Effects of Social Subordination on Macaque Neurobehavioral Outcomes: Focus on Neurodevelopment

Godfrey, Jodi R.; Pincus, Melanie; Sánchez, Mar M.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-30872-2_3

Cited by 1 publication

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“…Socially housed female macaques organize into a linear social dominance hierarchy in which subordinate members are subject to constant unpredictable harassment, mimicking the uncontrollable and unpredictable nature of human psychosocial stress (Wilson, 2016). Subordinate group-living macaques experience continuous exposure to subordination stress from early in life and exhibit a range of stress-related neurobehavioral (Godfrey et al, 2016; e.g., Howell et al, 2014; Reding et al, 2019) and health outcomes (Sapolsky, 2005; e.g., Snyder-Mackler et al, 2016).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chronic Psychosocial Stress and Experimental Pubertal Delay Affect Socioemotional Behavior and Amygdala Functional Connectivity in Adolescent Female Rhesus Macaques

Pincus

Godfrey

Feczko

et al. 2020

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In females, pubertal onset appears to signal the opening of a window of increased vulnerability to the effects of stress on neurobehavioral development. What is the impact of pubertal timing on this process? We assessed the effects of pubertal timing and stress on behavior and amygdala functional connectivity (FC) in adolescent female macaques, whose social hierarchy provides an ethologically valid model of chronic psychosocial stress. Monkeys experienced puberty spontaneously (n=34) or pubertal delay via Lupron treatment from age 16-33 months (n=36). We examined the effects of stress (continuous dimension spanning dominant/low-stress to subordinate/high-stress) and experimental pubertal delay (Lupron-treated vs. Control) on socioemotional behavior and FC at 43-46 months, after all animals had begun puberty. Regardless of treatment, subordinate monkeys were more submissive and less affiliative, and exhibited weaker FC between amygdala and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and stronger FC between amygdala and temporal pole. Regardless of social rank, Lupron-treated monkeys were also more submissive, less affiliative, and explored less in a “Human Intruder” task but were less anxious than untreated monkeys; they exhibited stronger FC between amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex. No interactions between rank and Lupron treatment were observed. These data suggest that some of the effects of chronic subordination stress and delayed puberty overlap behaviorally, such that late-onset puberty-linked exposure to female hormones mimics chronic stress. In the brain, however, delayed puberty and subordination stress had separable effects, suggesting that the overlapping socioemotional outcomes may be mediated by distinct neuroplastic mechanisms. To gain further insights, additional longitudinal studies are required.

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