Regulation of the stress response by social buffering: A review across species

Abstract

This review presents a critical reading of the literature on social buffering in human and non-human animals. The term social buffering has been coined to refer to an attenuation of stress responses by the presence of conspecifics. Evidence shows that the buffer seems to be specific for each stage of development, being the mother the factor that attenuates the stress responses during early development and conspecifics of the same age, later in life. An animal model of scarcity of resources revealed that when being reared by a stressed mother, the social buffering effect does not occur. The literature reviewed allows us to approach a key factor related to stress and its effects in the different stages of ontogeny.

Early Life Stress-Induced Epigenetic Programming of Hippocampal NPY-Y2 Receptor Gene Expression Changes in Response to Adult Stress

“…With regard to the findings of the present study on Y2R expression, the question arises what are the factors that are contributing to a potential "protective" effect of ELS exposure. An important concept within this context is "social buffering" stating that the presence and interaction with conspecifics can attenuate the stress response and as a long-term consequence, may help to promote adaptive processes influencing responses to adverse experiences in later life periods (Beery and Kaufer, 2015;Gunnar, 2017;Yirmiya et al, 2020;Avellaneda and Kamenetzky, 2021). In early life, an important social buffering factor is the maternal care behavior of the mother, while in later life, interaction with same age conspecifics, for example, littermates, provides an important environmental influence.…”

Prevalencia, beneficios y principales causas de abandono de la lactancia materna

“…Más aún, las medidas de crecimiento de sus niño/as fueron mayores en el grupo que recibió formación en lactancia en la fundación. En este sentido, hemos desarrollado el concepto de institución como buffer del buffer para reflejar el papel de soporte para la madre, ofreciendo apoyo y acompañamiento, para que ésta pueda oficiar de buffer para su bebé, disminuyendo sus respuestas de estrés, brindándole cuidados, lactancia y un ambiente de crianza óptimo (para una revisión ver Avellaneda & Kamenetzky, 2021). Sería importante que los hospitales pudieran contar con espacios de apoyo a las madres embarazadas y sus familias, donde no solamente se presten servicios médicos, sino también formación en lactancia y apoyo social, dedicando el tiempo que estas actividades requieren.…”

The social transmission of stress in animal collectives

“…In birds, domestic hens ( Gallus gallus domesticus ) reduce behavioural stress responses of their chicks to being startled by air puffs through their mere presence [51]. In a range of species, support from social partners, particularly those deemed to be reliable associates, reduces the frequency and/or intensity of stress responses (reviewed in [52]), presumably by reducing neural activation of the stress system [47]. However, in rodents, individuals that serve as a social buffer for others can experience an activation of their own stress axis [53], thereby limiting subsequent buffering capacity [54].…”