Kerianne M. Wilson , Tjien Dwyer , Alison V. Ramirez , April M. Arquilla , Adele M.H. Seelke , Brian C. Trainor , Wendy Saltzman
{"title":"Parenthood and gene expression of oxytocin receptors and vasopressin receptors in sensory cortices of the male California mouse (Peromyscus californicus)","authors":"Kerianne M. Wilson , Tjien Dwyer , Alison V. Ramirez , April M. Arquilla , Adele M.H. Seelke , Brian C. Trainor , Wendy Saltzman","doi":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105661","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105661","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The onset of parental care is associated with shifts in parents' perception of sensory stimuli from infants, mediated by neural plasticity in sensory systems. In new mothers, changes in auditory and olfactory processing have been linked to plasticity at several points along both sensory pathways, including cortical changes that are modulated, at least in part, by oxytocin. In males of biparental species, vasopressin, in addition to oxytocin, is important for modulating parental behavior; however, little is known about sensory plasticity in new fathers. We examined variation in the mRNA expression of oxytocin and vasopressin receptors (<em>Oxtr</em> and <em>Avpr1a)</em> in sensory cortices of virgin males, paired nonbreeding males, and new fathers in the biparental California mouse (<em>Peromyscus californicus</em>), and variation among cortices using the visual cortex for comparison. Reproductive status did not affect gene expression for either receptor, but compared to the visual cortex, expression of both receptors was higher in the left auditory cortex and lower in the anterior olfactory nucleus. Additionally, expression for both receptors was higher in the left auditory cortex compared to the right auditory cortex. While oxytocin and vasopressin receptor expression may remain stable across reproductive stages in male California mice, our findings provide support for auditory cortex lateralization, with the left auditory cortex possibly displaying higher sensitivity to both oxytocin and vasopressin compared to the right.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13001,"journal":{"name":"Hormones and Behavior","volume":"167 ","pages":"Article 105661"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142644054","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nicholas T. Shankey, Bernadette L. Igo, Taylor L. Grossen, Rachel E. Cohen
{"title":"Melatonin treatment during the breeding season increases testosterone in male green anole lizards (Anolis carolinensis)","authors":"Nicholas T. Shankey, Bernadette L. Igo, Taylor L. Grossen, Rachel E. Cohen","doi":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105655","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105655","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Melatonin is a natural hormone that regulates seasonal behaviors in vertebrates by binding to its receptors (MT1 and MT2). Specifically, high levels of melatonin are associated with short photoperiods, often coinciding with the non-breeding season, meaning that melatonin may inhibit seasonal reproduction. Green anole lizards (<em>Anolis carolinensis</em>), have large, active gonads, increased levels of testosterone and estradiol, and increased reproductive behaviors during the breeding season. Previous studies have examined the role of melatonin in seasonal reproduction in this species, but it is unclear how melatonin receptors change seasonally or if melatonin treatment during the early breeding season influences reproduction. In Experiment 1, we measured MT1 and MT2 mRNA expression in the brains and gonads of unmanipulated anoles between breeding and non-breeding seasons. MT1 mRNA expression was significantly higher in the male brain during the breeding season compared to the non-breeding season, and MT1 mRNA levels were generally higher compared to MT2. This suggests that melatonin may regulate seasonal reproduction through MT1 in the brain, and higher levels during the breeding season may compensate for low seasonal levels of melatonin. In Experiment 2, anoles were treated with melatonin or a blank control for 10 weeks during the breeding season. In males, melatonin treatment increased testosterone levels. This suggests that rather than inhibiting reproduction, continuous high doses of melatonin may increase reproductive hormones during the breeding season. Our findings support the role of melatonin in modulating seasonal reproduction, but the exact mechanisms behind melatonin's stimulatory effect is unclear.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13001,"journal":{"name":"Hormones and Behavior","volume":"166 ","pages":"Article 105655"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142619137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Roberto Fiorini-Torrico , Kristel Myriam De Vleeschouwer , Lisieux Fuzessy , Leonardo de Carvalho Oliveira
{"title":"Glucocorticoids and behavior in non-human primates: A meta-analytic approach to unveil potential coping mechanisms","authors":"Roberto Fiorini-Torrico , Kristel Myriam De Vleeschouwer , Lisieux Fuzessy , Leonardo de Carvalho Oliveira","doi":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105654","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105654","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Glucocorticoids (GCs) mediate responses to energetic and psychosocial challenges and are associated with behavioral adjustments that form part of an adaptive vertebrate stress response. GCs and behavior can indirectly influence each other, leading to either an intensification or attenuation of stress responses. Exploring these GC-behavior relationships may offer insights into the beneficial aspects of behavior and help identify coping mechanisms that potentially enhance individual fitness. We conducted a systematic review of the relationship between GCs and several behavioral traits, as described in the literature on captive and wild primates, and evaluated the effect of different categorical factors on these relationships using a meta-analytic approach. According to the type of behavior, we grouped statistical measures into affiliative, agonistic, anxiety-like, and foraging domains which were further differentiated into behavioral subgroups. We also categorized measures based on setting, method, sex and age of individuals, and sample matrix involved in each primary study. Overall, we found that some affiliative and foraging behaviors are associated with lower GC levels, while agonistic and anxiety-like behaviors are linked to higher GC levels. Specifically, non-sexual affiliation and energetically inexpensive activities were negatively related to GCs. In contrast, inter- and intragroup aggression, noncommunicative and self-directed behaviors, and energetically expensive activities were positively related to GCs. By demonstrating how certain social, ecological and intrinsic factors affect the GC-behavior relationships, our study helps elucidate the contexts that may alleviate or intensify the stress responses in non-human primates.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13001,"journal":{"name":"Hormones and Behavior","volume":"166 ","pages":"Article 105654"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142619134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Chronic high-dose testosterone disrupts social cognition and enhances social dominance in male long-Evans rats","authors":"Jay Wenner , Ruth I. Wood","doi":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105657","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105657","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While increased aggression is the most consistent behavioral effect of anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) abuse, its cause remains unclear. AAS may promote aggression by disrupting social behaviors which maintain dominance hierarchies. To model AAS abuse, we treated male rats with chronic high-dose testosterone and tested social recognition, social learning, and competitive and aggressive dominance. Rats received daily injections s.c. of testosterone (7.5 mg/kg) or vehicle (<em>n</em> = 8/group). We tested social recognition by measuring investigation of a novel or familiar stimulus animal, social learning with the social transmission of food preference (STFP) test, aggressive dominance with the tube test, and competitive dominance with a food competition task. For social recognition, testosterone-treated rats did not prefer the novel stimulus rat (72.8 ± 9.3 s) over the familiar rat (68.8 ± 8.0 s, N.S.) rat. In the STFP test, testosterone-treated rats did not show a significant preference for the demonstrated flavor (59.9 ± 9.4 %, N.S.) compared with controls (70.1 ± 5.4 %, <em>p</em> < 0.05). In the tube test, testosterone did not increase the number of rounds won. However, when the testosterone-treated rat won, they were more likely to be lighter than their vehicle-treated opponent, χ<sup>2</sup>(1,<em>N</em> = 63) = 6.56, <em>p</em> < 0.05, Φ<sup>2</sup> = 0.32. In the food competition task, testosterone-treated subjects won more often (48 rounds) than their vehicle-treated partners (15 rounds; <em>p</em> < 0.05). These results suggest that AAS disrupt recognizing and learning from the social hierarchy and increase the likelihood of challenging it. Collectively, these behavioral changes may contribute to AAS-induced aggression.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13001,"journal":{"name":"Hormones and Behavior","volume":"166 ","pages":"Article 105657"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142593576","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Amaris R. Lewis , Billie C. Goolsby , Bryan H. Juarez, Madison P. Lacey, Lauren A. O'Connell
{"title":"Infanticide is driven by unfamiliarity with offspring location and associated with androgenic shifts in mimic poison frogs","authors":"Amaris R. Lewis , Billie C. Goolsby , Bryan H. Juarez, Madison P. Lacey, Lauren A. O'Connell","doi":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105656","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105656","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Infanticide is widespread across the animal kingdom, but the physiological drivers of infanticide versus care or neglect are relatively unexplored. Here, we identified salient environmental and physiological antecedents of infanticide in the mimic poison frog (<em>Ranitomeya imitator</em>), a biparental amphibian. We explored potential environmental cues influencing infant-directed behavior by evaluating changes in the frequency of food provisioning and tadpole mortality after either cross-fostering tadpoles between family units or displacing tadpoles within the terraria of their parents. We found that changes in offspring location reduce care and increase infanticide. Specifically, parents fed their displaced offspring less and, in some instances, tadpole mortality increased. We also investigated whether care and infanticide were related to changes in steroid hormone concentrations in an unfamiliar setting. Infanticide of fertilized eggs and hatchlings in the new territory included cannibalism and was associated with lower testosterone concentrations, but not with changes in corticosterone. Overall, our results support earlier findings that familiarity with offspring location drives parental investment in poison frogs, while indicating an association between low androgen levels and infanticidal behavior in an amphibian.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13001,"journal":{"name":"Hormones and Behavior","volume":"166 ","pages":"Article 105656"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142604434","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Amos Nadler , Matthias Wibral , Thomas Dohmen , Armin Falk , Alessandro Previtero , Bernd Weber , Colin Camerer , Anna Dreber , Gideon Nave
{"title":"Does a single dose of testosterone increase willingness to compete, confidence, and risk-taking in men? Evidence from two randomised placebo-controlled experiments funding","authors":"Amos Nadler , Matthias Wibral , Thomas Dohmen , Armin Falk , Alessandro Previtero , Bernd Weber , Colin Camerer , Anna Dreber , Gideon Nave","doi":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105659","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105659","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The sex steroid hormone testosterone regulates aggression and display of dominance in non-human animals. According to the Challenge Hypothesis, these effects arise from context-sensitive testosterone increases that facilitate inter-male competitions over resources, status, and mates. A growing body of literature documents similar testosterone effects on behaviors related to competition and risk-taking in humans, though the findings have been mixed. Here, we report two randomised double-blind placebo-controlled testosterone administration experiments (<em>N</em><sub><em>1</em></sub> = 91, <em>N</em><sub><em>2</em></sub> = 242) designed independently by researchers in Europe and the US. Both experiments investigated the effect of a single dose of testosterone (at 4 h and 21–24 h post administration) on men's willingness to compete, confidence, and risk-taking in economic tasks. We estimate weak treatment effects that are statistically indistinguishable from zero for all behavioral outcomes across the two experiments. Our findings cast doubt on the proposition that there is an overall effect of a single dose of testosterone administration on the dimensions of economic behavior studied. If such effects existed, detecting them experimentally via pharmacological studies would require very large samples. We discuss different explanations for our results, including the possibility that context and individual difference factors moderate the effects.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13001,"journal":{"name":"Hormones and Behavior","volume":"166 ","pages":"Article 105659"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142619123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The aged female rhesus macaque as a translational model for human menopause and hormone therapy","authors":"Steven G. Kohama, Henryk F. Urbanski","doi":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105658","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105658","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Progress in understanding the causes of physiological and behavioral changes in post-menopausal women is hampered by the paucity of animal models that accurately recapitulate these age-associated changes. Here we evaluate the translational potential of female rhesus macaques (<em>Macaca mulatta</em>). Like women, these long-lived diurnal primates show marked neuroendocrine changes during aging, as well as perturbed sleep-wake cycles and cognitive decline. Furthermore, the brains of old rhesus macaques show some of the same pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease as do humans, including amyloidosis and tauopathology. Importantly, unlike humans, rhesus macaques can be maintained under tightly controlled environmental conditions, such as photoperiod, temperature and diet, and tissues can be collected with zero postmortem interval; this makes them especially suitable for studies aimed at elucidating underlying molecular mechanisms. Recent findings from female macaques are helping to elucidate how sex-steroids influence gene expression within the brain and contribute to the maintenance of cognitive function and amelioration of age-associated pathologies. Taken together, these findings emphasize the translational value of female rhesus macaques as a model for elucidating causal mechanisms that underlie normative and pathological changes in post-menopausal women. They also provide a pragmatic platform upon which to develop safe and effective therapies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13001,"journal":{"name":"Hormones and Behavior","volume":"166 ","pages":"Article 105658"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142619043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kaja S. Arusha, Krystle D. Boadi, Sabrina S. Ellah, Daniela Kim, Carolyn M. Bauer
{"title":"Sibling presence during fostering ameliorates endocrine stress profile changes in a social rodent species (Octodon degus) in a sex-specific manner","authors":"Kaja S. Arusha, Krystle D. Boadi, Sabrina S. Ellah, Daniela Kim, Carolyn M. Bauer","doi":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105660","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105660","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>During early life, disruption of the parent-offspring bond can substantially impact development of offspring physiology and behavior. In rodents, it has been well-documented that parental separation, reduction in parental care, and cross-fostering can affect development of the endocrine stress response. For social species, however, several social factors may mitigate the stress of cross-fostering, such as remaining with other known adult caregivers or siblings. In this study, we cross-fostered a social rodent species (<em>Octodon degus</em>) with or without their siblings at postnatal day (PND) 8 and measured their endocrine stress response immediately after fostering (PND9) and at weaning (PND28). We found that female singly-fostered offspring displayed elevated baseline cortisol levels and reduced weight gain immediately after fostering. At weaning, female singly-fostered offspring continued to display elevated baseline cortisol levels compared to non-fostered female offspring, while singly-fostered males demonstrated weaker cortisol negative feedback strength compared to male offspring that were not fostered or were fostered with their siblings. These results suggest that sibling presence may help mitigate the stress of fostering, and that future studies should further examine other social conditions that may help reduce developmental consequences of long-term parental bond disruption.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13001,"journal":{"name":"Hormones and Behavior","volume":"166 ","pages":"Article 105660"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142579040","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Georgia K. Young , Diana Chernyak , Gautam A. Naik , Stephen Eun Song , Annaliese K. Beery
{"title":"Prairie voles seek social contact with peer companions during immune challenge","authors":"Georgia K. Young , Diana Chernyak , Gautam A. Naik , Stephen Eun Song , Annaliese K. Beery","doi":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105653","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105653","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Selection for group living has occurred across taxa, despite inherent risk of disease transmission. Behavioral and immune responses to sickness affect social interactions and can be altered by social contexts. However, the majority of research on sickness behavior has focused on species that do not form selective social relationships. Prairie voles (<em>Microtus ochrogaster</em>) form selective social relationships with mates and peers and provide a useful study system to examine effects of sickness on social seeking in established relationships. We used peripheral injections of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of <em>E. coli</em> to stimulate the innate immune system and verified effects on activity, core temperature, and corticosterone concentrations for 6 h following treatment. We demonstrated that male and female same-sex pairs of prairie voles increase social contact when sick and that this increase persists when contact is initiated by the sick vole. Finally, we assessed social motivation following immune challenge using operant choice chambers equipped with two levers and side chambers. Voles worked to gain access to chambers with social and non-social rewards. While overall effort decreased following LPS injection, only immune-challenged voles worked significantly harder for their companion than for a non-social chamber. LPS treatment also increased proportion of rewards earned for the partner versus a stranger and again led to increased huddling behavior. Prior studies in other rodent species have shown decreased social interaction when sick; the present results demonstrate an alternative outcome of sickness in the context of dyadic bonds and lay the foundation for future work in peer companions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13001,"journal":{"name":"Hormones and Behavior","volume":"166 ","pages":"Article 105653"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142499359","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Usan Dan , Meghan F. Maciejewski , Emma Schwaiger , Alison M. Bell
{"title":"Oxytocin influences parental care in male threespine stickleback across multiple time scales","authors":"Usan Dan , Meghan F. Maciejewski , Emma Schwaiger , Alison M. Bell","doi":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105652","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105652","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Oxytocin (OXT) and its homologs are known to regulate parental care in vertebrates, but it is unknown what role these neuropeptides may play in the evolutionary loss of care. Here, we compared two recently diverged ecotypes of threespine stickleback (<em>Gasterosteus aculeatus</em>) that differ in parental care. Males of the common ecotype provide obligate, uniparental care to their offspring, whereas males of the white ecotype abandon their offspring after fertilization. To test if OXT plays a role in the loss of care, we manipulated OXT in males of both ecotypes via intraperitoneal injection of a vehicle control, OXT single- or double-dose, or an OXT antagonist. We observed the behavioral response to injection at two time points for commons (0 and 4 days post-fertilization (dpf)) and one for whites (0 dpf). Our results suggest that, in commons, OXT promotes the onset of care but not its maintenance. Notably, commons that ultimately terminated their clutches did not respond to OXT at 0 dpf, which may have contributed to their failure to transition to a state of care. Whites responded to OXT manipulation in a different manner than commons, suggesting that the loss of care in whites is not due to a loss of sensitivity to OXT, or insufficient levels of OXT ligand, but rather an evolutionary change to the underlying parental circuit that OXT is acting on. These results provide evidence that ancient hormonal systems like OXT can contribute to losses of care over multiple timescales</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13001,"journal":{"name":"Hormones and Behavior","volume":"166 ","pages":"Article 105652"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142437663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}