scholarly journals Reflexive gaze following in common marmoset monkeys

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Spadacenta ◽  
Peter W. Dicke ◽  
Peter Thier

ABSTRACTThe ability to extract the direction of the other’s gaze allows us to shift our attention to an object of interest to the other and to establish joint attention. By mapping one’s own expectations, desires and intentions on the object of joint attention, humans develop a Theory of (the other’s) Mind (TOM), a functional sequence possibly disrupted in autism. Although old world monkeys probably do not possess a TOM, they follow the other’s gaze and they establish joint attention. Gaze following of both humans and old world monkeys fulfills Fodor’s criteria of a domain specific function and is orchestrated by very similar cortical architectures, strongly suggesting homology. Also new world monkeys, a primate suborder that split from the old world monkey line about 35 million years ago, have complex social structures. One member of this group, the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), has received increasing interest as a potential model in studies of normal and disturbed human social cognition. Marmosets are known to follow human head-gaze. However, the question is if they use gaze following to establish joint attention with conspecifics. Here we show that this is indeed the case. In a free choice task, head-restrained marmosets prefer objects gazed at by a conspecific and, moreover, they exhibit considerably shorter choice reaction times for the same objects. These findings support the assumption of an evolutionary old domain specific faculty shared within the primate order and they underline the potential value of marmosets in studies of normal and disturbed joint attention.HIGHLIGHTSCommon marmosets follow the head gaze of conspecifics in order to establish joint attention.Brief exposures to head gaze are sufficient to reallocate an animal’s attention.The tendency to follow the other’s gaze competes with the attractional binding of the conspecific’s face

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Spadacenta ◽  
Peter W. Dicke ◽  
Peter Thier

Abstract The ability to extract the direction of the other’s gaze allows us to shift our attention to an object of interest to the other and to establish joint attention. By mapping one’s own intentions on the object of joint attention, humans develop a Theory of (the other’s) Mind (TOM), a functional sequence possibly disrupted in autism. Gaze following of both humans and old world monkeys is orchestrated by very similar cortical architectures, strongly suggesting homology. Also new world monkeys, a primate suborder that split from the old world monkey line about 35 million years ago, have complex social structures and one member of this group, the common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) are known to follow human head-gaze. However, the question is if they use gaze following to establish joint attention with conspecifics. Here we show that this is indeed the case. In a free choice task, head-restrained marmosets prefer objects gazed at by a conspecific and, moreover, they exhibit considerably shorter choice reaction times for the same objects. These findings support the assumption of an evolutionarily old domain specific faculty shared within the primate order and they underline the potential value of marmosets in studies of normal and disturbed joint attention.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asheley H. B. Pereira ◽  
Claudia A. A. Lopes ◽  
Thalita A. Pissinatti ◽  
Ana C. A. Pinto ◽  
Daniel R. A. Oliveira ◽  
...  

Abstract Herein we present the pathological findings of different tuberculosis stages in Old and New World monkeys kept under human care in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and naturally infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex. Fifteen nonhuman primates from five different colonies were incorporated into the study. There are 60% (9/15) Old World Monkeys and 40% (6/15) New World Monkeys. According to the gross and histopathologic findings, the lesions in nonhuman primates of this study are classified into the chronic-active, extrapulmonary, early-activation or latent-reactivation tuberculosis stage. Among the Old World Monkey, 66.7% (6/9) of nonhuman primates, all rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), showed severe granulomatous pneumonia. In all Old World Monkeys cases, typical granulomas were seen in at least one organ regardless of the stage of the disease. In the New World Monkeys, the typical pulmonary granulomas were seen in 16.7% (1/6) of the cases, just in the latent-reactivation stage in Uta Hick’s Bearded Saki (Chiropotes utahickae). In this study, 66.7% (6/9) of Old World Monkeys (OWM) and 83.3% (5/6) of New World Monkeys (NWM) showed pulmonary changes at the histological evaluation. The tuberculosis diagnosis in the nonhuman primates in this study was based on pathological, immunohistochemical, molecular, and bacteriological culture. Although the typical presentation was observed in some cases, the absence of pulmonary granuloma did not exclude the tuberculosis occurrence in nonhuman primates of the Old and New World. Tuberculosis should be included as a cause of interstitial pneumonia with foamy macrophages infiltration in the New World nonhuman primates. Due to the high sensitivity of immunohistochemistry with Anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis, we suggest the addition of this technique as a diagnostic tool of tuberculosis in the nonhuman primates even when the typical changes are not seen.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. eaav0499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zuofu Xiang ◽  
Penglai Fan ◽  
Haochun Chen ◽  
Ruoshuang Liu ◽  
Bo Zhang ◽  
...  

While regular allomaternal nursing (suckling) has been documented in a number of rodent and carnivore species, as well as in some prosimians, New World monkeys, and humans, it is not common in Old World monkeys and apes. Here, we present a detailed field study of allomaternal nursing in golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana, Colobinae). We found that more than 87% of infants were nursed by females other than their mothers. Allomaternal nursing was largely confined to the first 3 months of an infant’s life and occurred predominantly between related females who nursed each other’s offspring in a reciprocal manner. Allomaternal nursing enhanced infant survivorship and did not have a negative impact on the future reproductive success of allonursers. Our findings expand the taxonomic distribution of allomaternal nursing and provide fresh insight into the possible factors driving evolution of allomaternal nursing behavior in primates, including humans.


2006 ◽  
Vol 80 (9) ◽  
pp. 4415-4421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Stengel ◽  
Christian Roos ◽  
Gerhard Hunsmann ◽  
Wolfgang Seifarth ◽  
Christine Leib-Mösch ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are a major component of the human genome and an active part of the transcriptome. Some HERVs play vital biological roles, while others potentially contribute to diseases. Many HERVs are relatively new in the primate genome, having entered or expanded after the lineages leading to the platyrrhines (New World monkeys) and catarrhines (Old World monkeys and apes) separated. Most HERVs are active in at least some tissues, though tissue specificity is common for most elements. We analyzed multiple tissues from several Old World monkeys using retroviral pol-based DNA microarrays and quantitative PCR methods to determine their ERV expression profiles. The results demonstrate that while many ERVs are active in nonhuman primates, overall the tissue expression specificity is unique to each species. Most striking is that while the majority of HERVs analyzed in this study are expressed in human brain, almost none are expressed in Old World monkey brains or are only weakly expressed.


1989 ◽  
Vol 146 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Mollon

The disabilities experienced by colour-blind people show us the biological advantages of colour vision in detecting targets, in segregating the visual field and in identifying particular objects or states. Human dichromats have especial difficulty in detecting coloured fruit against dappled foliage that varies randomly in luminosity; it is suggested that yellow and orange tropical fruits have co-evolved with the trichromatic colour vision of Old World monkeys. It is argued that the colour vision of man and of the Old World monkeys depends on two subsystems that remain parallel and independent at early stages of the visual pathway. The primordial subsystem, which is shared with most mammals, depends on a comparison of the rates of quantum catch in the short- and middle-wave cones; this system exists almost exclusively for colour vision, although the chromatic signals carry with them a local sign that allows them to sustain several of the functions of spatiochromatic vision. The second subsystem arose from the phylogenetically recent duplication of a gene on the X-chromosome, and depends on a comparison of the rates of quantum catch in the long- and middle-wave receptors. At the early stages of the visual pathway, this chromatic information is carried by a channel that is also sensitive to spatial contrast. The New World monkeys have taken a different route to trichromacy: in species that are basically dichromatic, heterozygous females gain trichromacy as a result of X-chromosome inactivation, which ensures that different photopigments are expressed in two subsets of retinal photoreceptor.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Berry ◽  
Deborah Ferguson ◽  
Claire Ham ◽  
Jo Hall ◽  
Adrian Jenkins ◽  
...  

Abstract South American Zika virus (ZIKV) recently emerged as a novel human pathogen, linked with neurological disorders. However, comparative ZIKV infectivity studies in New World primates are lacking. Two members of the Callitrichidae family, common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) and red-bellied tamarins (Saguinus labiatus), were highly susceptible to sub-cutaneous challenge with the Puerto Rico-origin ZIKVPRVABC59 strain. Both exhibited rapid, high, acute viraemia with early neuroinvasion (3 days) in peripheral and central nervous tissue. ZIKV RNA levels in blood and tissues were significantly higher in New World hosts compared to Old World species (Macaca mulatta, Macaca fascicularis). Tamarins and rhesus macaques exhibited loss of zonal occludens-1 (ZO-1) staining, indicative of a compromised blood-brain barrier 3 days post-ZIKV exposure. Early, widespread dissemination across multiple anatomical sites distant to the inoculation site preceded extensive ZIKV persistence after 100 days in New and Old World lineages, especially lymphoid, neurological and reproductive sites. Prolonged persistence in brain tissue has implications for otherwise resolved human ZIKV infection. High susceptibility of distinct New World species underscores possible establishment of ZIKV sylvatic cycles in primates indigenous to ZIKV endemic regions. Tamarins and marmosets represent viable New World models for ZIKV pathogenesis and therapeutic intervention studies, including vaccines, with contemporary strains.


1970 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 437-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. Adamson ◽  
J. W. Bridges ◽  
M. E. Evans ◽  
R. T. Williams

1. The fate of (-)-quinic acid has been investigated in 22 species of animals including man. 2. In man and three species of Old World monkeys, i.e. rhesus monkey, baboon and green monkey, oral quinic acid was extensively aromatized (20–60%) and excreted in the urine as hippuric acid, which was determined fluorimetrically. 3. In three species of New World monkeys, i.e. squirrel monkey, spider monkey and capuchin, in three species of lemurs, i.e. bushbaby, slow loris and tree shrew, in the dog, cat, ferret, rabbit, rat, mouse, guinea pig, hamster, lemming, fruit bat, hedgehog and pigeon, oral quinic acid was not extensively aromatized (0–5%). 4. In the rhesus monkey, injected quinic acid was not aromatized, but largely excreted unchanged. 5. In rhesus monkeys pretreated with neomycin to suppress gut flora, the aromatization of oral quinic acid was considerably suppressed. 6. In rats and rhesus monkeys [14C]quinic acid was used and this confirmed its low aromatization in rats and its high aromatization in the monkeys. 7. Shikimic acid given orally was excreted as hippuric acid (26–56%) in rhesus monkeys, but not in rats. 8. The results support the view that quinic acid and shikimic acid are aromatized by the gut flora in man and the Old World monkeys.


Author(s):  
Zhijin Liu

AbstractThe pandemic outbreak and rapid worldwide spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is not only a threat for humans, but potentially also for many animals. Research has revealed that SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses have been transmitted from animals to humans and vice versa, and across animal species, and hence, attracted public attention concerning host-virus interactions and transmission ways. Non-human primates (NHPs), as our evolutionary closest relatives, are susceptible to human viruses, and a number of pathogens are known to circulate between humans and NHPs. Here we generated global statistics of virus infection in NHPs (VI-NHPs). In total, 121 NHP species from 14 families have been reported to be infected by 139 DNA and RNA viruses from 23 virus families; 74.8 percent of viruses in NHPs have also been found in humans, indicative of the high potential for cross species transmission of these viruses. The top ten NHP species with high centrality in the NHP-virus network are two apes (Pan troglodytes, Pongo pygmaeus), seven Old World monkeys (Macaca mulatta, M. fascicularis, Papio cynocephalus, Lophocebus albigena, Chlorocebus aethiops, Cercopithecus ascanius, C. nictitans) and a lemur (Propithecus diadema). Besides apes, there is a high risk of virus circulation between humans and Old World monkeys, given the wide distribution of many Old World monkey species and their frequent contact with humans. We suggest epidemiological investigations in NHPs, specifically in Old World monkeys with close contact to humans, and other effective measures to prevent this potential circular transmission.


1991 ◽  
Vol 156 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. K. Bowmaker ◽  
S. Astell ◽  
D. M. Hunt ◽  
J. D. Mollon

Microspectrophotometric measurements of retinal receptors are reported for eight species of Old World monkey. Although the animals vary greatly in size, colourings and habitat, they all appear to be trichromats and the peak sensitivities of their cones invariably lie near 430, 535 and 565 nm. This consistent pattern contrasts with the results reported earlier for New World monkeys and with the results reported here for Tupaia glis. The trichromacy of frugivorous catarrhine monkeys may have co-evolved with a particular class of coloured fruit. Short-wave cones were rare in all species. The ratio of the numbers of middle-wave and long-wave cones varied between individual animals, but had an overall value close to unity. In the case of all the species examined here, we have recorded a photostable pigment in the inner segments of rods and cones. The latter pigment has a peak sensitivity close to 420 nm and an absorbance spectrum that is narrower than that of a photosensitive visual pigment.


Antibodies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uri Galili

Human natural antibodies to mammalian carbohydrate antigens (MCA) bind to carbohydrate-antigens synthesized in other mammalian species and protect against zoonotic virus infections. Three such anti-MCA antibodies are: (1) anti-Gal, also produced in Old-World monkeys and apes, binds to α-gal epitopes synthesized in non-primate mammals, lemurs, and New-World monkeys; (2) anti-Neu5Gc binds to Neu5Gc (N-glycolyl-neuraminic acid) synthesized in apes, Old-World monkeys, and many non-primate mammals; and (3) anti-Forssman binds to Forssman-antigen synthesized in various mammals. Anti-viral protection by anti-MCA antibodies is feasible because carbohydrate chains of virus envelopes are synthesized by host glycosylation machinery and thus are similar to those of their mammalian hosts. Analysis of MCA glycosyltransferase genes suggests that anti-Gal appeared in ancestral Old-World primates following catastrophic selection processes in which parental populations synthesizing α-gal epitopes were eliminated in enveloped virus epidemics. However, few mutated offspring in which the α1,3galactosyltransferase gene was accidentally inactivated produced natural anti-Gal that destroyed viruses presenting α-gal epitopes, thereby preventing extinction of mutated offspring. Similarly, few mutated hominin offspring that ceased to synthesize Neu5Gc produced anti-Neu5Gc, which destroyed viruses presenting Neu5Gc synthesized in parental hominin populations. A present-day example for few humans having mutations that prevent synthesis of a common carbohydrate antigen (produced in >99.99% of humans) is blood-group Bombay individuals with mutations inactivating H-transferase; thus, they cannot synthesize blood-group O (H-antigen) but produce anti-H antibody. Anti-MCA antibodies prevented past extinctions mediated by enveloped virus epidemics, presently protect against zoonotic-viruses, and may protect in future epidemics. Travelers to regions with endemic zoonotic viruses may benefit from vaccinations elevating protective anti-MCA antibody titers.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document