Stress coping style does not determine social status, but influences the consequences of social subordination stress

Abstract

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Behavioral coping strategies predict tumor development and behavioral impairment after chronic social stress in mice

“…This hypothesis might explain why these subjects had higher corticosterone levels than AA and PR mice after the first stressful interaction. Thus, the findings would support the hypothesis that coping styles influence the outcome of experienced stress due to social subordination (Boersma et al, 2017). Although corticosterone levels were approximately equal in all stressed groups after nine days of stress, we cannot exclude that a long-term effect on other components of the HPA axis and/or on other physiological variables related to the function of the HPA axis (brain-derived neurotrophic factor, immune system, etc.…”

“…The physiological and behavioral responses to acute stress can be adaptive, but exposure to chronic stress, particularly chronic psychosocial stress, can have negative consequences and increase susceptibility to chronic diseases, including depression (Hollis, Isgor, & Kabbaj, 2013) and cancer (Sommershof, Scheuermann, Koerner, & Groettrup, 2017). One of the most common chronic stressors in humans and other social animals is stress emerging from social interactions (Boersma et al, 2017;Brown, 2002;Kessler, 1997). Thus, losses of social rank, status and/or control are examples of chronic stressors that are increasingly recognized as risk factors for depression (Gotlib & Hammen, 2008).…”

Manifestations of domination: Assessments of social dominance in rodents

“…109,110 The vast majority of mixed-sex colony studies analyzing spontaneous agonistic encounters within a colony have revealed that strict, despotic social hierarchies are readily established among male rats and mice, while no hierarchies are observed among female rats and mice. [5][6][7][8]15,17,25,26,86,87,[111][112][113][114][115][116][117][118][119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126][127][128][129] In contrast, female hamsters housed in mixed-sex pairs establish strong dominant-subordinate relationships, with females typically maintaining dominance over the male. 130 However, a resident-intruder study using mixed-sex colonies of Long Evans rats has demonstrated that one male and one female in each colony exhibit social dominance evidenced by increased aggression toward an intruder rat introduced to the colony.…”

“…As in same‐sex studies, social rank can be determined by analyzing the spontaneous agonistic behaviors among the colony members 6,29,105‐108 or the agonistic behaviors of colony members toward a stranger, “intruder” rodent in a resident‐intruder test 109,110 . The vast majority of mixed‐sex colony studies analyzing spontaneous agonistic encounters within a colony have revealed that strict, despotic social hierarchies are readily established among male rats and mice, while no hierarchies are observed among female rats and mice 5‐8,15,17,25,26,86,87,111‐129 . In contrast, female hamsters housed in mixed‐sex pairs establish strong dominant‐subordinate relationships, with females typically maintaining dominance over the male 130 .…”