Effects of Food Ecology on Social Play: A Laboratory Simulation<sup>3</sup>

Baldwin, John W.; Baldwin, Janice I.

doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.1976.tb00922.x

Cited by 130 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 26 publications

(18 reference statements)

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“…Play has been used as an indicator of positive arousal and well-being in non-human primates [Baldwin & Baldwin, 1974;Biben & Champoux, 1999;Lancy, 1980;Loy, 1970;Mellou, 2006;O'NeillWagner et al, 1994;Parr & Hopkins, 2000;Spinka et al, 2001]. Moreoever, Norscia and Palagi [2011] found reduced rates of scratching following play in common marmosets, suggesting that play serves as a tension-reduction mechanism.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Scratching under positive and negative arousal in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)

Neal

Caine

2015

American J Primatol

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Scratching has been widely used as an indicator of anxiety in many primate species. However, a handful of studies have shown no change in scratching under anxiety-provoking circumstances. In addition, the existing literature has investigated scratching only in relation to negative arousal (i.e., anxiety), even though anxiety and excitement (positive arousal) share important physiological and behavioral correlates, including increased heart rate, blood pressure, and locomotion. In the current study, we scored all instances of scratching in 11 outdoor-housed captive common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) during three contexts that were intended to be negatively arousing and three contexts that were intended to be positively arousing during a baseline, manipulation, and post-induction period. Summed across the three negative arousal contexts, the results showed that subjects exhibited significantly lower scratching rates during the manipulation than during either the baseline or post-induction periods, and the pattern of means was the same for all three of those contexts. Under the three contexts of positive arousal, subjects exhibited different patterns of scratching rates during the manipulation periods (play = increases, foraging = decreases, food anticipation = no change). Data from the current study, and a close examination of data from studies showing no change in scratching under anxiety-provoking circumstances, suggest that the anxiety-scratching relationship may be more complex than has been reported previously. Our results raise a potential concern about the unchallenged use of scratching as a behavioral indicator of anxiety in captive non-human primates, with important implications for welfare and management of these species.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Scratching under positive and negative arousal in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)

Neal

Caine

2015

American J Primatol

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“…First, play, while not metabolically expensive, may require a small increase in food intake (Martin, 1984), and consequently in many species declines in frequency when food is in short supply (e.g. Baldwin and Baldwin, 1976). One conspicuous exception to this general rule was found in young domestic cats, which increased the proportion of time that they devoted to object play when their mothers were malnourished (Bateson et al, 1990): this anomaly may be accounted for if object play in this species acts primarily as practice for hunting, in which such kittens will require proficiency earlier than their better-nourished counterparts, and this is supported by the motivational links between object play and hunting behaviour (Hall and Bradshaw, 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why do adult dogs ‘play’?

Bradshaw

Pullen

Rooney

2015

Behavioural Processes

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Among the Carnivora, play behaviour is usually made up of motor patterns characteristic of predatory, agonistic and courtship behaviour. Domestic dogs are unusual in that play is routinely performed by adults, both socially, with conspecifics and with humans, and also asocially, with objects. This enhanced playfulness is commonly thought to be a side effect of paedomorphosis, the perpetuation of juvenile traits into adulthood, but here we suggest that the functions of the different types of play are sufficiently distinct that they are unlikely to have arisen through a single evolutionary mechanism. Solitary play with objects appears to be derived from predatory behaviour: preferred toys are those that can be dismembered, and a complex habituation-like feedback system inhibits play with objects that are resistant to alteration. Intraspecific social play is structurally different from interspecific play and may therefore be motivationally distinct and serve different goals; for example, dogs often compete over objects when playing with other dogs, but are usually more cooperative when the play partner is human. The majority of dogs do not seem to regard competitive games played with a human partner as "dominance" contests: rather, winning possession of objects during games appears to be simply rewarding. Play may be an important factor in sociality, since dogs are capable of extracting social information not only from games in which they participate, but also from games that they observe between third parties. We suggest that the domestic dog's characteristic playfulness in social contexts is an adaptive trait, selected during domestication to facilitate both training for specific purposes, and the formation of emotionally-based bonds between dog and owner. Play frequency and form may therefore be an indicator of the quality of dog-owner relationships.

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“…In addition, because extra weight may place juveniles at increased risk for predation, play would aid in the utilization of this energy, and in turn increase chances of survival [12]. Previous studies have reported that the severity of food availability was able to predict decreased or diminished play behavior [49,50]. Thus, animals are more likely to play when their nutritional needs are being met and minimize play when food availability is inadequate [12].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Metabolic Programming on Juvenile Play Behavior and Gene Expression in the Prefrontal Cortex of Rats

Hehar

Mychasiuk

2016

Dev Neurosci

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Early developmental processes, such as metabolic programming, can provide cues to an organism, which allow it to make modifications that are predicted to be beneficial for survival. Similarly, social play has a multifaceted role in promoting survival and fitness of animals. Play is a complex behavior that is greatly influenced by motivational and reward circuits, as well as the energy reserves and metabolism of an organism. This study examined the association between metabolic programming and juvenile play behavior in an effort to further elucidate insight into the consequences that early adaptions have on developmental trajectories. The study also examined changes in expression of four genes (Drd2, IGF1, Opa1, and OxyR) in the prefrontal cortex known to play significant roles in reward, bioenergetics, and social-emotional functioning. Using four distinct variations in developmental programming (high-fat diet, caloric restriction, exercise, or high-fat diet combined with exercise), we found that dietary programming (high-fat diet vs. caloric restriction) had the greatest impact on play behavior and gene expression. However, exercise also induced changes in both measures. This study demonstrates that metabolic programming can alter neural circuits and bioenergetics involved in play behavior, thus providing new insights into mechanisms that allow programming to influence the evolutionary success of an organism.

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Effects of Food Ecology on Social Play: A Laboratory Simulation³

Cited by 130 publications

References 26 publications

Scratching under positive and negative arousal in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)

Scratching under positive and negative arousal in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)

Why do adult dogs ‘play’?

Effects of Metabolic Programming on Juvenile Play Behavior and Gene Expression in the Prefrontal Cortex of Rats

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Effects of Food Ecology on Social Play: A Laboratory Simulation3

Cited by 130 publications

References 26 publications

Scratching under positive and negative arousal in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)

Scratching under positive and negative arousal in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)

Why do adult dogs ‘play’?

Effects of Metabolic Programming on Juvenile Play Behavior and Gene Expression in the Prefrontal Cortex of Rats

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Resources

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Effects of Food Ecology on Social Play: A Laboratory Simulation³