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Masilkova M, Šlipogor V, Lima Marques Silva GH, Hadová M, Lhota S, Bugnyar T, Konečná M. Age, but not hand preference, is related to personality traits in common marmosets ( Callithrix jacchus). ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:220797. [PMID: 36300134 PMCID: PMC9579762 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.220797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The proximate mechanisms underlying animal personalities, i.e. consistent inter-individual differences in behaviour, are a matter of discussion. Brain lateralization, expressed as the preferred use of the contralateral limb, has been suggested as one of these mechanisms. In this study, we measured a proxy of brain lateralization in captive common marmosets (N = 28) by testing hand preference in a simple food-reaching task and evaluated personality by coding a wide range of behaviours observed in daily situations. We explored the links between personality and both direction and strength of hand preference, as well as age and sex, using linear models. Principal component analysis revealed that the stable behavioural variables were organized in three personality dimensions: Agreeableness, Extraversion and Neuroticism. Regarding hand preference, 14 individuals were left-handed, seven were right-handed and seven were ambilateral. Contrary to our predictions, we did not find any relationship between personality scores and hand preference or sex. Instead, age was a significant predictor of personality scores, with older individuals being more agreeable and less extraverted. The link between brain lateralization and personality seems to be equivocal and dependent on personality and brain lateralization assessment methods. Further examinations of other proximate mechanisms, such as physiology or (epi)genetics, may elucidate what drives personality variation in common marmosets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Masilkova
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Vedrana Šlipogor
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | | | - Magdaléna Hadová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Bratislava Zoo, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Stanislav Lhota
- Department of Animal Science and Food Processing, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
- Ústí nad Labem Zoo, Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic
| | - Thomas Bugnyar
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Martina Konečná
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
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Masilkova M, Boukal D, Ash H, Buchanan-Smith HM, Konečná M. Linking personality traits and reproductive success in common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). Sci Rep 2022; 12:13341. [PMID: 35922528 PMCID: PMC9349211 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-16339-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Animal personality can affect individual fitness and population growth. Personality traits of either parent or parents' combination may facilitate reproduction and offspring survival across species. However, previous studies focused mainly on the role of only one sex, and the link between personality and fitness has not been confirmed in primates. We examined this link in both sexes of captive common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus), a cooperatively breeding primate with extensive paternal care. We studied the effects of five personality traits of the parents (Agreeableness, Assertiveness, Conscientiousness, Inquisitiveness, and Patience), including their absolute and directional differences within pairs, on key components of reproductive performance. We expected pairs with more similar personality scores to have higher reproductive success as found in other species with long-term pairs and biparental care, but found no evidence for this hypothesis. Instead, we detected strong effects of female traits on inter-birth intervals, which were shorter in more agreeable females, and fecundity rates, which were higher in more inquisitive females. Male traits appeared to have only a limited effect on reproductive success of the pair. Our study demonstrates that various aspects of animal personality underpin reproductive performance in captive common marmosets and provides novel insights into the possible ultimate causes of personality in cooperatively breeding species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Masilkova
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - David Boukal
- Department of Ecosystem Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Biology Centre, Institute of Entomology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Hayley Ash
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
| | - Hannah M Buchanan-Smith
- Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, UK
- Scottish Primate Research Group, Stirling, Scotland, UK
| | - Martina Konečná
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
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Šlipogor V, Graf C, Massen JJM, Bugnyar T. Personality and social environment predict cognitive performance in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Sci Rep 2022; 12:6702. [PMID: 35513400 PMCID: PMC9072541 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10296-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Consistent inter-individual variation in cognition has been increasingly explored in recent years in terms of its patterns, causes and consequences. One of its possible causes are consistent inter-individual differences in behaviour, also referred to as animal personalities, which are shaped by both the physical and the social environment. The latter is particularly relevant for group-living species like common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus), apt learners that display substantial variation in both their personality and cognitive performance, yet no study to date has interlinked these with marmosets' social environment. Here we investigated (i) consistency of learning speed, and (ii) whether the PCA-derived personality traits Exploration-Avoidance and Boldness-Shyness as well as the social environment (i.e., family group membership) are linked with marmosets' speed of learning. We tested 22 individuals in series of personality and learning-focused cognitive tests, including simple motor tasks and discrimination learning tasks. We found that these marmosets showed significant inter-individual consistency in learning across the different tasks, and that females learned faster than males. Further, bolder individuals, and particularly those belonging to certain family groups, learned faster. These findings indicate that both personality and social environment affect learning speed in marmosets and could be important factors driving individual variation in cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vedrana Šlipogor
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
| | - Christina Graf
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Jorg J M Massen
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition Group, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Thomas Bugnyar
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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Yokoyama C, Autio JA, Ikeda T, Sallet J, Mars RB, Van Essen DC, Glasser MF, Sadato N, Hayashi T. Comparative connectomics of the primate social brain. Neuroimage 2021; 245:118693. [PMID: 34732327 PMCID: PMC9159291 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Social interaction is thought to provide a selection pressure for human intelligence, yet little is known about its neurobiological basis and evolution throughout the primate lineage. Recent advances in neuroimaging have enabled whole brain investigation of brain structure, function, and connectivity in humans and non-human primates (NHPs), leading to a nascent field of comparative connectomics. However, linking social behavior to brain organization across the primates remains challenging. Here, we review the current understanding of the macroscale neural mechanisms of social behaviors from the viewpoint of system neuroscience. We first demonstrate an association between the number of cortical neurons and the size of social groups across primates, suggesting a link between neural information-processing capacity and social capabilities. Moreover, by capitalizing on recent advances in species-harmonized functional MRI, we demonstrate that portions of the mirror neuron system and default-mode networks, which are thought to be important for representation of the other's actions and sense of self, respectively, exhibit similarities in functional organization in macaque monkeys and humans, suggesting possible homologies. With respect to these two networks, we describe recent developments in the neurobiology of social perception, joint attention, personality and social complexity. Together, the Human Connectome Project (HCP)-style comparative neuroimaging, hyperscanning, behavioral, and other multi-modal investigations are expected to yield important insights into the evolutionary foundations of human social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chihiro Yokoyama
- Laboratory for Brain Connectomics Imaging, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan.
| | - Joonas A Autio
- Laboratory for Brain Connectomics Imaging, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan
| | - Takuro Ikeda
- Laboratory for Brain Connectomics Imaging, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan
| | - Jérôme Sallet
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom; University of Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, Bron, France
| | - Rogier B Mars
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - David C Van Essen
- Departments of Neuroscience, Washington University Medical School, St Louis, MO, United States of America
| | - Matthew F Glasser
- Departments of Neuroscience, Washington University Medical School, St Louis, MO, United States of America; Department of Radiology, Washington University Medical School, St Louis, MO, United States of America
| | - Norihiro Sadato
- National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Japan; The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Takuya Hayashi
- Laboratory for Brain Connectomics Imaging, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan; School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
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