Increased adrenal responsiveness related to social stress in rhesus monkeys
TL;DR: Two mixed-sex groups of subadult M. mulatta, maintained under chronic crowding stress, were characterized re adrenal responsiveness to ACTH (via urinary 17-hydroxycorticosteroids) and intragroup social behavior over a 2-year period which included a series of changes in social environment.
About: This article is published in Hormones and Behavior.The article was published on 1970-11-01. It has received 141 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Social stress.
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TL;DR: The goal in the study of aging is not to halt the aging process, because we can no more be cured of aging than of birth as mentioned in this paper, but to slow and soften the sharpest edges of the biological unraveling that constitutes aging.
Abstract: AS RECENTLY as 1900, tuberculosis, influenza, and pneumonia were the leading causes of death in our country (1). For the most part, however, these infectious diseases, as well as those of poor hygiene or undernutrition, no longer plague us. Instead, we succumb most frequently to heart disease and cancer, diseases of slow degeneration (1). Most of all, unlike so many in the generations before us, we are in a position to age. Regardless of what else occurs, we age, we become more constrained by the discrepancy between what we were and what we have become, and each step becomes harder. The goal in the study of aging is not to halt the process, because we can no more be cured of aging than of birth. The goal, instead, is to slow and soften the sharpest edges of the biological unraveling that constitutes aging. Over the past 5 yr, we have examined some of the sharpest edges of the pathology of aging. We have studied the capacity of aged organisms to respond appropriately to stress and the capacity of stress to...
2,122 citations
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TL;DR: The goal in the study of aging is not to halt the process, because the authors can no more be cured of aging than of birth, but to slow and soften the sharpest edges of the biological unraveling that constitutes aging.
Abstract: Over the past 5 yr, we have examined some of the sharpest edges of the pathology of aging. We have studied the capacity of aged organisms to respond appropriately to stress and the capacity of stre...
2,084 citations
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TL;DR: The concept of dominance is used in the behavioral and biological sciences to describe outcomes in a variety of competitive interactions as mentioned in this paper, which can be used to characterize such relationships as dominance, however, they must be distinguished from other kinds of interaction patterns for which the term tends to be used, as well as from factors such as territoriality and "trained" winners and losers.
Abstract: The concept of dominance is used in the behavioral and biological sciences to describe outcomes in a variety of competitive interactions. In some taxa, a history of agonistic encounters among individuals modifies the course of future agonistic encounters such that the existence of a certain type of relationship can be inferred. If one is to characterize such relationships as dominance, however, then they must be distinguished from other kinds of interaction patterns for which the term tends to be used, as well as from factors such as territoriality and "trained" winners and losers, which may also influence the expression of agonistic behavior. Operational definitions based on causal, functional, evolutionary, and ontogenetic considerations have been proposed. Reliability and validity problems have been discussed, but the dominance concept has proved useful despite methodological difficulties. The confusion of dominance relationships (which involve two or more individuals) with dominance ranks (which are assigned to a single individual) has obscured the possible evolutionary basis of dominance relationships. If benefits accrue to dominant members of pairs, then those attributes which allow an animal to establish dominance can be selected. Dominance per se and dominance ranks, on the other hand, cannot be genetically transmitted since they constitute relationships with other individuals rather than absolute attributes. Dominance rankings in particular may be useful for describing behavioral patterns within a group, but they may reflect our own ability to count rather than any important variable in social organization.
526 citations
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TL;DR: There is no conclusive evidence that high ranking males have greater overall reproductive success, and an alternative hypothesis that adult males are sexually active for a relatively short stage of their lives fits existing data equally well.
500 citations
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TL;DR: The chapter introduces the most important currently applied methods in assessing stress levels in animals and the focal points of the chapter are the sympathetico–adrenomedullary and pituitary-adrenocortical systems, the pituitsary–gonadal axis, and the immune system.
Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the significance of the stress concept in gaining a better understanding of social mechanisms in nonhuman mammals The development of this concept during the past years and the resulting present understanding of different stress reactions are described in the chapter The triggers of stress reactions are mainly psychical processes resulting from the assessment of a situation by an individual Dependent on the coping behavior of the individual, these processes lead to different physiological response patterns, which can result in a number of pathophysiological effects The chapter introduces the most important currently applied methods in assessing stress levels in animals Particular attention is paid to methodological problems, as well as to the limits of interpretation The focal points of the chapter are the sympathetico–adrenomedullary and pituitary–adrenocortical systems, the pituitary–gonadal axis, and the immune system An overview of the relationships between social situations and stress responses is provided, in which the research focuses on the monogamous and territorial tree shrews and the polygamous and territorial European wild rabbits In these cases, the social rank of an individual, its sociopositive interactions with conspecifics, and the stability of the social system are determinants in the effects of a social situation on the individual's vitality and fertility
406 citations
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TL;DR: There is no longer room for reasonable doubt as to the validity of the basic conclusion that psychological stimuli are capable of influencing the level of pituitary‐adrenal cortical activity, and the general biological conclusions emerging from the work covered in this review may be summarized.
Abstract: Massive evidence has now accumulated which indicates that the pituitary-adrenal cortical system responds sensitively to psychological influences. This evidence represents converging and reinforcing findings from diverse studies of many species, including man. It involved the use of many methods of e
875 citations
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TL;DR: Nelson and Samuels improved the procedure, primarily by employing chromatographic separation and micro cuvettes, so that they were able to measure the concentration of hydrocortisone in human plasma.
815 citations
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TL;DR: This first report covers aspects of methods of research, group composition and its stability, repertoire of social behavior, sexual behavior, and agonistic behavior of rhesus monkeys on Cay0 Santiago, Puerto Rico, a small island in the West Indies.
Abstract: Rhesus monkeys, Macaca mulatta, have been used as the subjects of research more often than the members of any other species of non-human Primates. Compared with the abundant data on the anatomy, physiology, and psychological characteristics of these monkeys, relatively little is known about their social behavior in free-living populations. The primary objective of this study is to analyze the social behavior of rhesus monkeys. It is based on a two-year field study on Cay0 Santiago, Puerto Rico, a small island in the West Indies. This first report covers aspects of methods of research, group composition and its stability, repertoire of social behavior, sexual behavior, and agonistic behavior. I am indebted to many people for their assistance with various parts of this study. The possibility of studying the rhesus monkeys of Cay0 Santiago first was suggested to me by Dr. David McK. Rioch. Critical reading of a research protocol was given by Drs. H. Enger Rosvold, Allen F. Mirsky, Mortimer Mishkin, Solly Zuckerman, Ernst Mayr, Edward 0. Wilson, and C. Ray Carpenter. Drs. C. James Bailey, Josh G . Frontera, Roy Kinard and Mr. John Smart were of great help in weighing, tattooing, TB testing, and measuring monkeys during the first, hectic weeks on Cay0 Santiago, and I benefited greatly from Dr. Kinards intimate knowledge of the care and handling of this Primate. Two medical students, Doming0 Antonio Lopez Velez and Gerhart Bela Ramirez Schon, trapped monkeys during my absence from the island in mid-1957. Drs. David E. Davis, John King, William Mason, Harriet Rheingold, and Irven DeVore each spent several days on Cayo Santiago during the course of the study. Their keen observations and probing questions have helped me to see relationships that might not have been otherwise evident. I am very grateful to the staff of the Laboratory of Human Development at Harvard, Dr. John Whiting, Director, for their enlightening discussions of many problems. Much of the inspiration for developing the method of recording sequences of behavior under field conditions came from their own systematic approach to field
798 citations
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TL;DR: It is concluded that the 17‐OHCS responses indicate that the stressful conditions in these experiments are of sufficient severity to provide a suitable test for the possible responsivity of other endocrine systems to a stressful situation in which predominantly psychological factors are involved.
Abstract: &NA; Marked elevations in both mean urinary and mean 9 A.M. plasma 17‐OHCS levels are associated with 72‐hr. avoidance sessions in the monkey. The urinary 17‐OHCS elevations persist also for several days in the recovery period. The 17‐OHCS elevations, while substantial, do not appear to represent maximal adrenal cortical responses and no evidence of adrenal cortical exhaustion was observed. Indirect evidence suggests rather the hypothesis that neural suppressive or governing mechanisms may come into play as avoidance is sustained. Repetition of the 72‐hr. avoidance experience is generally associated with both diminishing basal urinary 17‐OHCS levels and urinary 17‐OHCS response to avoidance. After 6 sessions at monthly intervals, however, a substantial urinary 17‐OHCS response was obtained when the intensity of the emotional stimulus was increased. Substantial individual differences were observed between monkeys with respect to mean urinary 17‐OHCS response to avoidance. Highly significant correlations were observed between these individual differences in 17‐OHCS response and similar individual differences in mean lever response rate before, during, and after avoidance. Evidence is presented that, following temporary initial disruption, diurnal changes in plasma and urinary 17‐OHCS levels persist throughout the stressful period. It is concluded that the 17‐OHCS responses indicate that the stressful conditions in these experiments are of sufficient severity to provide a suitable test for the possible responsivity of other endocrine systems to a stressful situation in which predominantly psychological factors are involved.
102 citations