Physiological correlates of maternal separation in surrogate‐reared infants: A study in altered attachment bonds

Squirrel monkey infants reared on surrogates showed an increase in vocalizations, but no change in plasma cortisol levels when the surrogate was removed from the home cage for .5 hr. When the infant was exposed to novelty during separation, there was a further increase in vocalizations, as well as increases in movement and plasma cortisol. Placing the surrogate with the infant in the novel environment reduced the behavioral reaction and led to high levels of infant-surrogate contact; however, plasma cortisol levels were as high at .5 hr as when the infant was in the novel environment alone. With longer (2-4 hr) exposures to the novel room, cortisol elevations were attenuated by the presence of the surrogate. When the infant was alone, levels of cortisol, but not protest behavior, increased with length of exposure to the novel room. These results indicate that the physiological reaction to separation procedures in infant primates may not be safely inferred from behavioral responses, and, together with earlier findings, suggest a deficiency in the attachment of surrogate-reared infants.

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

mentioning

confidence: 93%

mentioning

confidence: 93%

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Influence of the maternal surrogate on pituitary–adrenal activity and behavior of infant squirrel monkeys

Hennessy

Kaplan

1982

“…The available evidence, based mainly on squirrel monkeys (Sairniri) suggests that attachment to an inanimate mother substitute may be "diminished or in some way deficient," as compared to that to the biological mother (Hennessy, 1985, p. 153). A similar conclusion was suggested by the only directly pertinent study with macaques (Reite, Short, & Seiler, 1978). Previous investigations, however, did not attempt to distinguish effects relating specifically to measures of filial attachment from more general developmental consequences associated with different attachment figures.…”

Section: Attachment As Relationshipsupporting

confidence: 63%

Formation and expression of filial attachment in rhesus monkeys raised with living and inanimate mother substitutes

Mason

Capitanio

1988

The formation and expression of filial attachment was investigated in rhesus monkeys raised with dogs or inanimate mother substitutes in a longitudinal study spanning the first 4 years of life. At 2 months monkeys were identified within each rearing group as strongly attached or weakly attached, as measured by proximity, contact and clinging to the mother substitute in the living cage and in a novel room, and by differences in levels of distress vocalization and heart rate when they were alone and in the presence of the substitute mother in a novel room. By 4 months, all monkeys were attached, and the strongly attached and weakly attached monkeys of the first age-period were no longer distinguishable on any measure. The attachment was specific to the substitute mother. It was not exclusive, however, inasmuch as similar responses were elicited by a stranger of the same type as the substitute mother, although the stranger was less effective. The attachment figure was also influential when it could be seen but not touched. Evidence of attachment to the substitute mothers persisted until the end of testing at 44 months. Comparison of rearing groups support the hypothesis that the principal effect of living and inanimate mother substitutes is on responsiveness, rather than on the attachment process per se.

“…Nonagonistic accounts, however, are less consistent with the parallel threat-like behavioral manifestations of the reaction to laughter. Social isolation can result in heart rate increases (Mason & Capitanio, 1988;Reite, Short, & Seiler, 1978), and can induce or exaggerate acceleratory responses to otherwise nonsignal stimuli (Mason & Capitanio, 1988;Martin, Sackett, Gunderson, & Goodlin-Jones, 1988). The present animals were not subject to the degree of social isolation imposed in these earlier studies, however, and potential isolation effects could not account for the stimulus-specific acceleratory responses observed only to the laughter stimulus.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Conspecific screams and laughter: Cardiac and behavioral reactions of infant chimpanzees

Berntson

Boysen

Bauer

et al. 1989

The present study examined cardiac and behavioral reactions of infant chimpanzees to white noise and to conspecific screams and laughter. Chimpanzee screams evoked typical deceleratory cardiac orienting responses. Analysis of stimulus-evoked changes in respiratory sinus arrhythmia suggested that this cardiac deceleration arose from an increase in parasympathetic activity. In contrast, chimpanzee laughter evoked notable cardiac acceleration. Laughter also evoked vocalizations from the infant subjects, which were reminiscent of adult threat-barks. Analysis of respiratory sinus arrhythmia suggested that the cardioacceleratory response likely resulted from sympathetic activation, and was not associated with an inhibition of parasympathetic activity. The autonomic and vocal responses to laughter emerged early in development, were minimally dependent on social contact with adults, and declined in magnitude with increasing age. A consideration of the phylogeny of laughter raised the possibility that the functional reaction to this vocalization may be related to its origin in more primitive agonistic facio-vocal signals.