scholarly journals Utility of Automated Feeding Data to Detect Social Instability in a Captive Breeding Colony of Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta): A Case Study of Intrafamily Aggression

2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-57
Author(s):  
Juliane R Johnston ◽  
Tracy L Meeker ◽  
Jacklyn K Ramsey ◽  
Maria M Crane ◽  
Joyce k cohen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Stress ◽  
Captive Breeding ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Rhesus Macaques ◽  
Caloric Intake ◽  
Female Dominance ◽  
Entire Group ◽  
Social Instability ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Caloric Consumption

Some captive breeding colonies of rhesus macaques live in large outdoor multimale, multifemale social groups. These groups are composed of several matrilineal families, governed by a clear female dominance hierarchy. Aggression within the same or between different matrilineal families due to social instability can result in trauma and mortality. Therefore, a primary management goal is to detect emerging social unrest before the onset of significant fighting and wounding. Accordingly, groups are monitored routinely for changes in dominance and alliance relations as well as for increases in trauma frequency and severity. Decreased food intake is a normal physiologic response to acute stress; therefore, inappetence in key animals or groups of monkeys might be used as an indicator of increased social stress and emerging instability. An incident of intrafamily aggression occurred recently in a breeding group at our facility and resulted in considerable fighting. Because this compound was equipped with an automated feeding system that tracks the caloric intake of individual animals, we retrospectively analyzed feeding data to determine whether significant reduction in caloric consumption occurred prior to the onset of aggression, compared with baseline values. Neither the entire group nor individual families showed any significant differences in total caloric intake between baseline and previous 24 h values; however, the affected family exhibited a 20% reduction in total caloric during the 24 h prior to the aggression. Most notably, the deposed subfamily showed a marked 58% reduction in caloric intake during the prior 24 h, whereas remaining subfamilies showed no significant changes in intake. High-ranking animals of the group, including the α female, β female, and α male, similarly exhibited marked decreases in caloric intake during that period. These findings indicate that automated feeders can assist management staff with monitoring social stability in breeding colonies of rhesus macaque.

scholarly journals Salivary Proteome Changes in Response to Acute Psychological Stress Due to an Oral Exam Simulation in University Students: Effect of an Olfactory Stimulus

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 4295
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Zallocco ◽  
Laura Giusti ◽  
Maurizio Ronci ◽  
Andrea Mussini ◽  
Marco Trerotola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Psychological Stress ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Olfactory Stimulus ◽  
Oral Exam ◽  
Relaxation Phase ◽  
Pleasant Odor ◽  
Proteome Changes

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a crucial role both in acute and chronic psychological stress eliciting changes in many local and systemic physiological and biochemical processes. Salivary secretion is also regulated by ANS. In this study, we explored salivary proteome changes produced in thirty-eight University students by a test stress, which simulated an oral exam. Students underwent a relaxation phase followed by the stress test during which an electrocardiogram was recorded. To evaluate the effect of an olfactory stimulus, half of the students were exposed to a pleasant odor diffused in the room throughout the whole session. Saliva samples were collected after the relaxation phase (T0) and the stress test (T1). State anxiety was also evaluated at T0 and T1. Salivary proteins were separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis, and patterns at different times were compared. Spots differentially expressed were trypsin digested and identified by mass spectrometry. Western blot analysis was used to validate proteomic results. Anxiety scores and heart rate changes indicated that the fake exam induced anxiety. Significant changes of α-amylase, polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (PIGR), and immunoglobulin α chain (IGHA) secretion were observed after the stress test was performed in the two conditions. Moreover, the presence of pleasant odor reduced the acute social stress affecting salivary proteome changes. Therefore, saliva proteomic analysis was a useful approach to evaluate the rapid responses associated to an acute stress test also highlighting known biomarkers.

scholarly journals Functions of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex in emotion regulation under stress

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukihiro Suzuki ◽  
Saori C. Tanaka
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Emotional Regulation ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Main Effect ◽  
Regulation Of Emotion ◽  
Emotional Strength

AbstractRecent neuroimaging studies suggest that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) contributes to regulation of emotion. However, the adaptive response of the vmPFC under acute stress is not understood. We used fMRI to analyse brain activity of people viewing and rating the emotional strength of emotional images after acute social stress. Here, we show that the vmPFC is strongly activated by highly emotional images, indicating its involvement in emotional regulation, and that the midbrain is activated as a main effect of stress during the emotional response. vmPFC activation also exhibits individual differences in behavioural scores reflecting individual reactions to stress. Moreover, functional connectivity between the vmPFC and midbrain under stress reflects stress-induced emotion regulation. Those results suggest that the functions of the network including the vmPFC in emotion regulation is affected by stress depending on the individuals' level of reaction to the stress.

scholarly journals The impact of chronic stress and eating types on active ghrelin levels in response to acute stress

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (OCE2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Fahrngruber ◽  
Kalina Duszka ◽  
Jürgen König
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Eating Behavior ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Relaxation Techniques ◽  
Stress Exposure ◽  
The Impact

AbstractChronic stress is associated with impacting eating behavior, namely food choice and energy intake, with a shift towards more palatable and energy dense foods. Additionally, eating behavior is influenced by other psychological factors like mood and emotions. The categorization of people into eating types such as restrained, emotional, and external eaters has gained attraction. Reported changes in eating behavior due to psychological stress are only occasionally accompanied by measures of physiological hunger through ghrelin. The primary objective of this study was to investigate how chronic stress and acute cortisol reactivity affect active ghrelin secretion and how these outcomes account for different eating types. 16 healthy, young males (age: 23 ± 3 years, BMI: 22.5 ± 1.3kg/m2) with low (n = 8) and average-to-high (n = 8) chronic stress level were subjected to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and a control version on two separate days. Active ghrelin, cortisol, glucose, and heart rate were measured throughout the test. Subjects rated their hunger by means of visual analog scale and current mood was assessed with the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS). In addition, participants filled out the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) to account for their subjective eating behavior. Overall ghrelin values where higher on the test day compared to the control day. Ghrelin values were also higher during the time leading up to the stress or control test (TSST) than during the conclusion of said tests. On both days, mean values for active ghrelin where higher in individuals with low chronic stress exposure compare to those with average-to-high chronic stress exposure. While values from test to control day decreased for lower stressed participants, they slightly increased for higher stressed participants. Cortisol responders displayed higher ghrelin values on test day than cortisol non-responders, but this association inverted for the control day. Results indicate that chronic stress influences acute stress response and further alters active ghrelin production, which in turn can influence eating behavior. Replication in a greater group of participants of differing weight and sex could yield a greater understanding of stress induced eating. Factors such as relaxation techniques and coping mechanisms could further improve our knowledge and evaluate treatment possibilities.

scholarly journals Does Psychosocial Stress Impact Cognitive Reappraisal? Behavioral and Neural Evidence

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 1803-1816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maheen Shermohammed ◽  
Pranjal H. Mehta ◽  
Joan Zhang ◽  
Cassandra M. Brandes ◽  
Luke J. Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Psychosocial Stress ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Cognitive Reappraisal ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Stress Group

Cognitive reappraisal (CR) is regarded as an effective emotion regulation strategy. Acute stress, however, is believed to impair the functioning of prefrontal-based neural systems, which could result in lessened effectiveness of CR under stress. This study tested the behavioral and neurobiological impact of acute stress on CR. While undergoing fMRI, adult participants ( n = 54) passively viewed or used CR to regulate their response to negative and neutral pictures and provided ratings of their negative affect in response to each picture. Half of the participants experienced an fMRI-adapted acute psychosocial stress manipulation similar to the Trier Social Stress Test, and a control group received parallel manipulations without the stressful components. Relative to the control group, the stress group exhibited heightened stress as indexed by self-report, heart rate, and salivary cortisol throughout the scan. Contrary to our hypothesis, we found that reappraisal success was equivalent in the control and stress groups, as was electrodermal response to the pictures. Heart rate deceleration, a physiological response typically evoked by aversive pictures, was blunted in response to negative pictures and heightened in response to neutral pictures in the stress group. In the brain, we found weak evidence of stress-induced increases of reappraisal-related activity in parts of the PFC and left amygdala, but these relationships were statistically fragile. Together, these findings suggest that both the self-reported and neural effects of CR may be robust to at least moderate levels of stress, informing theoretical models of stress effects on cognition and emotion.

scholarly journals Social integration predicts mitochondrial DNA copy number in rhesus macaques

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reena Debray ◽  
Noah Snyder-Mackler ◽  
Jordan Kohn ◽  
Mark Wilson ◽  
Luis Barreiro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Copy Number ◽  
Rhesus Macaques ◽  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Low Rank ◽  
Mtdna Copy Number ◽  
Dna Copy Number ◽  
Chronic Social Stress ◽  
Mitochondrial Dna Copy Number

AbstractIn many social mammals, social adversity predicts compromised health and reduced fitness. These effects are thought to be driven in part by chronic social stress, but their molecular underpinnings are not well understood. Recent work suggests that chronic stress can affect mitochondrial copy number, heteroplasmy rates, and function. Here, we tested the first two possibilities, for the first time in nonhuman primates. We manipulated dominance rank in captive female rhesus macaques (n=45), where low rank induces chronic social stress, and measured mitochondrial DNA copy number and heteroplasmy in five peripheral blood mononuclear cell types from each study subject. We found no effect of dominance rank on either mtDNA copy number or heteroplasmy rates. However, grooming rates, a measure of affiliative social behavior predicted by high social status, was positively associated with mtDNA copy number in B cells, cytotoxic T cells, and monocytes. Our results suggest that social interactions can influence mtDNA regulation in immune cells. Further, they indicate the importance of considering both affiliative and competitive interactions in investigating this relationship.

scholarly journals Working Memory Performance Under Stress

2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-139
Author(s):  
Petra Luers ◽  
Malgorzata Schloeffel ◽  
Jens C. Prüssner
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Individual ◽  
And Function

Abstract. Acute stress and chronic stress change the physiology and function of the individual. As one facet, stress and its neuroendocrine correlates – with glucocorticoids in particular – modulate memory in a concerted action. With respect to working memory, impairing effects of acute stress and increased levels of glucocorticoids could be expected, but empirical evidence on moderating effects of cortisol on working memory is ambiguous in human studies. In the current study, we thus aimed to investigate cortisol stress responses and memory performance. Older men and women (32 men, 43 women, aged 61–67 years) underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and performed the 2-back task before and after exposure to acute stress. In line with theoretical assumptions, we found that higher cortisol stress responses led to a decline of working memory performance in men. However, the opposite was evident for women, who appeared to benefit from higher stress responses. This effect was evident for accuracy, but not for reaction time. In conclusion, cortisol might mediate working memory alterations with stress in a sex-specific manner in older people. Possible mechanisms and causes for these sex differences put a focus on endocrine changes in the aging population that might lead to differential effects across the lifespan.

scholarly journals Social Instability is an Effective Chronic Stress Paradigm for both Male and Female Mice

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine N. Yohn ◽  
Sandra A. Ashamalla ◽  
Leshya Bokka ◽  
Mark M. Gergues ◽  
Alexander Garino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Hpa Axis ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Antidepressant Treatment ◽  
Hippocampal Neurogenesis ◽  
Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis ◽  
Social Instability ◽  
Female Mice ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Males And Females

ABSTRACTDespite stress-associated disorders having a higher incidence rate in females, preclinical research mainly focuses on males. Chronic stress paradigms, such as chronic social defeat and chronic corticosterone administration, were mainly designed and validated in males and subsequent attempts to use these paradigms in females has demonstrated sex differences in the behavioral and HPA axis response to stress. Here, we developed a social stress paradigm, social instability stress (SIS), which exposes adult mice to unstable social hierarchies for 7 weeks. SIS effectively induces negative valence behaviors and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation in both males and females. Importantly, while there were effects of estrous cycle on behavior, this variability did not impact the overall effects of SIS on behavior, suggesting estrous does not need to be tracked while utilizing SIS. Furthermore, the effects of SIS on negative valence behaviors were also reversed following chronic antidepressant treatment with fluoxetine (FLX) in both males and females. SIS also reduced adult hippocampal neurogenesis in female mice, while chronic FLX treatment increased adult hippocampal neurogenesis in both males and females. Overall, these data demonstrate that the SIS paradigm is an ethologically valid approach that effectively induces chronic stress in both adult male and adult female mice.

scholarly journals How Did Elderly T2D Patients Cope With the Quebec Covid-19 Lockdown

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A342-A343
Author(s):  
Jack Elstein ◽  
Reisa Gilfix ◽  
Eleanor Elstein
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Severe Hypoglycemia ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Entire Group ◽  
Psychosocial Effects ◽  
Lower Middle Class ◽  
Medical Issues ◽  
Canadian City

Abstract The Canadian city most affected by the first wave of the Covid-19 (CV19) pandemic was Montreal. Montreal was in lockdown (LD) from Mar 13- Jun 15, 2020. The elderly, diabetics, and the economically disadvantaged are among the groups most at risk of CV19 and the psychosocial effects of LD. We sought to ascertain the effect of the LD on the wellbeing of lower income elderly T2D pts. As we felt it unethical to do non-essential testing during a pandemic we relied on clinically available HbA1c’s as surrogates for metabolic wellbeing. Most HbA1c‘s used reflect a high (r=0.91) correlation with 3 month values for the time periods of interest. The study group was composed of 38 mostly elderly T2D pts. All pts lived alone or with similarly aged spouses in non-institutional settings in a lower middle class neighborhood of Montreal. None had organized domestic help from family or the community. None had documented acute medical episodes or medication changes between Jan and Sept 2020. None have conditions known to render HbA1c non reliable. Pts were interviewed by telephone to assess their overall coping with the LD. In particular they were questioned about medical issues, difficulties obtaining medications +/- groceries and psychological or social stress. HbA1c values between Jan 1 - Mar 15, 2020 and after Aug 25, 2020 (non LD values) and between Apr 20 - Aug 15, 2020 (LD values) were recorded. Differences in the recorded non LD and LD HbA1c’s were compared and analyzed for the group as a whole, by gender, and by insulin use. There were 38 pts, 22 M 56–77 yrs (mean 72.1) and 16 F 41–90 yrs (mean 75.2), 89.5% (34/38) were > 65 yrs. Ten M and 9 F were on insulin. No pt reported severe hypoglycemia or weight fluctuations. All claimed to be following public health guidelines. There were no significant differences (d) between the mean HbA1c’s non LD compared to LD neither for the entire group (d= 0.2), M (d=0.2), F (d=0.2), insulin treated pts (d=0.3) nor those not treated with insulin (d=0.0). There were no overt medical decompensations. No pt reported having been unable to access medications or groceries. No pt reported significant psychological distress or feelings of isolation. None had been diagnosed with CV19. This largely geriatric T2D cohort did not report any overt deleterious effects from the LD. There were no significant differences in HbA1c non LD compared to LD. It is not possible to determine how effective the LD was in protecting these pts from CV19 other than to note that none had been diagnosed as having contracted the disease. As the 2nd wave of CV19 evolves, health care professionals will have the opportunity to study the effect of public health interventions, not only on controlling the spread of CV19, but also on the general wellbeing of different pt populations.

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