Behavioral and hormonal changes following social instability in young rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).

ABSTRACT: Social instability (SI) occurs when there is competition over social status. Reduced certainty of social status can lead to heightened aggression, which can increase physiological stress responses as individuals prepare to fight for their social status. However, adults can use proactive coping mechanisms to reduce the physiological stress induced by SI, such as increasing affiliation. Very little is known, however, about the behavioral and hormonal effects of SI early in development. Filling these gaps in knowledge would add to the fields of primatology and developmental and comparative psychology. We conducted an opportunistic study of a peer group of 18 rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) yearlings before and during SI. We used social network analysis to measure individuals' dominance

SUBMITTER: Wooddell LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9454299 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature