioral studies, we focused on sex-biased gene expression from the frontal cortex of male and female in common marmosets and compared to humans (Homo sapiens). RESULTS In this study, we found that frontal cortex genes whose expression is male-biased are conserved between marmosets and humans and enriched with "house-keeping" functions. On the other hand, female-biased genes are more related to neural plasticity functions involved in remodeling of synaptic circuits, stress cascades, and visual behavior. Additionally, we developed and made available an application-the CajaDB-to provide a friendly interface for genomic, expression, and alternative splicing data of marmosets together with a series of functionalities that allow the exploration of these data. CajaDB is available at cajadb.neuro.ufrn.br. CONCLUSION The data point to differences in gene expression of male and female common marmosets in all tissues analyzed. In frontal cortex, female-biased expression in synaptic plasticity, stress, and visual processing might be linked to biological and behavioral mechanisms of this sex. Due to the limited sample size, the data here analyzed are for exploratory purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viviane Brito Nogueira
- Health Sciences Graduate Program, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
| | - Danilo Oliveira Imparato
- Bioinformatics Multidisciplinary Environment, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
| | - Sandro José de Souza
- Brain Institute, Bioinformatics Multidisciplinary Environment, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
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Bauman MD, Murai T, Hogrefe CE, Platt ML. Opportunities and challenges for intranasal oxytocin treatment studies in nonhuman primates. Am J Primatol 2018; 80:e22913. [PMID: 30281820 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2018] [Revised: 07/18/2018] [Accepted: 07/30/2018] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Nonhuman primates provide a human-relevant experimental model system to explore the mechanisms by which oxytocin (OT) regulates social processing and inform its clinical applications. Here, we highlight contributions of the nonhuman primate model to our understanding of OT treatment and address unique challenges in administering OT to awake behaving primates. Prior preclinical research utilizing macaque monkeys has demonstrated that OT can modulate perception of other individuals and their expressions, attention to others, imitation, vigilance to social threats, and prosocial decisions. We further describe ongoing efforts to develop an OT delivery system for use in experimentally naïve juvenile macaque monkeys compatible with naturalistic social behavior outcomes. Finally, we discuss future directions to further develop the rhesus monkey as a preclinical test bed to evaluate the effects of OT exposure and advance efforts to translate basic science OT research into safe and effective OT therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa D Bauman
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, California.,The UC Davis MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, California.,California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, California
| | - Takeshi Murai
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, California.,Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd., Osaka, Japan
| | - Casey E Hogrefe
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, California
| | - Michael L Platt
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Marketing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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Cavanaugh J, Mustoe A, French JA. Oxytocin regulates reunion affiliation with a pairmate following social separation in marmosets. Am J Primatol 2018; 80:e22750. [PMID: 29527695 PMCID: PMC6133767 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2017] [Revised: 02/20/2018] [Accepted: 02/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
While separation from significant social partners produces a host of neurobiological and behavioral perturbations, including behavioral distress and increased glucocorticoid production, positive social interactions upon reunion are critical for the reestablishment of normative relationship dynamics and the attenuation of the biobehavioral stress response. The hormone oxytocin has critical and pervasive roles in reproductive and behavioral processes across the lifespan, and plays a particularly prominent role in social bonding. In this study, we examined the extent that oxytocin modulates interactions with a pairmate following separation challenges that varied in both social context (isolation; separation) and duration (long; short), in marmosets. We demonstrated that the impact of pharmacological manipulations of the oxytocin system on the expression of affiliation upon reunion depended on both the context and duration of the separation challenge. Specifically, marmosets treated with an oxytocin antagonist spent less time in proximity with their pairmate upon reunion following a long-separation challenge. During the short-separation challenge, marmosets engaged in more social gaze when separated with an opposite-sex stranger, but not when separated with their mate. Furthermore, marmosets that received the most social gaze from opposite-sex strangers spent the most time in proximity with their long-term mate upon reunion. We also showed that marmosets treated with an OT agonist received increased levels of gaze from opposite-sex strangers, but not from their mate. Overall, these results suggest that marmosets are sensitive to the nature of the social interactions during separation, and subsequently alter their expression of affiliation upon reunion with their long-term mate. These findings further implicate oxytocin as a bond-enhancing molecule that regulates the reestablishment of normative levels of affiliation with a mate following separation, and add to the emerging literature that suggests the OT system underlies critical behavioral processes that contribute to the preservation of long-lasting social bonds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon Cavanaugh
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska
| | - Aaryn Mustoe
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska
- Department of Biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska
| | - Jeffrey A. French
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska
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Phelps S, Ng WL, Musolesi M, Russell YI. Precise time-matching in chimpanzee allogrooming does not occur after a short delay. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0201810. [PMID: 30204753 PMCID: PMC6133271 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2018] [Accepted: 07/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Allogrooming is a key aspect of chimpanzee sociality and many studies have investigated the role of reciprocity in a biological market. One theoretical form of reciprocity is time-matching, where payback consists of an equal duration of effort (e.g. twenty seconds of grooming repaid with twenty seconds of grooming). Here, we report a study of allogrooming in a group of twenty-six captive chimpanzees (Chester Zoo, UK), based on more than 150 hours of data. For analysis, we introduce a methodological innovation called the "Delta scale", which unidimensionally measures the accuracy of time-matching according to the extent of delay after the cessation of grooming. Delta is positive when reciprocation occurs after any non-zero delay (e.g. A grooms B and then B grooms A after a five second break) and it is negative when reciprocation begins whilst the original grooming has not yet ceased. Using a generalized linear mixed-method, we found evidence for time-matched reciprocation. However, this was true only for immediate reciprocation (Delta less than zero). If there was a temporal break in grooming between two members of a dyad, then there was no evidence that chimpanzees were using new bouts to retroactively correct for time-matching imbalances from previous bouts. Our results have implications for some of the cognitive constraints that differentiate real-life reciprocation from abstract theoretical models. Furthermore, we suggest that some apparent patterns of time-matched reciprocity may arise merely due to the law of large numbers, and we introduce a statistical test which takes this into account when aggregating grooming durations over a window of time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steve Phelps
- Department of Informatics, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Wing Lon Ng
- Independent Scholar (affiliated with Bounded-Rationality Advancement in Computational Intelligence Laboratory), London, United Kingdom
| | - Mirco Musolesi
- Department of Geography, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Yvan I. Russell
- Department of Psychology, Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom
- CRC Evolution of Social Behaviour, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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Weston CSE. Amygdala Represents Diverse Forms of Intangible Knowledge, That Illuminate Social Processing and Major Clinical Disorders. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:336. [PMID: 30186129 PMCID: PMC6113401 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2018] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Amygdala is an intensively researched brain structure involved in social processing and multiple major clinical disorders, but its functions are not well understood. The functions of a brain structure are best hypothesized on the basis of neuroanatomical connectivity findings, and of behavioral, neuroimaging, neuropsychological and physiological findings. Among the heaviest neuroanatomical interconnections of amygdala are those with perirhinal cortex (PRC), but these are little considered in the theoretical literature. PRC integrates complex, multimodal, meaningful and fine-grained distributed representations of objects and conspecifics. Consistent with this connectivity, amygdala is hypothesized to contribute meaningful and fine-grained representations of intangible knowledge for integration by PRC. Behavioral, neuroimaging, neuropsychological and physiological findings further support amygdala mediation of a diversity of such representations. These representations include subjective valence, impact, economic value, noxiousness, importance, ingroup membership, social status, popularity, trustworthiness and moral features. Further, the formation of amygdala representations is little understood, and is proposed to be often implemented through embodied cognition mechanisms. The hypothesis builds on earlier work, and makes multiple novel contributions to the literature. It highlights intangible knowledge, which is an influential but insufficiently researched factor in social and other behaviors. It contributes to understanding the heavy but neglected amygdala-PRC interconnections, and the diversity of amygdala-mediated intangible knowledge representations. Amygdala is a social brain region, but it does not represent species-typical social behaviors. A novel proposal to clarify its role is postulated. The hypothesis is also suggested to illuminate amygdala's involvement in several core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Specifically, novel and testable explanations are proposed for the ASD symptoms of disorganized visual scanpaths, apparent social disinterest, preference for concrete cognition, aspects of the disorder's heterogeneity, and impairment in some activities of daily living. Together, the presented hypothesis demonstrates substantial explanatory potential in the neuroscience, social and clinical domains.
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The Evolution and Ontogeny of Deep Social Mind and the Social Brain. MINNESOTA SYMPOSIA ON CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/9781119461746.ch1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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Miller CT. Why marmosets? Dev Neurobiol 2018; 77:237-243. [PMID: 28170158 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2016] [Revised: 01/05/2017] [Accepted: 01/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Cory T Miller
- Cortical Systems and Behavior Laboratory, Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, California
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Mattan BD, Kubota JT, Cloutier J. How Social Status Shapes Person Perception and Evaluation: A Social Neuroscience Perspective. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2018; 12:468-507. [PMID: 28544863 DOI: 10.1177/1745691616677828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Inferring the relative rank (i.e., status) of others is essential to navigating social hierarchies. A survey of the expanding social psychological and neuroscience literatures on status reveals a diversity of focuses (e.g., perceiver vs. agent), operationalizations (e.g., status as dominance vs. wealth), and methodologies (e.g., behavioral, neuroscientific). Accommodating this burgeoning literature on status in person perception, the present review offers a novel social neuroscientific framework that integrates existing work with theoretical clarity. This framework distinguishes between five key concepts: (1) strategic pathways to status acquisition for agents, (2) status antecedents (i.e., perceptual and knowledge-based cues that confer status rank), (3) status dimensions (i.e., domains in which an individual may be ranked, such as wealth), (4) status level (i.e., one's rank along a given dimension), and (5) the relative importance of a given status dimension, dependent on perceiver and context characteristics. Against the backdrop of this framework, we review multiple dimensions of status in the nonhuman and human primate literatures. We then review the behavioral and neuroscientific literatures on the consequences of perceived status for attention and evaluation. Finally, after proposing a social neuroscience framework, we highlight innovative directions for future social status research in social psychology and neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jennifer T Kubota
- 1 Department of Psychology, University of Chicago.,2 Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture, University of Chicago
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French JA, Cavanaugh J, Mustoe AC, Carp SB, Womack SL. Social Monogamy in Nonhuman Primates: Phylogeny, Phenotype, and Physiology. JOURNAL OF SEX RESEARCH 2018; 55:410-434. [PMID: 28704071 PMCID: PMC6004613 DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2017.1339774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Monogamy as a social system has been both a scientific puzzle and a sociocultural issue for decades. In this review, we examine social monogamy from a comparative perspective with a focus on primates, our closest genetic relatives. We break down monogamy into component elements, including pair-bonding and partner preference, mate guarding or jealousy, social attachment, and biparental care. Our survey of primates shows that not all features are present in species classified as socially monogamous, in the same way that human monogamous relationships may not include all elements-a perspective we refer to as "monogamy à la carte." Our review includes a survey of the neurobiological correlates of social monogamy in primates, exploring unique or common pathways for the elemental components of monogamy. This compilation reveals that the components of monogamy are modulated by a suite of androgenic steroids, glucocorticoid hormones, the nonapeptide hormones oxytocin and vasopressin, and other neurotransmitter systems (e.g., dopamine and opioids). We propose that efforts to understand the biological underpinnings of complex human and animal sociosexual relationships will be well served by exploring individual phenotypic traits, as opposed to pursuing these questions with the assumption that monogamy is a unitary trait or a species-specific characteristic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey A French
- a Department of Psychology and Department of Biology , University of Nebraska Omaha
| | - Jon Cavanaugh
- b Department of Psychology , University of Nebraska Omaha
| | - Aaryn C Mustoe
- b Department of Psychology , University of Nebraska Omaha
| | - Sarah B Carp
- b Department of Psychology , University of Nebraska Omaha
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Cataldo I, Azhari A, Esposito G. A Review of Oxytocin and Arginine-Vasopressin Receptors and Their Modulation of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Front Mol Neurosci 2018; 11:27. [PMID: 29487501 PMCID: PMC5816822 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2018.00027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2017] [Accepted: 01/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Oxytocin (OXT) and arginine-vasopressin (AVP) play a key regulatory part in social and affiliative behaviors; two aspects highly compromised in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Furthermore, variants in the adjacent oxytocin-vasopressin gene regions have been found to be associated with ASD diagnosis and endophenotypes. This review focuses mainly on common OXTr single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), AVPR1a microsatellites and AVPR1b polymorphisms in relation to the development of autism. Although these genes did not surface in genome-wide association studies, evidence supports the hypothesis that these receptors and their polymorphisms are widely involved in the regulation of social behavior, and in modulating neural and physiological pathways contributing to the etiology of ASD. With a specific focus on variants considered to be among the most prevalent in the development of ASD, these issues will be discussed in-depth and suggestions to approach inconsistencies in the present literature will be provided. Translational implications and future directions are deliberated from a short-term and a forward-looking perspective. While the scientific community has made significant progress in enhancing our understanding of ASD, more research is required for the ontology of this disorder to be fully elucidated. By supplementing information related to genetics, highlighting the differences across male and female sexes, this review provides a wider view of the current state of knowledge of OXTr and AVPr mechanisms of functioning, eventually addressing future research in the identification of further risk factors, to build new strategies for early interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Cataldo
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.,Mobile and Social Computing Lab, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Trento, Italy
| | - Atiqah Azhari
- Division of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Gianluca Esposito
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.,Division of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
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Abstract
Vocalizations are a pervasive feature of nonhuman primate social life, yet we know surprisingly little about their function. We review studies supporting the hypothesis that many primate vocalizations function to facilitate social interactions by reducing uncertainty about the signaler's intentions and likely behavior. Such interactions help to establish and maintain the social bonds that increase reproductive success. Compared with humans, songbirds, and a few other mammals, primates have small vocal repertoires that show little acoustic modification during development. However, their ability to modify call usage is extensive and tuned to variation in the social context, including the historical relationship between caller and listener and the caller's assessment of how a listener is likely to respond. We suggest parallels between the decision to vocalize and neurophysiological studies of other, nonvocal social decisions between interacting monkeys. The selective factors driving the early stages of language evolution may have come from the need to make decisions about when and how to call within the context of social challenges.
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Whiten A, van de Waal E. Social learning, culture and the ‘socio-cultural brain’ of human and non-human primates. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 82:58-75. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2016] [Revised: 12/15/2016] [Accepted: 12/19/2016] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
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Affiliation(s)
- Chet C. Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052
| | - Aida Gómez-Robles
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
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Madrid JE, Oztan O, Sclafani V, Del Rosso LA, Calonder LA, Chun K, Capitanio JP, Garner JP, Parker KJ. Preference for novel faces in male infant monkeys predicts cerebrospinal fluid oxytocin concentrations later in life. Sci Rep 2017; 7:12935. [PMID: 29021623 PMCID: PMC5636831 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-13109-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2016] [Accepted: 09/19/2017] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability to recognize individuals is a critical skill acquired early in life for group living species. In primates, individual recognition occurs predominantly through face discrimination. Despite the essential adaptive value of this ability, robust individual differences in conspecific face recognition exist, yet its associated biology remains unknown. Although pharmacological administration of oxytocin has implicated this neuropeptide in face perception and social memory, no prior research has tested the relationship between individual differences in face recognition and endogenous oxytocin concentrations. Here we show in a male rhesus monkey cohort (N = 60) that infant performance in a task used to determine face recognition ability (specifically, the ability of animals to show a preference for a novel face) robustly predicts cerebrospinal fluid, but not blood, oxytocin concentrations up to five years after behavioural assessment. These results argue that central oxytocin biology may be related to individual face perceptual abilities necessary for group living, and that these differences are stable traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesus E Madrid
- Neurosciences Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
| | - Ozge Oztan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Valentina Sclafani
- California National Primate Research Centre, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
- Winnicott Research Unit, University of Reading, RG6 6AL, Reading, UK
| | - Laura A Del Rosso
- California National Primate Research Centre, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Laura A Calonder
- California National Primate Research Centre, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Katie Chun
- California National Primate Research Centre, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - John P Capitanio
- California National Primate Research Centre, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Joseph P Garner
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Karen J Parker
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
- California National Primate Research Centre, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
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48
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Bauman MD, Schumann CM. Advances in nonhuman primate models of autism: Integrating neuroscience and behavior. Exp Neurol 2017; 299:252-265. [PMID: 28774750 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2017.07.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2017] [Revised: 07/27/2017] [Accepted: 07/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Given the prevalence and societal impact of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), there is an urgent need to develop innovative preventative strategies and treatments to reduce the alarming number of cases and improve core symptoms for afflicted individuals. Translational efforts between clinical and preclinical research are needed to (i) identify and evaluate putative causes of ASD, (ii) determine the underlying neurobiological mechanisms, (iii) develop and test novel therapeutic approaches and (iv) ultimately translate basic research into safe and effective clinical practices. However, modeling a uniquely human brain disorder, such as ASD, will require sophisticated animal models that capitalize on unique advantages of diverse species including drosophila, zebra fish, mice, rats, and ultimately, species more closely related to humans, such as the nonhuman primate. Here we discuss the unique contributions of the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) model to ongoing efforts to understand the neurobiology of the disorder, focusing on the convergence of brain and behavior outcome measures that parallel features of human ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- M D Bauman
- The UC Davis MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, USA; California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, USA.
| | - C M Schumann
- The UC Davis MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, USA
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Kasper C, Vierbuchen M, Ernst U, Fischer S, Radersma R, Raulo A, Cunha-Saraiva F, Wu M, Mobley KB, Taborsky B. Genetics and developmental biology of cooperation. Mol Ecol 2017. [PMID: 28626971 DOI: 10.1111/mec.14208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Despite essential progress towards understanding the evolution of cooperative behaviour, we still lack detailed knowledge about its underlying molecular mechanisms, genetic basis, evolutionary dynamics and ontogeny. An international workshop "Genetics and Development of Cooperation," organized by the University of Bern (Switzerland), aimed at discussing the current progress in this research field and suggesting avenues for future research. This review uses the major themes of the meeting as a springboard to synthesize the concepts of genetic and nongenetic inheritance of cooperation, and to review a quantitative genetic framework that allows for the inclusion of indirect genetic effects. Furthermore, we argue that including nongenetic inheritance, such as transgenerational epigenetic effects, parental effects, ecological and cultural inheritance, provides a more nuanced view of the evolution of cooperation. We summarize those genes and molecular pathways in a range of species that seem promising candidates for mechanisms underlying cooperative behaviours. Concerning the neurobiological substrate of cooperation, we suggest three cognitive skills necessary for the ability to cooperate: (i) event memory, (ii) synchrony with others and (iii) responsiveness to others. Taking a closer look at the developmental trajectories that lead to the expression of cooperative behaviours, we discuss the dichotomy between early morphological specialization in social insects and more flexible behavioural specialization in cooperatively breeding vertebrates. Finally, we provide recommendations for which biological systems and species may be particularly suitable, which specific traits and parameters should be measured, what type of approaches should be followed, and which methods should be employed in studies of cooperation to better understand how cooperation evolves and manifests in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Kasper
- Institute for Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | | | - Ulrich Ernst
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Stefan Fischer
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | | | - Aura Raulo
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Filipa Cunha-Saraiva
- Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Vetmeduni Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Min Wu
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology and Evolution, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Kenyon B Mobley
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
| | - Barbara Taborsky
- Institute for Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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Abstract
Communication is an inherently interactive process that weaves together the fabric of both human and nonhuman primate societies. To investigate the properties of the primate brain during active social signaling, we recorded the responses of frontal cortex neurons as freely moving marmosets engaged in conversational exchanges with a visually occluded virtual marmoset. We found that small changes in firing rate (∼1 Hz) occurred across a broadly distributed population of frontal cortex neurons when marmosets heard a conspecific vocalization, and that these changes corresponded to subjects' likelihood of producing or withholding a vocal reply. Although the contributions of individual neurons were relatively small, large populations of neurons were able to clearly distinguish between these social contexts. Most significantly, this social context-dependent change in firing rate was evident even before subjects heard the vocalization, indicating that the probability of a conversational exchange was determined by the state of the frontal cortex at the time a vocalization was heard, and not by a decision driven by acoustic characteristics of the vocalization. We found that changes in neural activity scaled with the length of the conversation, with greater changes in firing rate evident for longer conversations. These data reveal specific and important facets of this neural activity that constrain its possible roles in active social signaling, and we hypothesize that the close coupling between frontal cortex activity and this natural, active primate social-signaling behavior facilitates social-monitoring mechanisms critical to conversational exchanges.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We provide evidence for a novel pattern of neural activity in the frontal cortex of freely moving, naturally behaving, marmoset monkeys that may facilitate natural primate conversations. We discovered small (∼1 Hz), but reliable, changes in neural activity that occurred before marmosets even heard a conspecific vocalization that, as a population, almost perfectly predicted whether subjects would produce a vocalization in response. The change in the state of the frontal cortex persisted throughout the conversation and its magnitude scaled linearly with the length of the interaction. We hypothesize that this social context-dependent change in frontal cortex activity is supported by several mechanisms, such as social arousal and attention, and facilitates social monitoring critical for vocal coordination characteristic of human and nonhuman primate conversations.
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