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Behavioral effects of hashish in mice. III. Social interactions between two residents and an intruder male.

The acute and subchronic effects of hashish extract (20 mg delta 9-THC/kg) on the social interactions between two drug-treated residents and an untreated intruder male were investigated. In this analysis 28 different behavioral elements were recorded. A single drug application suppressed all categories of behavior, except submissive behavior and flight, in dominant and subordinate residents. Treated animals were less active than controls and immobility was very frequent. An elevated total activity, due to an increase in non-social activities, was observed in the untreated intruder males of this group. Social investigation as well as submissive behavior and flight were reduced in these animals. On introduction of an untreated male after the fourth drug treatment of the residents, the drugged males showed tolerance to the sedative and most of the other behavioral effects of the drug, and intruder males behaved quite normally. The formation of a dominant-subordinate relation within the group was influenced neither by a single nor by repeated drug treatment. The acute and subchronic effects of hashish extract on social, especially aggressive behavior of males are compared to those described in previous papers and the variation in the results of the different studies is discussed.

Aggression↗

Alternative male mating behaviors dependent on relative body size in captive oval squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana (Cephalopoda, Loliginidae).

We observed the reproductive behavior of the oval squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana in captivity. The male used three different mating behaviors: male-parallel (MP), male-upturned (MU) and sneaking. Male competition over females frequently occurred before and during the female egg-laying period, and the outcome of most fights depended on male body size. Larger males guarded their partners from other males and performed MP mating during the egg-laying period of the paired females. In contrast, there was no pairing and mate guarding in MU mating and sneaking, which were adopted by smaller subordinate males as alternative tactics outside female egg-laying period and during the period, respectively. MP matings were 95% successful, but more than half of MU matings were unsuccessful. Higher mating success in MP mating was achieved through pairing, whereas males in MU mating were less successful because mating attempts without pair formation were often foiled by escape of the female. Sneaking was successful in all cases but occurred less frequently. Spermatophores were attached at the opening of the oviduct in MP mating, whereas they were attached around the female buccal membrane in MU mating and sneaking. Considering the route of egg transportation, higher fertilization success can be expected in MP mating because of the advantageous location of the attached spermatophores. Our results suggest that MP mating is used by larger, paired males during the female egg-laying period, and that MU mating and sneaking are alternative tactics adopted by smaller, subordinate males. These alternative mating behaviors would be conditional strategy dependent on relative body size, because some individual males displayed both MP and MU mating behaviors.

Aggression↗

Behavioural and physiological consequences of a single social defeat in Roman high- and low-avoidance rats.

The behavioural and physiological consequences of a single social defeat were studied in Roman high-avoidance (RHA) and Roman low-avoidance (RLA) rats, two rat lines with a genetically determined difference in the way of responding to or coping with stressors. Animals were subjected to social defeat by placing them in the cage of an aggressive male conspecific for 1 h. In both RHA and RLA rats, social defeat induced a profound increase in body temperature during the circadian resting phase, lasting for up to 10 days after the conflict. The increase in resting temperature was paralleled by a slight decrease in spontaneous home cage activity. Food intake and growth were suppressed for a number of days, resulting in a long-lasting lower body weight compared to non-stressed control animals. An open field test 2 days after defeat showed a social stress-induced decrease in locomotion in a novel environment. Despite the well-known differentiation between RHA and RLA rats in their behavioural and neuroendocrine response pattern to acute environmental challenges, the present study did not show major differences in the long-term consequences of social defeat.

Animals↗

Risk and reciprocity: HIV and the injection drug user.

Injecting practices of illicit drug users in San Antonio, Texas, were studied by means of informal field interviews and participant observation. The methods injection drug users (IDUs) employed to obtain drugs seemed to affect their HIV risk behaviors. Many of the methods involve reciprocal exchanges between a person who has drugs and a person who wants drugs. The exchanges frequently occur in the context of asymmetrical social interactions. The person with the drugs usually occupies the dominant role in the interaction and determines the needle hygiene for both parties. Analysis of the decision-making process of IDUs indicates that the party in the dominant role may choose not to disinfect a syringe for a variety of reasons. An understanding of the subcultural rules that govern these interactions may provide valuable clues to researchers or educators who are designing interventions aimed at reducing HIV risk behaviors among IDUs. This research suggests that for IDUs in subordinate roles, education alone may be insufficient to produce behavior changes necessary to eliminate risk of HIV infection.

Adult↗

Power Struggles, Dominance Testing, and Reproductive Skew.

Models of reproductive skew are concerned with the partitioning of reproduction between dominant and subordinate members of a group. In an interesting extension of these models, Reeve and Ratnieks briefly considered whether it might benefit subordinates to engage in aggressive behavior to test the fighting ability of a dominant. Their analysis suggested that such testing should be more probable in groups that feature high skew and, hence, perhaps among closer relatives (because high relatedness favors high skew). Here we explore in more detail the possibility of dominance testing. Three models that differ in the outcome of fights over dominance are presented: in the first model, the loser of the challenge is killed; in the second model, the loser is evicted from the nest; and, in the third model, the loser becomes (or remains) subordinate. In each case we consider the independent effects of the parameters that determine skew (namely, relatedness, group productivity, and ecological constraints) on the predicted level of dominance testing. We then construct an amalgamated model to examine situations where fights may lead to any one of the three outcomes. Our analysis reveals that, in the majority of cases, higher relatedness will in fact lead to lower levels of aggression. Moreover, dominance testing need not be associated with high skew. Rather, the relationship between skew and dominance testing will depend on which factor (relatedness, group productivity, or level of ecological constraints) is principally responsible for variation in the distribution of reproduction.

aggression↗

Peering is not a formal indicator of subordination in bonobos (Pan paniscus).

It has been suggested that peering behavior in bonobos is a formal signal acknowledging social dominance status. We investigated whether peering meets the published criteria for a formal signal of subordination in five captive groups of bonobos. The degree of linearity in the set of peering relationships was significantly high in all study groups, and a linear rank order was found. However, unidirectionality was low, and there was little correspondence between the peering order and the agonistic dominance rank. Therefore, peering does not satisfy the criteria of a formal subordination indicator. We also studied the relation between peering and agonistic dominance rank, age, and sex. Animals directed peering significantly more often at high-ranking animals in four of the groups. We suggest that peering is indirectly related to dominance rank by the resource-holding potential of individuals. In contexts where dominant individuals can monopolize resources, peerers may direct their attention at those high-ranking animals. When resources are distributed more evenly, high-ranking animals may peer down the hierarchy. We speculate on the reasons why a formal dominance or subordination signal appears to be absent in bonobos.

Aggression↗

Socioemotional correlates of self-reported menstrual cycle irregularity in premenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: Characteristics of menstrual functioning are associated with social rank and corresponding behavioral expression of dominance and subordination in female cynomolgus macaques. Extrapolating from this research, the present study examined socioemotional correlates of menstrual cycle irregularity in premenopausal women by focusing on the dimensions of dominance/submission and hostility/warmth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants were 153 premenopausal women (70 African-Americans, 83 European-Americans) who reported no current use of hormonal contraceptives. All women completed measures of socioemotional traits and reported whether the onset of their menstrual cycles was generally predictable within 4 days over the course of the past year. RESULTS: Menstrual cycle irregularity was significantly and positively associated with the socioemotional trait of submission. This association held after adjusting for age and a number of potentially confounding health behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Results are consistent with the notion that menstrual functioning is sensitive to socioemotional processes, particularly those pertaining to social hierarchies. Given recent findings linking menstrual cycle irregularity to cardiovascular disease, the results of the present study highlight new biobehavioral pathways to be explored with regard to women's cardiovascular disease risk.

Adolescent↗

Role of maternal behavior on aggression, fear and anxiety.

Concomitant to the expression of maternal behavior, the lactating female develops anxiolysis in the elevated plus maze test, aggression towards intruders and reduced fear in response to a sudden auditory stimulus. This study aims to determine if these behavioral changes are associated with maternal behavior independently of the endocrine status that characterizes gestation, parturition and lactation. To assess this purpose, the behavior of lactating females was compared to that exhibited by maternal and nonmaternal ovariectomized rats untreated with steroid hormones. In contrast with lactating dams, sensitized animals (rats that displayed maternal behavior after a continuous contact with young pups) did not display reduced anxiety in the plus maze test. However, the sensitized females showed behaviors characteristic of lactating rats, such as some components of maternal aggression and reduced fear, though much less intensely than dams. These results suggest that aggression and reduced fear, but not anxiolysis, partially depend on the development of maternal behavior.

Aggression↗

Social behavior and aggressive problems of cats.

Cats form social groups in which individuals recognize each other, and the cohesiveness of the group is maintained by a variety of amicable behaviors. Agonistic behavior may occur between group members and between group members and nongroup members. Within the domestic environment, agonistic behavior may become a problem when it is directed at housemates or humans. Differential diagnosis and treatment of various problems of aggressive behavior are discussed.

Aggression↗

[Children against children: bullying as an emerging disorder].

An increasing number of children are consulting for various problems or disorders that are based on mistreatment at school. Bullying is defined as persistent physical or emotional violence by a school-aged child or group of children against another school-aged child who is unable to defend himself in this situation, which takes place in the school area. This type of behavior involves the aggressor, the victim, the group of classmates, the institution (teachers, the psychopedagogic team, the management team) and the families (those of the aggressor and victim, and the parents association). Bullying is a type of disorder that can be included in some of the typologies described by Terr in Postraumatic Stress Disorder in childhood, specifically in type II or chronic disorder and in type III or mixed disorder (chronic with phases of acute reactivation). Longitudinal studies have reported an association between having been bullied at school and the possibility of suffering from mobbing, mostly in the form of work harassment. Surprisingly, there can be a "pact of silence" between classmates. Schools are perceived as being more tolerant with the aggressors than with the victims of bullying.

Aggression↗

Social dominance in monkeys: dopamine D2 receptors and cocaine self-administration.

Disruption of the dopaminergic system has been implicated in the etiology of many pathological conditions, including drug addiction. Here we used positron emission tomography (PET) imaging to study brain dopaminergic function in individually housed and in socially housed cynomolgus macaques (n = 20). Whereas the monkeys did not differ during individual housing, social housing increased the amount or availability of dopamine D2 receptors in dominant monkeys and produced no change in subordinate monkeys. These neurobiological changes had an important behavioral influence as demonstrated by the finding that cocaine functioned as a reinforcer in subordinate but not dominant monkeys. These data demonstrate that alterations in an organism's environment can produce profound biological changes that have important behavioral associations, including vulnerability to cocaine addiction.

Animals↗

The relations of maternal practices and characteristics to children's vicarious emotional responsiveness.

This study examined the relations of maternal vicarious emotional responding and child-rearing practices, as well as familial emotional environment, to 5-6 and 8-9-year-old children's vicarious emotional responding. There were some correspondences between mothers' and children's heart rate, facial, and self-reported reactions to a sympathy-inducing film. Maternal sympathy/perspective taking and reinforcement of sympathy/prosocial behavior, as well as negative subordinate emotion in the home, were associated with markers of girls' sympathy; mothers' personal distress (for girls), restrictiveness regarding displays of hurtful negative emotions (particularly for young girls), and negative dominant emotion in the home (for both sexes) were associated with markers of personal distress. Mothers' linking of the film character's experience to children's own experience was associated with children's responsiveness to the film, and mother's verbalizations during the film concerning her own emotional state and role taking were associated with boys' self-reported sympathy.

Arousal↗

Social competition in rats: cell proliferation and behavior.

Behavioral and physiological changes were studied following prolonged exposure to social competition in pairs of non-food-deprived rats competing daily for a limited supply of graham cracker crumbs. Stable dominant-subordinate relationships developed in most pairs, as measured by feeding time, which were maintained over a 5-6-week study period. In other behavioral tests, subordinates demonstrated a decreased latency to immobility in the forced swim test compared with dominants, but no difference in locomotor activity. Subordinates had increased bladder size, decreased adrenal gland size, and a 35% reduction of hippocampus cell proliferation compared with the dominant member. Therefore, prolonged social competition, based on restricted access to palatable substances, produced hierarchies among individuals that were associated with differences in behavior, physiology and hippocampal cell proliferation.

Adrenal Glands↗

Power and the creation of patronizing environments: the stereotype-based behaviors of the powerful and their effects on female performance in masculine domains.

This work tested the following hypothesis: When powerful men stereotype their female subordinates in masculine domains, they behave in patronizing ways that affect the performance of their subordinates. Experiment 1 examined the stereotyping tendencies and patronizing behaviors of the powerful. Findings revealed that powerful men who stereotyped their female subordinates (i.e., those who were weakness focused) gave female subordinates few valued resources but much praise. In Experiment 2, low-power participants received resources (valued or devalued positions) and praise (high or low) from a powerful man. Subordinates who were assigned to a devalued position but received high praise (i.e., the patronizing behavior mirrored from Experiment 1) were angry. However, men performed better in the anger-inspiring situation, whereas women performed worse.

Anger↗

Leading a conspecific away from food in ravens (Corvus corax)?

Active misleading of conspecifics has been described as a social strategy mainly for primates. Here we report a raven leading a competitor away from food in a social foraging task. Four individuals had to search and compete for hidden food at color-marked clusters of artificial food caches. At the beginning of the experiment, a subordinate male found and exploited the majority of the food. As a result, the dominant male displaced him from the already opened boxes. The subordinate male then developed a pattern, when the loss of reward to the dominant got high, of moving to unrewarded clusters and opening boxes there. This diversion often led the dominant to approach those unrewarded clusters and the subordinate then had a head start for exploiting the rewarded boxes. Subsequently, however, the dominant male learned not to follow the subordinate to unrewarded clusters and eventually started searching for the reward himself. These interactions between the two males illustrate the ravens' potential for deceptively manipulating conspecifics. We discuss under which circumstances ravens might use this capacity.

Animals↗