Resilience is an active process that involves a discrete set of neural substrates and cellular mechanisms and enables individuals to avoid some of the negative consequences of extreme stress. We have previously shown that dominant individuals show less stress-induced changes in behavior compared to subordinates using a conditioned defeat model in male Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). To rule out pre-existing differences between dominants and subordinates, we examined whether 14 days of dominance experience is required to reduce the conditioned defeat response and whether the development of conditioned defeat resistance correlates with defeat-induced neural activation in select brain regions. We paired hamsters in daily 5-min aggressive encounters for 1, 7, or 14 days and then exposed animals to 3, 5-min social defeat episodes. The next day animals received conditioned defeat testing which involved a 5-min social interaction test with a non-aggressive intruder. In separate animals brains were collected after social defeat for c-Fos immunohistochemistry. We found that 14-day dominants showed a decreased conditioned defeat response compared to 14-day subordinates and controls, while 1-day and 7-day dominants did not differ from their subordinate counterparts. Also, the duration of dominance relationship was associated with distinct patterns of defeat-induced neural activation such that only 14-day dominants showed elevated c-Fos immunoreactivity in the ventral medial prefrontal cortex, medial amygdala, and lateral portions of the ventral medial hypothalamus. Our data suggest that resistance to social stress develops during the maintenance of dominance relationships and is associated with experience-dependent neural plasticity in select brain regions.

Conditioned defeat is a model in Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) in which normal territorial aggression is replaced by increased submissive and defensive behavior following acute social defeat. The conditioned defeat response involves both a fear-related memory for a specific opponent as well as anxiety-like behavior indicated by avoidance of novel conspecifics. We have previously shown that systemic injection of a 5-HT2a receptor antagonist reduces the acquisition of conditioned defeat. Because neural activity in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) is critical for the acquisition of conditioned defeat and BLA 5-HT2a receptors can modulate anxiety but have a limited effect on emotional memories, we investigated whether 5-HT2a receptor modulation alters defeat-induced anxiety but not defeat-related memories. We injected the 5-HT2a receptor antagonist MDL 11,939 (0 mM, 1.7 mM or 17 mM) or the 5-HT2a receptor agonist TCB-2 (0 mM, 8 mM or 80 mM) into the BLA prior to social defeat. We found that injection of MDL 11,939 into the BLA impaired acquisition of the conditioned defeat response and blocked defeat-induced anxiety in the open field, but did not significantly impair avoidance of former opponents in the Y-maze. Furthermore, we found that injection of TCB-2 into the BLA increased the acquisition of conditioned defeat and increased anxiety-like behavior in the open field, but did not alter avoidance of former opponents. Our data suggest that 5-HT2a receptor signaling in the BLA is both necessary and sufficient for the development of conditioned defeat, likely via modulation of defeat-induced anxiety.

In small-scale societies children have great access to observing adult roles and this is often reflected in their play, however very few empirical studies of work-themed play have been conducted despite substantial implications that this type of play has for social learning. The current study describes the work-themed play patterns of 1 1/2- to 4-year-old Aka and Bofi foragers and Bofi farmers in Central Africa and examines the extent to which subsistence economy, age, and gender predicted how often children were observed engaging in work-themed play and characteristics of work-themed play. Overall, farmer children engaged in more work-themed play than forager children. Very few gender differences were observed in work-themed play. Age and subsistence economy predicted tendencies for children to be near adults while engaged in work-themed play and to use objects in their work-themed play.

The ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) controls vulnerability to the negative effects of chronic or uncontrollable stress. Dominance status alters responses to social defeat in the conditioned defeat model, which is a model characterized by loss of territorial aggression and increased submissive and defensive behavior following an acute social defeat. We have previously shown that dominant individuals show a reduced conditioned defeat response and increased defeat-induced neural activation in the vmPFC compared to subordinates. Here, we tested the hypothesis that defeat-induced activation of the vmPFC is necessary to confer resistance to conditioned defeat in dominants. We paired weight-matched male Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) in daily 5-min aggressive encounters for two weeks and identified dominants and subordinates. Twenty-four hours after the final pairing, animals were bilaterally injected with 200 nl of the GABAA receptor agonist muscimol (1.1nmol) or 200 nl of saline vehicle 5 minutes prior to social defeat. Defeat consisted of 3, 5-min encounters with resident aggressor hamsters at 10-min intervals. Twenty-four hours following social defeat, animals received conditioned defeat testing which involved a 5-min social interaction test with a non-aggressive intruder. Muscimol injection prior to social defeat prevented the reduced conditioned defeat response observed in vehicle-treated dominants. Further, there was no effect of muscimol injection on the conditioned defeat response in subordinates or controls. These data support the conclusion that activation of the vmPFC during social defeat is necessary for the protective effects of dominant social status on the acquisition of conditioned defeat.

Social defeat leads to selective avoidance of familiar opponents as well as general avoidance of novel, non-threatening intruders. Avoidance of familiar opponents represents a fear-related memory whereas generalized social avoidance indicates anxiety-like behavior. We have previously shown that serotonin signaling alters responses to social defeat in Syrian hamsters, although it is unclear whether serotonin modulates defeat-induced fear, anxiety, or both. In this study we focus on 5-HT1A receptors, in part, because their activation had been linked to the acquisition of conditioned fear. We hypothesized that pharmacological activation of 5-HT1A receptors prior to social defeat would reduce avoidance of familiar opponents, impair Arc expression in the basolateral amygdala (BLA), but not alter anxiety-like behavior. We administered 8-OH-DPAT, a 5-HT1A receptor agonist, prior to 3, 5-minute social defeats and 24-hours later exposed hamsters to a social interaction test to measure the conditioned defeat response immediately followed by either a Y-maze test or an open field test. In a separate experiment, we administered 8-OH-DPAT prior to 3, 5-minute social defeats and later removed brains for Arc immunohistochemistry. Social defeat increased the number of Arc immunopositive cells in the central amygdala (CeA), prelimbic cortex (PL), and BLA, and 8-OH-DPAT treatment reduced Arc immunoreactivity in the PL. These results suggest that 5-HT1A receptor activation impairs the fear memory associated with social defeat, but does not alter defeat-induced anxiety. Overall, 5-HT1A receptor activation may impair Arc expression in select brain regions such as the PL and thereby disrupt the development of a fear memory essential for the conditioned defeat response.