Dominance rank causally affects personality and glucocorticoid regulation in female rhesus macaques.

ABSTRACT: Low social status is frequently associated with heightened exposure to social stressors and altered glucocorticoid regulation by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Additionally, personality differences can affect how individuals behave in response to social conditions, and thus may aggravate or protect against the effects of low status on HPA function. Disentangling the relative importance of personality from the effects of the social environment on the HPA axis has been challenging, since social status can predict aspects of behavior, and both can remain stable across the lifespan. To do so here, we studied an animal model of social status and social behavior, the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). We performed two sequential experimental manipulations of dominance rank (i.e., s

SUBMITTER: Kohn JN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5494262 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature