Social instability and immunity in rhesus monkeys: the role of the sympathetic nervous system

Capitanio, John P.; Cole, Steven W.

doi:10.1098/rstb.2014.0104

Cited by 53 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…On the one hand, increased social contact may increase individual organisms' exposure to infectious diseases [12]. On the other hand, increased social contact with conspecifics is associated with more effective immunological and behavioural responses to infection and with better long-term health outcomes [5,11]. Similarly, in humans, individuals who are more socially connected are more resistant to viral infection, as are individuals who report a greater incidence of intimate physical contact [26,27].…”

Section: Synthesis and Exceptions (A) Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In summary, within highly social mammal speciesincluding humans-social interaction appears to be associated with a health-related trade-off that is highlighted across several articles in this theme issue [5,11,12]. On the one hand, increased social contact may increase individual organisms' exposure to infectious diseases [12].…”

Section: Synthesis and Exceptions (A) Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many of these links have epidemiological implications, resulting in increased spread of infectious diseases through social contact patterns [1][2][3][4] and effects of infectious disease on host behaviour [2]. Other links involve effects of sociality on buffering the stressors of social life, including the intense competition that is observed in some species [5], with resulting effects on susceptibility to infectious and non-infectious diseases when these support networks are unavailable. Some papers in this theme issue provide examples of the mechanisms that underlie predicted interactions, such as the effects of dominance rank, sex and stress on hormone production [6], their effects on immune function and parasitism [7], and the role of the sympathetic nervous system in mediating effects of social instability on immune function [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other papers in this issue have investigated the fitness consequences of sociality and parasitism, for example in Columbian ground squirrels [8]. The papers also take a wide range of approaches, including broad-scale comparative and meta-analysis [3,7,9], long-term field research on food availability, stress and population density [10], social networks and disease spread in wild animals [4], and experimental studies of behaviour in captive primates [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other links involve effects of sociality on buffering the stressors of social life, including the intense competition that is observed in some species [5], with resulting effects on susceptibility to infectious and non-infectious diseases when these support networks are unavailable. Some papers in this theme issue provide examples of the mechanisms that underlie predicted interactions, such as the effects of dominance rank, sex and stress on hormone production [6], their effects on immune function and parasitism [7], and the role of the sympathetic nervous system in mediating effects of social instability on immune function [5]. Other papers in this issue have investigated the fitness consequences of sociality and parasitism, for example in Columbian ground squirrels [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

The sociality–health–fitness nexus: synthesis, conclusions and future directions

Nunn

Craft

Gillespie

et al. 2015

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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This theme issue has highlighted the links between sociality, health and fitness in a broad range of organisms, and with approaches that include field and captive studies of animals, comparative and meta-analyses, theoretical modelling and clinical and psychological studies of humans. In this concluding chapter, we synthesize the results of these diverse studies into some of the key concepts discussed in this issue, focusing on risks of infectious disease through social contact, the effects of competition in groups on susceptibility to disease, and the integration of sociality into research on life-history trade-offs. Interestingly, the studies in this issue both support pre-existing hypotheses, and in other ways challenge those hypotheses. We focus on unexpected results, including a lack of association between ectoparasites and fitness and weak results from a meta-analysis of the links between dominance rank and immune function, and place these results in a broader context. We also review relevant topics that were not covered fully in this theme issue, including self-medication and sickness behaviours, society-level defences against infectious disease, sexual selection, evolutionary medicine, implications for conservation biology and selective pressures on parasite traits. We conclude by identifying general open questions to stimulate and guide future research on the links between sociality, health and fitness.

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Section: Synthesis and Exceptions (A) Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Synthesis and Exceptions (A) Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The sociality–health–fitness nexus: synthesis, conclusions and future directions

Nunn

Craft

Gillespie

et al. 2015

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Laboratory rhesus macaque social housing and social changes: Implications for research

Hannibal

Bliss‐Moreau

Vandeleest

et al. 2016

American J Primatol

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Macaque species, specifically rhesus (Macaca mulatta), are the most common nonhuman primates (NHPs) used in biomedical research due to their suitability as a model of high priority diseases (e.g., HIV, obesity, cognitive aging), cost effective breeding and housing compared to most other NHPs, and close evolutionary relationship to humans. With this close evolutionary relationship, however, is a shared adaptation for a socially stimulating environment, without which both their welfare and suitability as a research model are compromised. While outdoor social group housing provides the best approximation of a social environment that matches the macaque behavioral biology in the wild, this is not always possible at all facilities, where animals may be housed indoors in small groups, in pairs, or alone. Further, animals may experience many housing changes in their lifetime depending on project needs, changes in social status, management needs, or health concerns. Here we review the evidence for the physiological and health effects of social housing changes and the potential impacts on research outcomes for studies using macaques, particularly rhesus. We situate our review in the context of increasing regulatory pressure for research facilities to both house NHPs socially and mitigate trauma from social aggression. To meet these regulatory requirements and further refine the macaque model for research, significant advances must be made in our understanding and management of rhesus macaque social housing, particularly pair-housing since it is the most common social housing configuration for macaques while on research projects. Because most NHPs are adapted for sociality, a social context is likely important for improving repeatability, reproducibility, and external validity of primate biomedical research.

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Durability and flexibility of chimpanzee grooming patterns during a period of dominance instability

Koyama

Ronkainen

Aureli

2017

American J Primatol

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Growing evidence from studies on primates and other taxa has shown that the maintenance of long-term affiliative patterns influences fitness. Thus, understanding how individuals regulate social interactions in response to environmental and social factors contributes to our understanding of the evolutionary basis of sociality. We investigated the durability of affiliation patterns in chimpanzees across three 3-month periods of varying social uncertainty depending on the degree of stability in the male hierarchy, with a 2-year gap between each period. Periods were unstable (no clear alpha male), recently stable (new alpha male just established) and stable (alpha male in place for 2 years). We focused on three features of social exchange shared by human and non-human primates: consistency of exchanges across periods, durability of preferred partners, and degree of reciprocity in each period. We compared male-to-male, female-to-female, male-to-female, and female-to-male grooming patterns. Overall, more grooming was exchanged in the stable period. Grooming patterns were not consistent across the three periods, but were only consistent between the recently stable and stable periods for female-to-female and male-to-female dyads. As predicted from the opportunistic nature of male relationships, male-to-male grooming was least likely to be correlated across all periods and males had relatively fewer durable (i.e., preferred partners in all periods) same-sex partners than females. Our predictions that grooming reciprocity would be less likely during the unstable period and in male-male dyads were only partially supported. We found grooming reciprocity in all periods for female-female dyads but only in the stable period for male-male and female-male dyads. Although long-term affiliative patterns are well studied in primates, this is the first study to investigate the association between social uncertainty and durability of affiliative patterns. Our findings suggest social uncertainty influences social exchange and highlight the importance of considering group instability in studies of social relationships.

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Social instability and immunity in rhesus monkeys: the role of the sympathetic nervous system

Cited by 53 publications

References 42 publications

The sociality–health–fitness nexus: synthesis, conclusions and future directions

The sociality–health–fitness nexus: synthesis, conclusions and future directions

Laboratory rhesus macaque social housing and social changes: Implications for research

Durability and flexibility of chimpanzee grooming patterns during a period of dominance instability

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