The role of the endocrine system in baboon maternal behavior

Bardi, Massimo; French, Jeffrey A.; Ramirez, Stephanie M.; Brent, Linda

doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.01.002

Cited by 58 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Our research adds to the growing number of studies showing that changes in GCs or GR activity can alter the expression of different types of social behaviour ranging from social attachments formed between two opposite-sex individuals (22) or parents and offspring (20)(21), antisocial behaviour in humans (17)(18), or, in our study and others (12)(13)(14)(15), alloparental behaviour. They provide new research avenues by showing that the effects of changes in GCs or GR activity on cooperative behaviour differs not only between the sexes but also between two different types of cooperative behaviour.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Studies in highly social wild animals are rare, but some studies have identified positive or negative associations between GCs and cooperative behaviour (12)(13)(14)(15). In social mammals including humans, elevated GCs are associated with decreased expression of different social behaviours (17)(18)(19) and reductions in the formation of social attachments between parents and offspring (20)(21) or two opposite-sex conspecifics (23). The lack of congruency in the direction of relationships between GCs and these different types of social behaviours is not surprising given the observational nature of these previous studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The influence of stress hormones and aggression on cooperative behaviour in subordinate meerkats

et al. 2017

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General rightsThis document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/pure/about/ebr-terms varied between cooperative activities as well as between the sexes. Subordinates of both sexes that were treated with a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist (mifepristone) exhibited significantly more pup protection behaviour ('babysitting') compared to those treated with glucocorticoids (cortisol) or controls. Females treated with mifepristone had a higher probability of exhibiting pup food provisioning ('pupfeeding') compared to those treated with cortisol. In males, there were no treatment effects on the probability of pupfeeding, but those treated with cortisol fed a higher proportion of the food they found to pups than those treated with mifepristone. We also used 19 years of behavioural data to show that dominant females did not increase the frequency with which they directed aggression at subordinates at times when their need for assistance was highest. Our results suggest that it is unlikely that dominant females manipulate the cooperative behavior of subordinates through the effects of aggression on their glucocorticoid levels and that the function of aggression directed at subordinates is probably to reduce the probability they will breed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of stress hormones and aggression on cooperative behaviour in subordinate meerkats

et al. 2017

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“…Primate maternal care was long thought to be relatively independent of endocrine processes (e.g., Coe, 1990;Pryce, 1992Pryce, , 1996Maestripieri, 1999). However, recent correlational and experimental studies have implicated hormonal factors in the regulation of maternal competency and caregiving motivation in a number of primate species (e.g., humans, Homo sapiens: Fleming et al, 1997a; Japanese macaques, Macaca fuscata: Bardi et al, 2003b;pigtail macaques, M. nemestrina: Maestripieri and Zehr, 1998;rhesus macaques, M. mulatta: Holman and Goy, 1995; savannah baboons, Papio hamadryas: Bardi et al, 2004; western lowland gorillas, Gorilla gorilla gorilla: Bahr, 1995), including marmosets and tamarins (e.g., common marmosets: Pryce, 1993;Pryce et al, 1993Pryce et al, , 1995red-bellied tamarins, S. labiatus: Pryce et al, 1988;Pryce, 1993; Wied's black tufted-ear marmosets: Fite and French, 2000). There is also good reason to believe that withinfemale variation in callitrichid maternal caregiving effort corresponds to within-female variation in endocrine status.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Opportunistic mothers: female marmosets (Callithrix kuhlii) reduce their investment in offspring when they have to, and when they can

Fite

Patera

French

et al. 2005

Journal of Human Evolution

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All female primates incur energetic costs associated with producing and caring for offspring, but females belonging to the New World primate family Callitrichidae, the marmosets and tamarins, appear to face even further demands. In fact, the energetic demands of rearing callitrichid infants are thought to have led to the evolution of cooperative infant care in these species. If this explanation is true, then one might expect that natural selection should also have shaped patterns of maternal behavior to be sensitive to the costs of reproduction and equipped females to reduce their investment in offspring under certain conditions. Therefore, we examined the maternal effort and postpartum endocrine profiles of individual female marmosets (Callithrix kuhlii) across conditions that represented two hallmarks of callitrichid reproduction-conception during the early postpartum period and alloparental assistance. When females conceived during the early postpartum period and faced the upcoming demands of caring for their newly conceived litters (Study 1), they significantly reduced their caregiving effort and had significantly higher postpartum levels of estradiol relative to breeding attempts in which conception occurred later in the postpartum period. Postpartum estradiol was negatively correlated with maternal carrying effort. When experienced alloparents were present (Study 2), females again reduced their caregiving effort relative to breeding attempts in which experienced alloparents were not present. Postpartum cortisol, however, did not vary as a function of experienced alloparental assistance. The results of these studies suggest that female marmosets have been subjected to similar selection pressures as females of other primate taxa-to maximize their reproductive success by reducing their investment in offspring under the worst and best of conditions-and suggest that hormones may mediate within-female variation in maternal care. These studies also provide support for the notion that mothers are "flexible opportunists" when it comes to providing care to their young.

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“…Likewise, pre-partum estrogen levels are positively linked to subsequent maternal care-taking behavior in tamarins (Pryce et al, 1988), macaques (Bardi et al, 2003), and humans (Fleming et al, 1987; see also Maestripieri, 2001a, 2001b, and Saltzman and Maestripieri, 2011). Conflicting results were described for common marmosets (Pryce et al, 1995), black-tufted marmosets (Fite and French, 2000), gorillas (Bahr et al, 2001), and baboons (Bardi et al, 2004; see also Maestripieri, 2001a;Saltzman and Maestripieri, 2011).…”

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confidence: 99%

Oxytocin is associated with infant-care behavior and motivation in cooperatively breeding marmoset monkeys

Finkenwirth

Martins

Deschner

et al. 2016

Hormones and Behavior

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The neurohormone oxytocin (OT) is positively involved in the regulation of parenting and social bonding in mammals, and may thus also be important for the mediation of alloparental care. In cooperatively breeding marmosets, infants are raised in teamwork by parents and adult and subadult non-reproductive helpers (usually older siblings). Despite high intrinsic motivation, which may be mediated by hormonal priming, not all individuals are always equally able to contribute to infant-care due to competition among care-takers. Among the various care-taking behaviors, proactive food sharing may reflect motivational levels best, since it can be performed ad libitum by several individuals even if competition among surplus care-takers constrains access to infants. Our aim was to study the link between urinary OT levels and care-taking behaviors in group-living marmosets, while taking affiliation with other adults and infant age into account. Over eight reproductive cycles, 26 individuals were monitored for urinary baseline OT, care-taking behaviors (baby-licking, -grooming, -carrying, and proactive food sharing), and adult-directed affiliation. Mean OT levels were generally highest in female breeders and OT increased significantly in all individuals after birth. During early infancy, high urinary OT levels were associated with increased infant-licking but low levels of adult-affiliation, and during late infancy, with increased proactive food sharing. Our results show that, in marmoset parents and alloparents, OT is positively involved in the regulation of care-taking, thereby reflecting the changing needs during infant development. This particularly included behaviors that are more likely to reflect intrinsic care motivation, suggesting a positive link between OT and motivational regulation of infant-care. This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Email: christa.finkenwirth@uzh.ch A C C E P T E D M A N U S C R I P T ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT AbstractThe neurohormone oxytocin (OT) is positively involved in the regulation of parenting and social bonding in mammals, and may thus also be important for the mediation of alloparental care. In cooperatively breeding marmosets, infants are raised in teamwork by parents and adult and subadult non-reproductive helpers (usually older siblings). Despite high intrinsic motivation, which may be mediated by hormonal priming, not all individuals are always equally able to contribute to infant-care due to competition among care-takers. Among the various care-taking behaviors, proactive food sharing may reflect motivational levels best, since it can be performed ad libi...

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The role of the endocrine system in baboon maternal behavior

Cited by 58 publications

References 48 publications

The influence of stress hormones and aggression on cooperative behaviour in subordinate meerkats

The influence of stress hormones and aggression on cooperative behaviour in subordinate meerkats

Opportunistic mothers: female marmosets (Callithrix kuhlii) reduce their investment in offspring when they have to, and when they can

Oxytocin is associated with infant-care behavior and motivation in cooperatively breeding marmoset monkeys

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