Early social instability affects plasma testosterone during adolescence but does not alter reproductive capacity or measures of stress later in life

Siegeler, Katja; Wistuba, Joachim; Damm, Oliver; Engelhardt, Nikolaus von; Sachser, Norbert; Kaiser, Sylvia

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2013.08.008

Cited by 11 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 45 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…More specifically, we expected higher levels of plasma testosterone concentrations in UE-sons compared to SE-sons. Former studies show that the developmental time course of testosterone differs significantly between the two types of males with UE-sons showing a slower increase in testosterone concentrations around sexual maturity compared to SE-sons [16, 17]. The results of the present study show that plasma testosterone concentrations did not differ significantly between the two types of males.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 45%

“…Behaving inconspicuously by showing a juvenile behavioural profile and developing more slowly in the presence of resident adult males might decrease the risk of fights and fatal injuries for adolescent UE-sons in unstable social environmental conditions. This has been designated as a “behavioural camouflage strategy” [16, 17] and was indeed observed for adolescent male wild cavies under natural conditions in high density situations [30]. Remarkably, reproductive capacity is not altered in UE-sons compared with SE-sons [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…This has been designated as a “behavioural camouflage strategy” [16, 17] and was indeed observed for adolescent male wild cavies under natural conditions in high density situations [30]. Remarkably, reproductive capacity is not altered in UE-sons compared with SE-sons [17]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…The influence of the prenatal social environment on the biobehavioural profile of the offspring later in life has been investigated in a variety of species (e.g., quails: [8], mice: [9, 10], rats: [11], guinea pigs/wild cavies: [12–17], goats: [18], sows: [19], squirrel monkeys: [20, 21]. In guinea pigs, effects of unstable social environmental conditions (repeated exchange of animals between different social groups) have been thoroughly investigated: Sons whose mothers had lived in an unstable social environment during pregnancy and lactation (UE-sons) show a behavioural infantilisation compared with sons whose mothers experienced a socially stable environment during the same time (SE-sons) [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, UE-sons display significantly lower amounts of aggressive and social orientation behaviour as well as attentive behaviour than SE-sons [16]. This slower gonadal development and juvenile behavioural profile of UE-sons has been discussed to be beneficial for young adolescent male wild cavies under socially unstable situations for the following reason [16, 17]: Male wild cavies do not tolerate other males and severely injure or kill them in agonistic encounters [23, 24]. Especially males approaching sexual maturity (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Start early! Does social instability during the pre- and early postnatal development prepare male wild cavies for social challenge later in life?

et al. 2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThe social environment the mother experiences during pregnancy and lactation can powerfully influence the offspring’s behavioural profile. Our previous studies in wild cavies show that two different social environments during pregnancy and lactation bring about different behavioural strategies of male offspring later in life: An unstable social environment leads to a behavioural camouflage strategy, hypothesised to be beneficial at times of socially challenging situations. A stable social environment during early phases of life, however, leads to an early reproduction strategy, expected to be more successful at times of social stability. In the present study, we observed the behavioural strategies of the two types of males in direct comparison in a socially challenging situation: Two adolescent males were placed simultaneously in an unknown social group consisting of one adult male and two females in a semi-naturalistic environment. Cortisol as well as testosterone concentrations and activity levels were compared. Furthermore, paternities were analysed after the males reached sexual maturity. We hypothesised that sons showing a behavioural camouflage strategy are better adapted to cope with this socially challenging situation compared to those displaying an early reproduction strategy.ResultsAt the beginning of the experiment, no differences in plasma cortisol concentrations between the males were found, both showed a highly significant increase due to the challenging situation. From day 5 until the end of the experiment (duration = 40 days) sons showing an early reproduction strategy had significantly higher plasma cortisol concentrations compared with those showing a behavioural camouflage strategy. Plasma testosterone concentrations did not differ significantly. Activity levels decreased significantly over time independently of the male’s behavioural strategy. Both types of males did not sire offspring during the observation period.ConclusionHigher cortisol values from day 5 until the end of the experiment in sons showing an early reproduction strategy indicate higher levels of stress in these males compared to those displaying a camouflage strategy. We conclude that the modulation of the males behavioural strategy due to an unstable social environment during early development facilitates the endocrine adaptation to a comparable social situation later in life.

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 45%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Start early! Does social instability during the pre- and early postnatal development prepare male wild cavies for social challenge later in life?

et al. 2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Adolescent neural response to reward is related to participant sex and task motivation

Alarcón

Cservenka

Nagel

2017

Brain and Cognition

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Risky decision making is prominent during adolescence, perhaps contributed to by heightened sensation seeking and ongoing maturation of reward and dopamine systems in the brain, which are, in part, modulated by sex hormones. In this study, we examined sex differences in the neural substrates of reward sensitivity during a risky decision-making task and hypothesized that compared with girls, boys would show heightened brain activation in reward-relevant regions, particularly the nucleus accumbens, during reward receipt. Further, we hypothesized that testosterone and estradiol levels would mediate this sex difference. Moreover, we predicted boys would make more risky choices on the task. While boys showed increased nucleus accumbens blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response relative to girls, sex hormones did not mediate this effect. As predicted, boys made a higher percentage of risky decisions during the task. Interestingly, boys also self-reported more motivation to perform well and earn money on the task, while girls self-reported higher state anxiety prior to the scan session. Motivation to earn money partially mediated the effect of sex on nucleus accumbens activity during reward. Previous research shows that increased motivation and salience of reinforcers is linked with more robust striatal BOLD response, therefore psychosocial factors, in addition to sex, may play an important role in reward sensitivity. Elucidating neurobiological mechanisms that support adolescent sex differences in risky decision making has important implications for understanding individual differences that lead to advantageous and adverse behaviors that affect health outcomes.

show abstract

Early life adversity and males: Biology, behavior, and implications for fathers’ parenting

Condon¹,

Dettmer²,

Baker³

et al. 2022

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Early social instability affects plasma testosterone during adolescence but does not alter reproductive capacity or measures of stress later in life

Cited by 11 publications

References 45 publications

Start early! Does social instability during the pre- and early postnatal development prepare male wild cavies for social challenge later in life?

Start early! Does social instability during the pre- and early postnatal development prepare male wild cavies for social challenge later in life?

Adolescent neural response to reward is related to participant sex and task motivation

Early life adversity and males: Biology, behavior, and implications for fathers’ parenting

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About