Competition, testosterone, and adult neurobehavioral plasticity

Vermeer, Annabel Losecaat; Riečanský, I; Eisenegger, Christoph

doi:10.1016/bs.pbr.2016.05.004

Cited by 33 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 137 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Therefore, future research on animal contests, and particularly regarding the role of behavior or cognition, should consider both sexes. Sex differences in fowl are expected as they are sexually dimorphic and have phenotypic and physiological differences (e.g., sex hormones, Gahr 2001), which can influence both behavior and cognition (Wade 1999;Losecaat Vermeer et al 2016;Moraga-Amaro et al 2017). As we were not able to measure discriminative learning speed or optimism in males, we could not explore the extent to which cognition influences contest outcome in both sexes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of personality, cognition, and affective state in same-sex contests in the red junglefowl

Garnham

Porthén

Child

et al. 2019

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Intra-species contests are common in the animal kingdom and can have fitness consequences. Most research on what predicts contest outcome focuses on morphology, although differences in personality and cognition may also be involved. Supporting this, more proactive individuals often have dominant status, although the causality of this relationship is rarely investigated. Contest initiators often win; thus, individuals that are more proactive in their personality (e.g., more aggressive, risk-taking) or cognition (e.g., more optimistic, impulsive) may initiate contests more often. To investigate this, we assayed the behavior and cognition of sexually mature male and female red junglefowl (Gallus gallus), a species in which both sexes contest over social status, before staging intra-sexual contests. We confirm that contest initiators were more likely to win. In males, individuals that behaved more boldly in a novel arena test were more likely to initiate and win contests. Female initiators tended to be less active in novel object test, more aggressive in a restrained opponent test, and respond less optimistically in a cognitive judgement bias test, whereas the main predictor of whether a female would win a contest was whether she initiated it. These results suggest that behaviors attributed to proactive and reactive personalities, and-at least for female red junglefowl-optimism, can affect contest initiation and outcome. Therefore, within species, and depending on sex, different aspects of behavior and cognition may independently affect contest initiation and outcome. The generality of these findings, and their fitness consequences, requires further investigation. Significance statement In red junglefowl, we explored how behavior previously shown to describe personality, cognition, and affective state affected initiation and outcome of intra-sexual contests, by staging contests between sexually mature individuals previously assayed in behavioral and cognitive tests. In both sexes, contest initiators usually won. Bolder males were more likely to initiate and win contests. Female contests initiators were less active, more aggressive, and less optimistic. Our results suggest that personality and cognition could affect the initiation and outcome of contests and that how this occurs may differ between sexes.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of personality, cognition, and affective state in same-sex contests in the red junglefowl

Garnham

Porthén

Child

et al. 2019

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Moreover, another explanation for these results is that the IGT is a complex task where feedback and learning are crucial (Bechara et al, ). Thus, T favored implicit learning and memory (Bos, Panksepp, Bluthé, & Honk, ), and these effects would be associated with short‐term neuroplasticity induced by T (Losecaat, Vermeer, Riečanský, & Eisenegger, ). In this regard, our results pointed out that T and C changes after competition led to an adaptive flexibility to feedback, at least in women.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hormonal changes after competition predict sex‐differentiated decision‐making

Alacreu‐Crespo

Costa

Abad‐Tortosa

et al. 2019

Behavioral Decision Making

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recent neuroendocrinology research has pointed out that testosterone (T) and cortisol (C) changes after social interactions can predict risk‐taking behavior in decision‐making, depending on the sex of participants. However, previous research has focused on the effects of the changes in only one hormone, rather than the interaction between them, even though C can suppress T activity. Our aim was to test, in men and women, the role of T changes moderated by C changes after competition in decision‐making. Thus, 48 males and 46 females completed the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) after a laboratory competition or a noncompetitive task (control task). Saliva samples were collected before and after the competition/control task. IGT was employed to measure risk‐taking decision‐making, considering the degree of uncertainty. Our results showed sex‐differentiated effects of T and C changes on risk‐taking behavior. On the one hand, men from both task groups (Competition/Control) who had higher C and T changes after competition showed more risk‐taking decision‐making (higher IG Risk). On the other hand, women from the competitive task who had high C and T showed conservative decision‐making. Therefore, these results show sex‐differentiated decision‐making profiles, which would help to understand how men and women behave after experiencing a competitive social context.

show abstract

“…Sex steroids produced by peripheral glands such as dihydrotestosterone (DHT), testosterone (T), estradiol (E2), progesterone (PROG), and corticosterone (CORT) are traditionally known to play crucial roles in sexually dimorphic circuits located in the hypothalamus and other brain areas controlling reproductive behaviors, as well as brain masculinization, brain connectivity, and neuroplasticity (Losecaat Vermeer et al, 2016 ; Panzica and Melcangi, 2016 ). Furthermore, the central and peripheral nervous systems show local synthesis of neurosteroids (Melcangi et al, 2008 ; Giatti et al, 2010 ).…”

Section: General Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estrogen Interactions With Lipid Rafts Related to Neuroprotection. Impact of Brain Ageing and Menopause

Marín

Dı́az

2018

Front. Neurosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Estrogens (E2) exert a plethora of neuroprotective actions against aged-associated brain diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Part of these actions takes place through binding to estrogen receptors (ER) embedded in signalosomes, where numerous signaling proteins are clustered. Signalosomes are preferentially located in lipid rafts which are dynamic membrane microstructures characterized by a peculiar lipid composition enriched in gangliosides, saturated fatty acids, cholesterol, and sphingolipids. Rapid E2 interactions with ER-related signalosomes appear to trigger intracellular signaling ultimately leading to the activation of molecular mechanisms against AD. We have previously observed that the reduction of E2 blood levels occurring during menopause induced disruption of ER-signalosomes at frontal cortical brain areas. These molecular changes may reduce neuronal protection activities, as similar ER signalosome derangements were observed in AD brains. The molecular impairments may be associated with changes in the lipid composition of lipid rafts observed in neurons during menopause and AD. These evidences indicate that the changes in lipid raft structure during aging may be at the basis of alterations in the activity of ER and other neuroprotective proteins integrated in these membrane microstructures. Moreover, E2 is a homeostatic modulator of lipid rafts. Recent work has pointed to this relevant aspect of E2 activity to preserve brain integrity, through mechanisms affecting lipid uptake and local biosynthesis in the brain. Some evidences have demonstrated that estrogens and the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) exert synergistic effects to stabilize brain lipid matrix. DHA is essential to enhance molecular fluidity at the plasma membrane, promoting functional macromolecular interactions in signaling platforms. In support of this, DHA detriment in neuronal lipid rafts has been associated with the most common age-associated neuropathologies, namely AD and Parkinson disease. Altogether, these findings indicate that E2 may participate in brain preservation through a dual membrane-related mechanism. On the one hand, E2 interacting with ER related signalosomes may protect against neurotoxic insults. On the other hand, E2 may exert lipostatic actions to preserve lipid balance in neuronal membrane microdomains. The different aspects of the emerging multifunctional role of estrogens in membrane-related signalosomes will be discussed in this review.

show abstract

Competition, testosterone, and adult neurobehavioral plasticity

Cited by 33 publications

References 137 publications

The role of personality, cognition, and affective state in same-sex contests in the red junglefowl

The role of personality, cognition, and affective state in same-sex contests in the red junglefowl

Hormonal changes after competition predict sex‐differentiated decision‐making

Estrogen Interactions With Lipid Rafts Related to Neuroprotection. Impact of Brain Ageing and Menopause

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About