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Genes, Brain, and Behavior Mar 2022Social behavior varies across both individuals and species. Research to explain this variation falls under the purview of multiple disciplines, each with its own... (Review)
Review
Social behavior varies across both individuals and species. Research to explain this variation falls under the purview of multiple disciplines, each with its own theoretical and empirical traditions. Integration of these disciplinary traditions is key to developing a holistic perspective. Here, we review research on the biology of social attachment, a phenomena in which individuals develop strong affective connections to one another. We provide a historical overview of research on social attachment from psychological, ethological and neurobiological perspectives. As a case study, we describe work on pair-bonding in prairie voles, a socially monogamous rodent. This specific topic takes advantage of many biological perspectives and techniques to explain social bonds. Lastly, we conclude with an overview of multi-dimensional conceptual frameworks that can be used to explain social phenomena, and we propose a new framework for research on individual variation in attachment behavior. These conceptual frameworks originate from philosophy, physics, ethology, cognitive science and neuroscience. The application and synthesis of such frameworks offers a rich opportunity to advance understanding of social behavior and its mechanisms.
Topics: Animals; Arvicolinae; Individuality; Social Behavior
PubMed: 35170839
DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12792 -
Neuroscience Jun 2021Primates are long-lived, highly social mammals who maintain long-term social bonds and cohesive social groups through many affiliative mechanisms, foremost among them... (Review)
Review
Primates are long-lived, highly social mammals who maintain long-term social bonds and cohesive social groups through many affiliative mechanisms, foremost among them social touch. From birth through adulthood, social touch - primarily mutual grooming - creates and maintains relationships of trust and reliance, which are the basis for individual physical and emotional well-being and reproductive success. Because social touch helps to establish, maintain, and repair social alliances in primates, it contributes to the emotional stability of individuals and the cohesion of social groups. In these fundamental ways, thus, social touch supports the slow life histories of primates. The reinforcing neurochemistry of social touch insures that it is a pleasurable activity and this, in turn, makes it a behavioral commodity that can be traded between primates for desirable rewards such as protection against future aggression or opportunities to handle infants. Social touch is essential to normal primate development, and individuals deprived of social touch exhibit high levels of anxiety and lower fertility compared to those receiving regular social touch. Understanding the centrality of social touch to primate health and well-being throughout the lifespan provides the foundation for appreciating the importance of social touch in human life.
Topics: Animals; Cooperative Behavior; Grooming; Primates; Social Behavior; Touch; Touch Perception
PubMed: 33246063
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.11.024 -
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2023The neuropeptide arginine-vasopressin (AVP) is well known for its peripheral effects on blood pressure and antidiuresis. However, AVP also modulates various social and... (Review)
Review
The neuropeptide arginine-vasopressin (AVP) is well known for its peripheral effects on blood pressure and antidiuresis. However, AVP also modulates various social and anxiety-related behaviors by its actions in the brain, often sex-specifically, with effects typically being stronger in males than in females. AVP in the nervous system originates from several distinct sources which are, in turn, regulated by different inputs and regulatory factors. Based on both direct and indirect evidence, we can begin to define the specific role of AVP cell populations in social behavior, such as, social recognition, affiliation, pair bonding, parental behavior, mate competition, aggression, and social stress. Sex differences in function may be apparent in both sexually-dimorphic structures as well as ones without prominent structural differences within the hypothalamus. The understanding of how AVP systems are organized and function may ultimately lead to better therapeutic interventions for psychiatric disorders characterized by social deficits.
Topics: Humans; Female; Male; Vasopressins; Arginine Vasopressin; Social Behavior; Aggression; Anxiety
PubMed: 36860367
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1127792 -
Aggressive Behavior Nov 2022Social rejection elicits profound feelings of distress. From an evolutionary perspective, the best way to alleviate this distress is to behave prosocially, minimizing... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Social rejection elicits profound feelings of distress. From an evolutionary perspective, the best way to alleviate this distress is to behave prosocially, minimizing the likelihood of further exclusion. Yet, examples ranging from the playground to the pub suggest rejection commonly elicits aggression. Opposing theoretical perspectives and discordant empirical results have left a basic question unanswered: does rejection more commonly elicit prosocial or aggressive behavior? We conducted three meta-analyses (one with studies measuring aggressive behavior; one with studies measuring prosocial behavior; and one with studies measuring both aggressive and prosocial behavior; N = 3864) to quantify: (1) the extent to which social rejection elicits prosocial or aggressive behavior and (2) potential moderating effects on these relations. Random-effects models revealed medium effects such that social rejection potentiated aggressive behavior (k = 19; d = 0.41, p < .0001) and attenuated prosocial behavior (k = 7; d = 0.59, p < .0001), an effect that remained consistent even when participants were given the option to behave prosocially or aggressively (k = 15; d = 0.71, p < .0001). These results cast doubt on the theory that rejection triggers prosocial behavior, and instead suggest it is a robust elicitor of aggression. Statement of Relevance: To our knowledge, these meta-analyses are the first to directly test whether social rejection elicits aggressive or prosocial behavior. By including a comprehensive collection of both published and unpublished research studies, and examining a wide variety of previously untested moderators, we show that social rejection robustly elicits aggressive behavior and inhibits prosocial behavior. Additionally, we demonstrate that aggressive behavior following social rejection is not simply a function of limited choices in response options. In fact, aggressive behavior was evoked even when the option to engage in prosocial behavior was provided. Furthermore, we conducted a comprehensive narrative review of the neural mechanisms underlying social rejection-elicited aggressive and prosocial behavior to supplement primary analyses. Overall, we believe that our work makes a critical theoretical contribution to the field.
Topics: Aggression; Altruism; Humans; Social Behavior; Social Isolation; Social Status
PubMed: 35349722
DOI: 10.1002/ab.22026 -
Current Opinion in Neurobiology Jun 2021Human social preferences are the product of gene-culture coevolution, and rely on predispositions that emerge early in development. These social preferences encompasse... (Review)
Review
Human social preferences are the product of gene-culture coevolution, and rely on predispositions that emerge early in development. These social preferences encompasse distinct motivations, mechanisms, and behaviors, that facilitate social cohesion and cooperation. Developmental social neuroscience critically contributes in elucidating the proximate mechanisms involved in social decision-making and prosociality, and their gradual maturation in interaction with the social and cultural environment.
Topics: Child, Preschool; Cooperative Behavior; Humans; Social Behavior
PubMed: 33418273
DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2020.12.009 -
Brain, Behavior and Evolution 2022Many instances of sickness critically involve the immune system. The immune system talks to the brain in a bidirectional loop. This discourse affords the immune system... (Review)
Review
Many instances of sickness critically involve the immune system. The immune system talks to the brain in a bidirectional loop. This discourse affords the immune system immense control, such that it can influence behavior and optimize recovery from illness. These behavioral responses to infection are called sickness behaviors and can manifest in many ways, including changes in mood, motivation, or energy. Fascinatingly, most of these changes are conserved across species, and most organisms demonstrate some form of sickness behaviors. One of the most interesting sickness behaviors, and not immediately obvious, is altered sociability. Here, we discuss how the immune system impacts social behavior, by examining the brain regions and immune mediators involved in this process. We first outline how social behavior changes in response to infection in various species. Next, we explore which brain regions control social behavior and their evolutionary origins. Finally, we describe which immune mediators establish the link between illness and social behavior, in the context of both normal development and infection. Overall, we hope to make clear the striking similarities between the mechanisms that facilitate changes in sociability in derived and ancestral vertebrate, as well as invertebrate, species.
Topics: Animals; Brain; Illness Behavior; Immune System; Social Behavior
PubMed: 34915474
DOI: 10.1159/000521476 -
Clinical Psychology Review Dec 2022Social interactions are dynamic, context-dependent, and reciprocal events that influence prospective strategies and require constant practice and adaptation. This... (Review)
Review
Social interactions are dynamic, context-dependent, and reciprocal events that influence prospective strategies and require constant practice and adaptation. This complexity of social interactions creates several research challenges. We propose a new framework encouraging future research to investigate not only individual differences in capacities relevant for social functioning and their underlying mechanisms, but also the flexibility to adapt or update one's social abilities. We suggest three key capacities relevant for social functioning: (1) social perception, (2) sharing emotions or empathizing, and (3) mentalizing. We elaborate on how adaptations in these capacities may be investigated on behavioral and neural levels. Research on these flexible adaptations of one's social behavior is needed to specify how humans actually "learn to be social". Learning to adapt implies plasticity of the relevant brain networks involved in the underlying social processes, indicating that social abilities are malleable for different contexts. To quantify such measures, researchers need to find ways to investigate learning through dynamic changes in adaptable social paradigms and examine several factors influencing social functioning within the three aformentioned social key capacities. This framework furthers insight concerning individual differences, provides a holistic approach to social functioning, and may improve interventions for ameliorating social abilities in patients.
Topics: Humans; Mental Health; Prospective Studies; Social Adjustment; Social Perception; Social Behavior
PubMed: 36216722
DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2022.102204 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Jan 2023Women and girls cooperate with each other across many domains and at many scales. However, much of this information is buried in the ethnographic record and has been... (Review)
Review
Women and girls cooperate with each other across many domains and at many scales. However, much of this information is buried in the ethnographic record and has been overlooked in theoretic constructions of the evolution of human sociality and cooperation. The assumed primacy of male bonding, hunting, patrilocality and philopatry has dominated the discussion of cooperation without balanced consideration. A closer look at the ethnographic record reveals that in addition to cooperative childcare and food production, women and girls collectively form coalitions, have their own cooperative political, ceremonial, economic and social institutions, and develop female-based exchange and support networks. The numerous ethnographic examples of female cooperation urge reconsideration of gender stereotypes and the limits of female cooperation. This review brings together theoretic, cross-cultural and cross-lifespan research on female cooperation to present a more even and empirically supported view of female sociality. Following the lead from trends in evolutionary biology and sexual selection theory, the hope going forward is that the focus shifts from rote characterizations of sex differences to highlighting sources of variation and conditions that enhance or constrain female cooperative engagement. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cooperation among women: evolutionary and cross-cultural perspectives'.
Topics: Humans; Female; Male; Cooperative Behavior; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Social Behavior; Sex Characteristics; Sexual Selection
PubMed: 36440565
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0425 -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews May 2023Play is generally considered an immature affair. However, adult play is present in several mammal species living in complex social systems. Here, I hypothesize that... (Review)
Review
Play is generally considered an immature affair. However, adult play is present in several mammal species living in complex social systems. Here, I hypothesize that adult social play is favored by natural selection in those species characterized by high level of social tolerance and/or by the need of others' cooperation to reach a goal (i.e., leverage). The integration and comparison of bio-behavioral data on non-human primates and wild social carnivores allows drawing a comprehensive picture on the importance of adult play in facing unpredictable, novel social situations and in overcoming stressful experiences. The ability to cope with potentially competitive interactions through play can favor the emergence of egalitarian societies. A further interesting and beneficial aspect of adult play is its role in synchronizing group activities and favoring collective decision making by renovating the motivation to cooperate in groupmates. As a last step, some considerations about the presence of adult play in the most egalitarian and cooperative human groups (e.g., hunter-gatherer societies) allows discussing the apparent dichotomy between cultural and biological evolution of certain behavioral traits, including social play in adulthood.
Topics: Adult; Animals; Humans; Biological Evolution; Cooperative Behavior; Mammals; Primates; Social Behavior; Play and Playthings
PubMed: 36931414
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105124 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Apr 2021Human life expectancy increases, but the disease-free part of lifespan (healthspan) and the quality of life in old people may not show the same development. The... (Review)
Review
Human life expectancy increases, but the disease-free part of lifespan (healthspan) and the quality of life in old people may not show the same development. The situation poses considerable challenges to healthcare systems and economies, and calls for new strategies to increase healthspan and for sustainable future approaches to elder care. This call has motivated innovative research on the role of social relationships during ageing. Correlative data from clinical surveys indicate that social contact promotes healthy ageing, and it is time to reveal the causal mechanisms through experimental research. The fruit fly is a prolific model animal, but insects with more developed social behaviour can be equally instrumental for this research. Here, we discuss the role of social contact in ageing, and identify lines of study where diverse insect models can help uncover the mechanisms that are involved. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ageing and sociality: why, when and how does sociality change ageing patterns?'
Topics: Aging; Animals; Insecta; Models, Animal; Social Behavior
PubMed: 33678020
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0738