Monkeys, aggression, and the pathobiology of atherosclerosis

Experimental manipulations of social status and stress-induced cardiovascular responses in high and low trait dominant men

“…Human epidemiological (e.g., Houston, Chesney, Black, Cates, & Hecker, 1992) and experimental animal research (Kaplan & Manuck, 1998) has identified social dominance as a predictor of coronary heart disease (CHD). Explanatory models suggest enhanced cardiac sympathetic (beta-adrenergic) activity as a key mechanism linking dominance to cardiovascular disease.…”

The Serotonin Transporter: Sequence Variation in Macaca fascicularis and its Relationship to Dominance

“…Rather, it is an outcome dependent on a constellation of interacting factors including genotype, physiology, personality and environment (Bernstein 1981;McGuire et al 1994;Kaplan and Manuck 1998;Bastian et al 2003;Fairbanks et al 2004a;Manuck et al 2006). Unfortunately, detailed data on specific behaviors were not available for the majority of the animals included in this study.…”

“…The majority of primate species, including humans, are gregarious animals and exhibit complex patterns of social interaction, which may be modified by learning and by their social and physical environments (King et al 1988;Kaplan and Manuck 1998). Cercopithecoids or Old World Monkeys (OWM) rely primarily on visual and auditory cues to signal mood changes in complex social situations, and consequently resemble humans closely in their patterns of social behavior, and in the facial expressions and postures they use to communicate (Kaufmann 1967;van Hoof 1967;Kaplan and Manuck 1998).…”

“…Cercopithecoids or Old World Monkeys (OWM) rely primarily on visual and auditory cues to signal mood changes in complex social situations, and consequently resemble humans closely in their patterns of social behavior, and in the facial expressions and postures they use to communicate (Kaufmann 1967;van Hoof 1967;Kaplan and Manuck 1998). Like humans, they form affiliations and alliances, and co-operate with and support one another (Kaplan and Manuck 1998). In particular, both free-ranging and captive individuals of many species, such as macaques, baboons and vervet monkeys, form clearly defined dominance or social rank hierarchies.…”

“…Individuals of higher social status (dominant animals) are frequently more aggressive; they initiate fights, use attack gestures and vocalizations, and consistently defeat individuals of lower rank (subordinates) during such agonistic encounters. In contrast, subordinates display more gestures and vocalizations associated with flight and submission, and will cower or flee from dominant animals (Shively et al 1995;Kaplan and Manuck 1998;Capitanio 1999;Manuck et al 2006).…”