Evolving the neuroendocrine physiology of human and primate cooperation and collective action.

ABSTRACT: While many hormones play vital roles in facilitating or reinforcing cooperative behaviour, the neurohormones underlying competitive and cooperative behaviours are largely conserved across all mammals. This raises the question of how endocrine mechanisms have been shaped by selection to produce different levels of cooperation in different species. Multiple components of endocrine physiology--from baseline hormone concentrations, to binding proteins, to the receptor sensitivity and specificity--can evolve independently and be impacted by current socio-ecological conditions or individual status, thus potentially generating a wide range of variation within and between species. Here, we highlight several neurohormones and variation in hormone receptor genes associated with cooperation, focusing

SUBMITTER: Trumble BC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4633850 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature