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Rivalan M, Alonso L, Mosienko V, Bey P, Hyde A, Bader M, Winter Y, Alenina N. Serotonin drives aggression and social behaviors of laboratory male mice in a semi-natural environment. Front Behav Neurosci 2024; 18:1450540. [PMID: 39359324 PMCID: PMC11446219 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1450540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2024] [Accepted: 08/29/2024] [Indexed: 10/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Aggression is an adaptive social behavior crucial for the stability and prosperity of social groups. When uncontrolled, aggression leads to pathological violence that disrupts group structure and individual wellbeing. The comorbidity of uncontrolled aggression across different psychopathologies makes it a potential endophenotype of mental disorders with the same neurobiological substrates. Serotonin plays a critical role in regulating impulsive and aggressive behaviors. Mice lacking in brain serotonin, due to the ablation of tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (TPH2), the rate-limiting enzyme in serotonin synthesis, could serve as a potential model for studying pathological aggression. Home cage monitoring allows for the continuous observation and quantification of social and non-social behaviors in group-housed, freely-moving mice. Using an ethological approach, we investigated the impact of central serotonin ablation on the everyday expression of social and non-social behaviors and their correlations in undisturbed, group-living Tph2-deficient and wildtype mice. By training a machine learning algorithm on behavioral time series, "allogrooming", "struggling at feeder", and "eating" emerged as key behaviors dissociating one genotype from the other. Although Tph2-deficient mice exhibited characteristics of pathological aggression and reduced communication compared to wildtype animals, they still demonstrated affiliative huddle behaviors to normal levels. Altogether, such a distinct and dynamic phenotype of Tph2-deficient mice influenced the group's structure and the subsequent development of its hierarchical organization. These aspects were analyzed using social network analysis and the Glicko rating methods. This study demonstrates the importance of the ethological approach for understanding the global impact of pathological aggression on various aspects of life, both at the individual and group levels. Home cage monitoring allows the observation of the natural behaviors of mice in a semi-natural habitat, providing an accurate representation of real-world phenomena and pathological mechanisms. The results of this study provide insights into the neurobiological substrate of pathological aggression and its potential role in complex brain disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marion Rivalan
- Humboldt University Institute of Biology, Chair of Cognitive Neurobiology, Berlin, Germany
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Neuroscience Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, Saclay, France
| | - Lucille Alonso
- Humboldt University Institute of Biology, Chair of Cognitive Neurobiology, Berlin, Germany
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, IINS, UMR 5297, Bordeaux, France
| | - Valentina Mosienko
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin, Germany
- University of Bristol, School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Faculty of Life Sciences, University Walk, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Patrik Bey
- Humboldt University Institute of Biology, Chair of Cognitive Neurobiology, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Neurology with Experimental Neurology, Brain Simulation Section, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Alexia Hyde
- Humboldt University Institute of Biology, Chair of Cognitive Neurobiology, Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Bader
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin, Germany
- German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Institute for Biology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - York Winter
- Humboldt University Institute of Biology, Chair of Cognitive Neurobiology, Berlin, Germany
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Natalia Alenina
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin, Germany
- German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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2
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Aubry AV, Joseph Burnett C, Goodwin NL, Li L, Navarrete J, Zhang Y, Tsai V, Durand-de Cuttoli R, Golden SA, Russo SJ. Sex differences in appetitive and reactive aggression. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:1746-1754. [PMID: 35810200 PMCID: PMC9372130 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-022-01375-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Revised: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 06/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Aggression is an evolutionarily conserved, adaptive component of social behavior. Studies in male mice illustrate that aggression is influenced by numerous factors including the degree to which an individual finds aggression rewarding and will work for access to attack and subordinate mice. While such studies have expanded our understanding of the molecular and circuit mechanisms of male aggression very little is known about female aggression, within these established contexts. Here we use an ethologically relevant model of male vs. female aggression by pair housing adult male and female outbred CFW mice with opposite sex cage mates. We assess reactive (defensive) aggression in the resident intruder (RI) test and appetitive (rewarding) aggression in the aggression conditioned place preference (CPP) and operant self-administration (SA) tests. Our results show dramatic sex differences in both qualitative and quantitative aspects of reactive vs. appetitive aggression. Males exhibit more wrestling and less investigative behavior during RI, find aggression rewarding, and will work for access to a subordinate to attack. Females exhibit more bites, alternate between aggressive behaviors and investigative behaviors more readily during RI, however, they do not find aggression to be rewarding or reinforcing. These results establish sex differences in aggression in mice, providing an important resource for the field to better understand the circuit and molecular mechanisms of aggression in both sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio V Aubry
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Brain-Body Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - C Joseph Burnett
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Brain-Body Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nastacia L Goodwin
- Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Long Li
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Brain-Body Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jovana Navarrete
- Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Yizhe Zhang
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Valerie Tsai
- Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Romain Durand-de Cuttoli
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Brain-Body Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sam A Golden
- Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
- Center of Excellence in Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion (NAPE), University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | - Scott J Russo
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Brain-Body Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
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3
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Neave HW, Zobel G. Personality of dairy goats affects competitive feeding behaviour at different feeder heights. Small Rumin Res 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.smallrumres.2020.106222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
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4
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Esattore B, Villagrán M, Pluháček J, Komárková M, Dušek A, Kotrba R, Bartošová J, Bartoš L. To beat or not to beat: Behavioral plasticity during the antler growth period affects cortisol but not testosterone concentrations in red deer (Cervus elaphus) males. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2020; 297:113552. [PMID: 32687931 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2020.113552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Out of rut, male red deer (Cervus elaphus) associate themselves in bachelor groups where animals compete for rank position via agonistic interactions. In a previous study on red deer, males were recognized either as "Non-Fighters" (NF, low frequency of attacks) or "Fighters" (F, high frequency of attacks). This study, therefore, aims to verify the consistency of the inter-individual differences in fighting attitude across different social contexts and investigate whether they could be considered an individual characteristic. Behavioral consistency was presumed across three different sampling seasons, assuming that NF would have lower cortisol (C) and testosterone (T) concentrations than the F males. In 2015 the males were kept in one large group and labelled NF and F. In 2016, the herd was divided into two subgroups ("NF" and "F") based on the frequency of attacks. Finally, in 2017, the males were divided into two randomly composed subgroups. Data about agonistic behavior and concentration of C and T were collected during each season. In 2015 the individuals differed only for the fighting attitude. After the division, the frequency of the attacks always increased, being consistently lower in NF than in F. Unexpectedly, a slight increase in the concentration of C was detected in the NF in 2016, compared to the F who experienced no difference neither in 2015 nor 2017. No significant differences were found in T. We concluded that, even though the males had shown behavioral plasticity, their diversified interaction-prone attitude had been maintained despite the modifications of the social environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Esattore
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Praha 10-Uhříněves, Czech Republic; Department of Ethology and Companion Animal Science, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Praha - Suchdol, Czech Republic.
| | - Matías Villagrán
- Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República, Lasplaces 1620, Montevideo 11600, Uruguay
| | - Jan Pluháček
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Praha 10-Uhříněves, Czech Republic
| | - Martina Komárková
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Praha 10-Uhříněves, Czech Republic; Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Department of Animal Science and Food Processing, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Praha - Suchdol, Czech Republic
| | - Adam Dušek
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Praha 10-Uhříněves, Czech Republic
| | - Radim Kotrba
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Praha 10-Uhříněves, Czech Republic; Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Department of Animal Science and Food Processing, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Praha - Suchdol, Czech Republic
| | - Jitka Bartošová
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Praha 10-Uhříněves, Czech Republic; Department of Ethology and Companion Animal Science, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Praha - Suchdol, Czech Republic
| | - Luděk Bartoš
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Praha 10-Uhříněves, Czech Republic; Department of Ethology and Companion Animal Science, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Praha - Suchdol, Czech Republic
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Experience-dependent plasticity in an innate social behavior is mediated by hypothalamic LTP. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:25789-25799. [PMID: 32973099 PMCID: PMC7568289 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2011782117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Modification of instinctive behaviors occurs through experience, yet the mechanisms through which this happens have remained largely unknown. Recent studies have shown that potentiation of aggression, an innate behavior, can occur through repeated winning of aggressive encounters. Here, we show that synaptic plasticity at a specific excitatory input to a hypothalamic cell population is correlated with, and required for, the expression of increasingly higher levels of aggressive behavior following aggressive experience. We additionally show that the amplitude and persistence of long-term potentiation at this synapse are influenced by serum testosterone, administration of which can normalize individual differences in the expression of intermale aggression among genetically identical mice. All animals can perform certain survival behaviors without prior experience, suggesting a “hard wiring” of underlying neural circuits. Experience, however, can alter the expression of innate behaviors. Where in the brain and how such plasticity occurs remains largely unknown. Previous studies have established the phenomenon of “aggression training,” in which the repeated experience of winning successive aggressive encounters across multiple days leads to increased aggressiveness. Here, we show that this procedure also leads to long-term potentiation (LTP) at an excitatory synapse, derived from the posteromedial part of the amygdalohippocampal area (AHiPM), onto estrogen receptor 1-expressing (Esr1+) neurons in the ventrolateral subdivision of the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMHvl). We demonstrate further that the optogenetic induction of such LTP in vivo facilitates, while optogenetic long-term depression (LTD) diminishes, the behavioral effect of aggression training, implying a causal role for potentiation at AHiPM→VMHvlEsr1 synapses in mediating the effect of this training. Interestingly, ∼25% of inbred C57BL/6 mice fail to respond to aggression training. We show that these individual differences are correlated both with lower levels of testosterone, relative to mice that respond to such training, and with a failure to exhibit LTP after aggression training. Administration of exogenous testosterone to such nonaggressive mice restores both behavioral and physiological plasticity. Together, these findings reveal that LTP at a hypothalamic circuit node mediates a form of experience-dependent plasticity in an innate social behavior, and a potential hormone-dependent basis for individual differences in such plasticity among genetically identical mice.
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Ike KG, de Boer SF, Buwalda B, Kas MJ. Social withdrawal: An initially adaptive behavior that becomes maladaptive when expressed excessively. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 116:251-267. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.06.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Revised: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 06/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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7
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Goodwin NL, Nilsson SRO, Golden SA. Rage Against the Machine: Advancing the study of aggression ethology via machine learning. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2020; 237:2569-2588. [PMID: 32647898 PMCID: PMC7502501 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-020-05577-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2019] [Accepted: 06/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Aggression, comorbid with neuropsychiatric disorders, exhibits with diverse clinical presentations and places a significant burden on patients, caregivers, and society. This diversity is observed because aggression is a complex behavior that can be ethologically demarcated as either appetitive (rewarding) or reactive (defensive), each with its own behavioral characteristics, functionality, and neural basis that may transition from adaptive to maladaptive depending on genetic and environmental factors. There has been a recent surge in the development of preclinical animal models for studying appetitive aggression-related behaviors and identifying the neural mechanisms guiding their progression and expression. However, adoption of these procedures is often impeded by the arduous task of manually scoring complex social interactions. Manual observations are generally susceptible to observer drift, long analysis times, and poor inter-rater reliability, and are further incompatible with the sampling frequencies required of modern neuroscience methods. OBJECTIVES In this review, we discuss recent advances in the preclinical study of appetitive aggression in mice, paired with our perspective on the potential for machine learning techniques in producing automated, robust scoring of aggressive social behavior. We discuss critical considerations for implementing valid computer classifications within behavioral pharmacological studies. KEY RESULTS Open-source automated classification platforms can match or exceed the performance of human observers while removing the confounds of observer drift, bias, and inter-rater reliability. Furthermore, unsupervised approaches can identify previously uncharacterized aggression-related behavioral repertoires in model species. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Advances in open-source computational approaches hold promise for overcoming current manual annotation caveats while also introducing and generalizing computational neuroethology to the greater behavioral neuroscience community. We propose that currently available open-source approaches are sufficient for overcoming the main limitations preventing wide adoption of machine learning within the context of preclinical aggression behavioral research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nastacia L Goodwin
- Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Simon R O Nilsson
- Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Sam A Golden
- Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
- Center of Excellence in Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion (NAPE), University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
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8
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Helmy M, Zhang J, Wang H. Neurobiology and Neural Circuits of Aggression. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2020; 1284:9-22. [DOI: 10.1007/978-981-15-7086-5_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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9
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Milles A, Dammhahn M, Grimm V. Intraspecific trait variation in personality‐related movement behavior promotes coexistence. OIKOS 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.07431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Milles
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, Univ. of Potsdam Am Mühlenberg 3 DE‐14476 Potsdam Germany
| | - Melanie Dammhahn
- Animal Ecology, Univ. of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany, and: Berlin‐Brandenburg Inst. of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB) Berlin Germany
| | - Volker Grimm
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, Univ. of Potsdam Am Mühlenberg 3 DE‐14476 Potsdam Germany
- Dept of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research‐UFZ Leipzig Germany
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10
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Urbánková G, Šíchová K, Riegert J, Horsley R, Mladěnková N, Starck‐Lantová P, Sedláček F. Lifetime low behavioural plasticity of personality traits in the common vole (
Microtus arvalis
) under laboratory conditions. Ethology 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Urbánková
- Faculty of Science University of South Bohemia České Budějovice Czech Republic
| | - Klára Šíchová
- Faculty of Science University of South Bohemia České Budějovice Czech Republic
- National Institute of Mental Health Klecany near Prague Czech Republic
| | - Jan Riegert
- Faculty of Science University of South Bohemia České Budějovice Czech Republic
| | - Rachel Horsley
- National Institute of Mental Health Klecany near Prague Czech Republic
| | - Nella Mladěnková
- Faculty of Science University of South Bohemia České Budějovice Czech Republic
| | | | - František Sedláček
- Faculty of Science University of South Bohemia České Budějovice Czech Republic
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Lee W, Fu J, Bouwman N, Farago P, Curley JP. Temporal microstructure of dyadic social behavior during relationship formation in mice. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0220596. [PMID: 31821344 PMCID: PMC6903754 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2019] [Accepted: 11/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Socially competent animals must learn to modify their behavior in response to their social partner in a contextually appropriate manner. Dominant-subordinate relationships are a particularly salient social context for mice. Here we observe and analyze the microstructure of social and non-social behaviors as 21 pairs of outbred CD-1 male mice (Mus Musculus) establish dominant-subordinate relationships during daily 20-minute interactions for five consecutive days in a neutral environment. Firstly, using a Kleinberg burst detection algorithm, we demonstrate aggressive and subordinate interactions occur in bursting patterns followed by quiescent periods rather than being uniformly distributed across social interactions. Secondly, we identify three phases of dominant-subordinate relationship development (pre-, middle-, and post-resolution) by utilizing two statistical methods to identify stability in aggressive and subordinate behavior across these bursts. Thirdly, using First Order Markov Chains we find that dominant and subordinate mice show distinct behavioral transitions, especially between tail rattling and other aggressive/subordinate behaviors. Further, dominant animals engaged in more digging and allogrooming behavior and were more likely to transition from sniffing their partner's body to head, whereas subordinates were more likely to transition from head sniffing to side-by-side contact. Lastly, we utilized a novel method (Forward Spike Time Tiling Coefficient) to assess how individuals respond to the behaviors of their partner. We found that subordinates decrease their tail rattling and aggressive behavior in response to aggressive but not subordinate behavior exhibited by dominants and that tail rattling in particular may function to deescalate aggressive behavior in pairs. Our findings demonstrate that CD-1 male mice rapidly establish dominance relationships and modify their social and non-social behaviors according to their current social status. The methods that we detail also provide useful tools for other researchers wishing to evaluate the temporal dynamics of rodent social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Won Lee
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Jiayi Fu
- Department of Statistics Graduate Program, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States of America
- Department of Statistics Master’s Program, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Neal Bouwman
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Pam Farago
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - James P. Curley
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
- Center for Integrative Animal Behavior, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, United States of America
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Kasper C, Schreier T, Taborsky B. Heritabilities, social environment effects and genetic correlations of social behaviours in a cooperatively breeding vertebrate. J Evol Biol 2019; 32:955-973. [PMID: 31152617 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Revised: 04/25/2019] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Social animals interact frequently with conspecifics, and their behaviour is influenced by social context, environmental cues and the behaviours of interaction partners, allowing for adaptive, flexible adjustments to social encounters. This flexibility can be limited by part of the behavioural variation being genetically determined. Furthermore, behaviours can be genetically correlated, potentially constraining independent evolution. Understanding social behaviour thus requires carefully disentangling genetic, environmental, maternal and social sources of variations as well as the correlation structure between behaviours. Here, we assessed heritability, maternal, common environment and social effects of eight social behaviours in Neolamprologus pulcher, a cooperatively breeding cichlid. We bred wild-caught fish in a paternal half-sibling design and scored ability to defend a resource against conspecifics, to integrate into a group and the propensity to help defending the group territory ("helping behaviour"). We assessed genetic, social and phenotypic correlations within clusters of behaviours predicted to be functionally related, namely "competition," "aggression," "aggression-sociability," "integration" and "integration-help." Helping behaviour and two affiliative behaviours were heritable, whereas there was little evidence for a genetic basis in all other traits. Phenotypic social effects explained part of the variation in a sociable and a submissive behaviour, but there were no maternal or common environment effects. Genetic and phenotypic correlation within clusters was mostly positive. A group's social environment influenced covariances of social behaviours. Genetic correlations were similar in magnitude but usually exceeding the phenotypic ones, indicating that conclusions about the evolution of social behaviours in this species could be provisionally drawn from phenotypic data in cases where data for genetic analyses are unobtainable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Kasper
- Behavioural Ecology, University of Bern, Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Tanja Schreier
- Behavioural Ecology, University of Bern, Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Barbara Taborsky
- Behavioural Ecology, University of Bern, Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
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13
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Haller J. Preclinical models of conduct disorder – principles and pharmacologic perspectives. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 91:112-120. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.05.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2016] [Revised: 05/09/2016] [Accepted: 05/25/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Macrì S, Zoratto F, Chiarotti F, Laviola G. Can laboratory animals violate behavioural norms? Towards a preclinical model of conduct disorder. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 91:102-111. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.01.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2016] [Revised: 11/15/2016] [Accepted: 01/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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15
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A neural network for intermale aggression to establish social hierarchy. Nat Neurosci 2018; 21:834-842. [DOI: 10.1038/s41593-018-0153-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2017] [Accepted: 04/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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16
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Verdon M, Morrison RS, Hemsworth PH. Forming groups of aggressive sows based on a predictive test of aggression does not affect overall sow aggression or welfare. Behav Processes 2018; 150:17-24. [PMID: 29474852 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2017] [Revised: 01/28/2018] [Accepted: 02/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
This experiment examined the effects of group composition on sow aggressive behaviour and welfare. Over 6 time replicates, 360 sows (parity 1-6) were mixed into groups (10 sows per pen, 1.8 m2/sow) composed of animals that were predicted to be aggressive (n = 18 pens) or groups composed of animals that were randomly selected (n = 18 pens). Predicted aggressive sows were selected based on a model-pig test that has been shown to be related to the aggressive behaviour of parity 2 sows when subsequently mixed in groups. Measurements were taken on aggression delivered post-mixing, and aggression delivered around feeding, fresh skin injuries and plasma cortisol concentrations at days 2 and 24 post-mixing. Live weight gain, litter size (born alive, total born, stillborn piglets), and farrowing rate were also recorded. Manipulating the group composition based on predicted sow aggressiveness had no effect (P > 0.05) on sow aggression delivered at mixing or around feeding, fresh injuries, cortisol, weight gain from day 2 to day 24, farrowing rate, or litter size. The lack of treatment effects in the present experiment could be attributed to (1) a failure of the model-pig test to predict aggression in older sows in groups, or (2) the dependence of the expression of the aggressive phenotype on factors such as social experience and characteristics (e.g., physical size and aggressive phenotype) of pen mates. This research draws attention to the intrinsic difficulties associated with predicting behaviour across contexts, particularly when the behaviour is highly dependent on interactions with conspecifics, and highlights the social complexities involved in the presentation of a behavioural phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Verdon
- Animal Welfare Science Centre, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia; Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, University of Tasmania, Tasmania, 7320, Australia.
| | - R S Morrison
- Rivalea Australia, Corowa, New South Wales, 2646, Australia
| | - P H Hemsworth
- Animal Welfare Science Centre, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia
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Abstract
The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has a solid reputation as a facilitator of social interactions such as parental and pair bonding, trust, and empathy. The many results supporting a pro-social role of OT have generated the hypothesis that impairments in the endogenous OT system may lead to antisocial behavior, most notably social withdrawal or pathological aggression. If this is indeed the case, administration of exogenous OT could be the "serenic" treatment that psychiatrists have for decades been searching for.In the present review, we list and discuss the evidence for an endogenous "hypo-oxytocinergic state" underlying aggressive and antisocial behavior, derived from both animal and human studies. We furthermore examine the reported effects of synthetic OT administration on aggression in rodents and humans.Although the scientific findings listed in this review support, in broad lines, the link between a down-regulated or impaired OT system activity and increased aggression, the anti-aggressive effects of synthetic OT are less straightforward and require further research. The rather complex picture that emerges adds to the ongoing debate questioning the unidirectional pro-social role of OT, as well as the strength of the effects of intranasal OT administration in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trynke R de Jong
- Department of Behavioral and Molecular Neurobiology, University of Regensburg, 93053, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Inga D Neumann
- Department of Behavioral and Molecular Neurobiology, University of Regensburg, 93053, Regensburg, Germany.
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Investigating movement behavior of invasive Burmese pythons on a shy–bold continuum using individual-based modeling. Perspect Ecol Conserv 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pecon.2017.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
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Roche DG, Careau V, Binning SA. Demystifying animal 'personality' (or not): why individual variation matters to experimental biologists. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016; 219:3832-3843. [PMID: 27852750 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.146712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2016] [Accepted: 10/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Animal 'personality', defined as repeatable inter-individual differences in behaviour, is a concept in biology that faces intense controversy. Critics argue that the field is riddled with terminological and methodological inconsistencies and lacks a sound theoretical framework. Nevertheless, experimental biologists are increasingly studying individual differences in physiology and relating these to differences in behaviour, which can lead to fascinating insights. We encourage this trend, and in this Commentary we highlight some of the benefits of estimating variation in (and covariation among) phenotypic traits at the inter- and intra-individual levels. We focus on behaviour while drawing parallels with physiological and performance-related traits. First, we outline some of the confusion surrounding the terminology used to describe repeatable inter-individual differences in behaviour. Second, we argue that acknowledging individual behavioural differences can help researchers avoid sampling and experimental bias, increase explanatory power and, ultimately, understand how selection acts on physiological traits. Third, we summarize the latest methods to collect, analyse and present data on individual trait variation. We note that, while measuring the repeatability of phenotypic traits is informative in its own right, it is only the first step towards understanding how natural selection and genetic architecture shape intra-specific variation in complex, labile traits. Thus, understanding how and why behavioural traits evolve requires linking repeatable inter-individual behavioural differences with core aspects of physiology (e.g. neurophysiology, endocrinology, energy metabolism) and evolutionary biology (e.g. selection gradients, heritability).
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominique G Roche
- Département d'Éco-Éthologie, Institut de Biologie, Université de Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel CH 2000, Switzerland
| | - Vincent Careau
- Canada Research Chair in Functional Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5
| | - Sandra A Binning
- Département d'Éco-Éthologie, Institut de Biologie, Université de Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel CH 2000, Switzerland
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Interactions between boldness, foraging performance and behavioural plasticity across social contexts. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2016; 70:1879-1889. [PMID: 27784956 PMCID: PMC5054052 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-016-2193-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2016] [Revised: 07/25/2016] [Accepted: 07/26/2016] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Boldness, the tendency to be explorative, risk prone and proactive, often varies consistently between individuals. An individual's position on the boldness-shyness continuum has many implications. Bold individuals may outperform shyer conspecifics during foraging as they cover more ground, accumulate information more rapidly and make more frequent food discoveries. Individual variation in boldness may also affect behavioural plasticity across environmental contexts, as the time to process new information, the ability to locate and memorise resources and the time and ability to apply prior information in a novel context all differ between individuals. The primary aim of the current study was to examine plasticity in, and covariation between, boldness, foraging speed and foraging accuracy across social foraging contexts. We showed that the stickleback that were shyest when foraging alone became relatively boldest when foraging in a social context and also delayed their entry to a known food patch the most in the presence of conspecifics. These results support the assertion that shyer foragers are more reactive to social cues and add to current knowledge of how an individual's position on the boldness-shyness continuum may correlate to foraging task performance and behavioural plasticity. We conclude that the correlation between boldness and behavioural plasticity may have broad relevance as the ability to adjust or retain behaviours in changing social environments could often have consequences for fitness. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Animal personality may affect how much individuals change their behaviour to suit different environments. We studied the link between threespine stickleback personality (boldness or shyness), foraging performance and change in foraging performance when either alone or in the presence of other stickleback. We found that shyer threespine stickleback were more reactive to the presence of other fish when foraging. When observed or joined by other fish, shy stickleback started exploring earlier, but entered a known food patch later, than when alone. Bolder stickleback changed their foraging behaviour much less in the presence of other fish. Our results suggest that how bold or shy individuals are may have important consequences on how well they adjust their foraging behaviour to environmental change.
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Yewers MSC, Pryke S, Stuart-Fox D. Behavioural differences across contexts may indicate morph-specific strategies in the lizard Ctenophorus decresii. Anim Behav 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.10.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
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22
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Smagin DA, Park JH, Michurina TV, Peunova N, Glass Z, Sayed K, Bondar NP, Kovalenko IN, Kudryavtseva NN, Enikolopov G. Altered Hippocampal Neurogenesis and Amygdalar Neuronal Activity in Adult Mice with Repeated Experience of Aggression. Front Neurosci 2015; 9:443. [PMID: 26648838 PMCID: PMC4664700 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2015.00443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2015] [Accepted: 11/06/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Repeated experience of winning in a social conflict setting elevates levels of aggression and may lead to violent behavioral patterns. Here, we use a paradigm of repeated aggression and fighting deprivation to examine changes in behavior, neurogenesis, and neuronal activity in mice with positive fighting experience. We show that for males, repeated positive fighting experience induces persistent demonstration of aggression and stereotypic behaviors in daily agonistic interactions, enhances aggressive motivation, and elevates levels of anxiety. When winning males are deprived of opportunities to engage in further fights, they demonstrate increased levels of aggressiveness. Positive fighting experience results in increased levels of progenitor cell proliferation and production of young neurons in the hippocampus. This increase is not diminished after a fighting deprivation period. Furthermore, repeated winning experience decreases the number of activated (c-fos-positive) cells in the basolateral amygdala and increases the number of activated cells in the hippocampus; a subsequent no-fight period restores the number of c-fos-positive cells. Our results indicate that extended positive fighting experience in a social conflict heightens aggression, increases proliferation of neuronal progenitors and production of young neurons in the hippocampus, and decreases neuronal activity in the amygdala; these changes can be modified by depriving the winners of the opportunity for further fights.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitry A. Smagin
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of SciencesNovosibirsk, Russia
- Department of Nano-, Bio-, Information Technology and Cognitive Science, Moscow Institute of Physics and TechnologyMoscow, Russia
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring HarborNY, USA
| | - June-Hee Park
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring HarborNY, USA
| | - Tatyana V. Michurina
- Department of Nano-, Bio-, Information Technology and Cognitive Science, Moscow Institute of Physics and TechnologyMoscow, Russia
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring HarborNY, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology, Stony Brook School of MedicineStony Brook, NY, USA
- Center for Developmental Genetics, Stony Brook UniversityStony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Natalia Peunova
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring HarborNY, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology, Stony Brook School of MedicineStony Brook, NY, USA
- Center for Developmental Genetics, Stony Brook UniversityStony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Zachary Glass
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring HarborNY, USA
| | - Kasim Sayed
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring HarborNY, USA
| | - Natalya P. Bondar
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of SciencesNovosibirsk, Russia
| | - Irina N. Kovalenko
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of SciencesNovosibirsk, Russia
| | - Natalia N. Kudryavtseva
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of SciencesNovosibirsk, Russia
| | - Grigori Enikolopov
- Department of Nano-, Bio-, Information Technology and Cognitive Science, Moscow Institute of Physics and TechnologyMoscow, Russia
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring HarborNY, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology, Stony Brook School of MedicineStony Brook, NY, USA
- Center for Developmental Genetics, Stony Brook UniversityStony Brook, NY, USA
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Fukuyama T, Tschernig T, Qi Y, Volmer DA, Bäumer W. Aggression behaviour induced by oral administration of the Janus-kinase inhibitor tofacitinib, but not oclacitinib, under stressful conditions. Eur J Pharmacol 2015; 764:278-282. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2015.06.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2015] [Revised: 06/11/2015] [Accepted: 06/29/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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Studer E, Näslund J, Andersson E, Nilsson S, Westberg L, Eriksson E. Serotonin depletion-induced maladaptive aggression requires the presence of androgens. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0126462. [PMID: 25978464 PMCID: PMC4433101 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0126462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2014] [Accepted: 04/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The sex hormone testosterone and the neurotransmitter serotonin exert opposite effects on several aspects of behavior including territorial aggression. It is however not settled if testosterone exerts its pro-aggressive effects by reducing serotonin transmission and/or if the anti-aggressive effect of serotonin requires the presence of the androgen. Using the resident intruder test, we now show that administration of the serotonin synthesis inhibitor para-chlorophenylalanine (300 mg/kg x 3 days) increases the total time of attack as well as the percentage amount of social behavior spent on attack but not that spent on threat - i.e. that it induces a pattern of unrestricted, maladaptive aggression - in gonadectomized C57Bl/6 male mice receiving testosterone replacement; in contrast, it failed to reinstate aggression in those not given testosterone. Whereas these results suggest the pro-aggressive effect of testosterone to be independent of serotonin, and not caused by an inhibition of serotonergic activity, the pCPA-induced induction of maladaptive aggression appears to require the presence of the hormone. In line with these findings, pCPA enhanced the total time of attack as well the relative time spent on attacks but not threats also in wild-type gonadally intact male C57Bl/6 mice, but failed to reinstate aggression in mice rendered hypo-aggressive by early knock-out of androgen receptors in the brain (ARNesDel mice). We conclude that androgenic deficiency does not dampen aggression by unleashing an anti-aggressive serotonergic influence; instead serotonin seems to modulate aggressive behavior by exerting a parallel-coupled inhibitory role on androgen-driven aggression, which is irrelevant in the absence of the hormone, and the arresting of which leads to enhanced maladaptive aggression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik Studer
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, POB 431, SE 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Jakob Näslund
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, POB 431, SE 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Erik Andersson
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, POB 431, SE 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Staffan Nilsson
- Mathematical Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, SE 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Lars Westberg
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, POB 431, SE 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Elias Eriksson
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, POB 431, SE 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
- * E-mail:
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25
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Dingemanse NJ, Araya-Ajoy YG. Interacting personalities: behavioural ecology meets quantitative genetics. Trends Ecol Evol 2015; 30:88-97. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2014.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2014] [Revised: 11/28/2014] [Accepted: 12/03/2014] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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26
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Lukas M, de Jong TR. Conspecific Interactions in Adult Laboratory Rodents: Friends or Foes? Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2015; 30:3-24. [PMID: 27240675 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2015_428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Interactions between adult conspecifics, including sexual behaviors, affiliation, and aggression are crucial for the well-being, survival, and reproduction of mammals. This holds true for any mammalian species, but certainly for humans: An inability to optimally navigate the social system can have a strong negative impact on physical and mental health. Translational rodent models have been used for decades to unravel the neural pathways and substrates involved in normal and abnormal conspecific interactions. Researchers in the field of translational social neuroscience face a double challenge: Not only do they need to pay considerable attention to the behavioral ecology of their model species or their ancestors, they also have to expect a relatively large variability in behavior and adjust their experimental design accordingly. In this chapter, we will lay out traditional and novel rodent models and paradigms to study sexual, affiliative, and aggressive interactions among adult conspecifics. We will discuss the merits and main findings and briefly consider the most promising novel directions. Finally, we review the modulatory involvement of two major players in mammal social interaction: the central oxytocin and vasopressin system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Lukas
- Molecular and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
| | - Trynke R de Jong
- Molecular and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
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27
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Japyassú HF, Malange J. Plasticity, stereotypy, intra-individual variability and personality: handle with care. Behav Processes 2014; 109 Pt A:40-7. [PMID: 25241306 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2014.09.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2014] [Revised: 09/10/2014] [Accepted: 09/10/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Only recently, variability within individuals has become of importance to evolutionary thinking. The boom in the literature on behavioural variability has led to the emergence of concepts such as behavioural plasticity, stereotypy, imprecision, and intra-individual variability (IIV). The proliferation of new terms has resulted in overlapping concepts, spreading confusion in understanding the origins of variability. Here we provide a critical overview of the concepts related to behavioural variability within the individual. We conclude that although there is no overlapping between behavioural plasticity and IIV, these concepts do overlap with stereotypy; they also face problems with ideas of abnormality and absence of function in stereotyped behaviour. We further provide a critical overview of the sometimes confusing relationship between (1) within individual variability, and (2) consistent variability across individuals (personality). We point out that personality is logically independent of both activational plasticity and IIV, because personality emerges at the population level, whereas plasticity and IIV emerge at the individual level. We conclude that, in personality studies, the failure to acknowledge the existence of either internal variability or consistent between-individual differences in internal variability will result in mixing different phenomena, and inhibit building unified accounts from heterogeneous databases.
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28
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Westneat DF, Wright J, Dingemanse NJ. The biology hidden inside residual within-individual phenotypic variation. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2014; 90:729-43. [PMID: 25080034 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 175] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2013] [Revised: 06/23/2014] [Accepted: 06/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Phenotypes vary hierarchically among taxa and populations, among genotypes within populations, among individuals within genotypes, and also within individuals for repeatedly expressed, labile phenotypic traits. This hierarchy produces some fundamental challenges to clearly defining biological phenomena and constructing a consistent explanatory framework. We use a heuristic statistical model to explore two consequences of this hierarchy. First, although the variation existing among individuals within populations has long been of interest to evolutionary biologists, within-individual variation has been much less emphasized. Within-individual variance occurs when labile phenotypes (behaviour, physiology, and sometimes morphology) exhibit phenotypic plasticity or deviate from a norm-of-reaction within the same individual. A statistical partitioning of phenotypic variance leads us to explore an array of ideas about residual within-individual variation. We use this approach to draw attention to additional processes that may influence within-individual phenotypic variance, including interactions among environmental factors, ecological effects on the fitness consequences of plasticity, and various types of adaptive variance. Second, our framework for investigating variation in phenotypic variance reveals that interactions between levels of the hierarchy form the preconditions for the evolution of all types of plasticity, and we extend this idea to the residual level within individuals, where both adaptive plasticity in residuals and canalization-like processes (stability) can evolve. With the statistical tools now available to examine heterogeneous residual variance, an array of novel questions linking phenotype to environment can be usefully addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- David F Westneat
- Department of Biology, Center for Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Kentucky, 101 Morgan Building, Lexington, KY 40506-0225, U.S.A
| | - Jonathan Wright
- Department of Biology, Center for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), N-7491, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Niels J Dingemanse
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.,Evolutionary Ecology of Variation Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
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29
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Delay discounting task in pigs reveals response strategies related to dopamine metabolite. Physiol Behav 2013; 120:182-92. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2013.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2013] [Revised: 07/09/2013] [Accepted: 08/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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30
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Dingemanse NJ, Wolf M. Between-individual differences in behavioural plasticity within populations: causes and consequences. Anim Behav 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.12.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 263] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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Miczek KA, de Boer SF, Haller J. Excessive aggression as model of violence: a critical evaluation of current preclinical methods. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2013; 226:445-58. [PMID: 23430160 PMCID: PMC3595336 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-013-3008-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2012] [Accepted: 01/23/2013] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Preclinical experimental models of pathological aggressive behavior are a sorely understudied and difficult research area. OBJECTIVES How valid, reliable, productive, and informative are the most frequently used animal models of excessive aggressive behavior? METHODS The rationale, key methodological features, supporting data, and arguments as well as their disadvantages and limitations of the most frequently used animal models for excessive aggressive behavior are summarized and their validity and reliability are evaluated. RESULTS Excessive aggressive behavior is validly and reliably seen in (1) a proportion of feral-derived rats and selectively bred mice; (2) rats with compromised adrenal function resulting in a hypoglucocorticoid state; (3) a significant minority of mice, rats, and monkeys after consumption of a moderate dose of alcohol; and (4) resident animals of various species after social instigation. Limitations of these procedures include restrictive animal research regulations, the requirement of expertise in surgical, pharmacological, and behavioral techniques, and the behaviorally impoverished mouse strains that are used in molecular genetics research. Promising recent initiatives for novel experimental models include aggressive behaviors that are evoked by optogenetic stimulation and induced by the manipulation of early social experiences such as isolation rearing or social stress. CONCLUSIONS One of the most significant challenges for animal models of excessive, potentially abnormal aggressive behavior is the characterization of distinctive neurobiological mechanisms that differ from those governing species-typical aggressive behavior. Identifying novel targets for effective intervention requires increased understanding of the distinctive molecular, cellular, and circuit mechanisms for each type of abnormal aggressive behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaus A Miczek
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Bacon Hall, 530 Boston Ave, Medford, MA 02155, USA.
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Takahashi A, Miczek KA. Neurogenetics of aggressive behavior: studies in rodents. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2013; 17:3-44. [PMID: 24318936 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2013_263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 140] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Aggressive behavior is observed in many animal species, such as insects, fish, lizards, frogs, and most mammals including humans. This wide range of conservation underscores the importance of aggressive behavior in the animals' survival and fitness, and the likely heritability of this behavior. Although typical patterns of aggressive behavior differ between species, there are several concordances in the neurobiology of aggression among rodents, primates, and humans. Studies with rodent models may eventually help us to understand the neurogenetic architecture of aggression in humans. However, it is important to recognize the difference between the ecological and ethological significance of aggressive behavior (species-typical aggression) and maladaptive violence (escalated aggression) when applying the findings of aggression research using animal models to human or veterinary medicine. Well-studied rodent models for aggressive behavior in the laboratory setting include the mouse (Mus musculus), rat (Rattus norvegicus), hamster (Mesocricetus auratus), and prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster). The neural circuits of rodent aggression have been gradually elucidated by several techniques, e.g., immunohistochemistry of immediate-early gene (c-Fos) expression, intracranial drug microinjection, in vivo microdialysis, and optogenetics techniques. Also, evidence accumulated from the analysis of gene-knockout mice shows the involvement of several genes in aggression. Here, we review the brain circuits that have been implicated in aggression, such as the hypothalamus, prefrontal cortex (PFC), dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), nucleus accumbens (NAc), and olfactory system. We then discuss the roles of glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), excitatory and inhibitory amino acids in the brain, as well as their receptors, in controlling aggressive behavior, focusing mainly on recent findings. At the end of this chapter, we discuss how genes can be identified that underlie individual differences in aggression, using the so-called forward genetics approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aki Takahashi
- Mouse Genomics Resource Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics, (NIG), 1111 Yata, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan,
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Groothuis TGG, Trillmich F. Unfolding personalities: the importance of studying ontogeny. Dev Psychobiol 2012; 53:641-55. [PMID: 21866544 DOI: 10.1002/dev.20574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
We aim to stimulate an ontogenetic approach to personalities. We explain the importance of studying development for understanding proximate and ultimate aspects of personality and critically discuss, partly by perhaps provocative statements, our current lack of knowledge and potential approaches to the study of personality development. We first clarify some terminology and argue for a difference between behavioral profiles (BP; at the descriptive level) and personality (at the explanatory level). We then focus on the issue of temporal stability of personality, arguing that based on evolutionary theory, neurophysiological knowledge, and recent findings, personality is probably less stable than often thought. Next we consider the potential influence of genes, discussing gene by environment correlations and interactions and argue that developmental changes in the regulation of DNA expression are probably more relevant than individual differences in DNA sequence. We end by suggesting perspectives for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ton G G Groothuis
- Behavioural Biology, Centre of Behaviour and Neuroscience, University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 CC, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen NL, The Netherlands.
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The neural background of hyper-emotional aggression induced by post-weaning social isolation. Behav Brain Res 2012; 233:120-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2012.04.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2012] [Revised: 04/11/2012] [Accepted: 04/17/2012] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
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Kulikov A, Osipova D, Naumenko V, Terenina E, Mormède P, Popova N. A pharmacological evidence of positive association between mouse intermale aggression and brain serotonin metabolism. Behav Brain Res 2012; 233:113-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2012.04.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2012] [Revised: 04/13/2012] [Accepted: 04/20/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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36
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Mathot KJ, Wright J, Kempenaers B, Dingemanse NJ. Adaptive strategies for managing uncertainty may explain personality-related differences in behavioural plasticity. OIKOS 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0706.2012.20339.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 133] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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37
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Betini GS, Norris DR. The relationship between personality and plasticity in tree swallow aggression and the consequences for reproductive success. Anim Behav 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Coping personality type and environmental enrichment affect aggression at weaning in pigs. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2011.05.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Toth M, Mikics E, Tulogdi A, Aliczki M, Haller J. Post-weaning social isolation induces abnormal forms of aggression in conjunction with increased glucocorticoid and autonomic stress responses. Horm Behav 2011; 60:28-36. [PMID: 21316368 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2011.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2010] [Revised: 01/14/2011] [Accepted: 02/02/2011] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
We showed earlier that social isolation from weaning (a paradigm frequently used to model social neglect in children) induces abnormal forms of attack in rats, and assumed that these are associated with hyperarousal. To investigate this hypothesis, we deprived rats of social contacts from weaning and studied their behavior, glucocorticoid and autonomic stress responses in the resident-intruder paradigm at the age of 82 days. Social isolation resulted in abnormal attack patterns characterized by attacks on vulnerable targets, deficient social communication and increased defensive behaviors (defensive upright, flight, freezing). During aggressive encounters, socially deprived rats rapidly switched from one behavior to another, i.e. showed an increased number of behavioral transitions as compared to controls. We tentatively term this behavioral feature "behavioral fragmentation" and considered it a form of behavioral arousal. Basal levels of plasma corticosterone regularly assessed by radioimmunoassay between 27 and 78 days of age were not affected. In contrast, aggression-induced glucocorticoid responses were approximately doubled by socially isolation. Diurnal oscillations in heart rate assessed by in vivo biotelemetry were not affected by social isolation. In contrast, the aggression-induced increase in heart rate was higher in socially isolated than in socially housed rats. Thus, post-weaning social isolation induced abnormal forms of aggression that developed on the background of increased behavioral, endocrine and autonomic arousal. We suggest that this paradigm may be used to model aggression-related psychopathologies associated with hyperarousal, particularly those that are triggered by adverse rearing conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mate Toth
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Budapest, Hungary
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Pruitt JN, Demes KW, Dittrich-Reed DR. Temperature Mediates Shifts in Individual Aggressiveness, Activity Level, and Social Behavior in a Spider. Ethology 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2011.01877.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Stamps J, Groothuis TGG. The development of animal personality: relevance, concepts and perspectives. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2010; 85:301-25. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-185x.2009.00103.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 603] [Impact Index Per Article: 40.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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Natarajan D, Caramaschi D. Animal violence demystified. Front Behav Neurosci 2010; 4:9. [PMID: 20407576 PMCID: PMC2854525 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2010.00009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2009] [Accepted: 02/19/2010] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Violence has been observed in humans and animals alike, indicating its evolutionary/biological significance. However, violence in animals has often been confounded with functional forms of aggressive behavior. Currently, violence in animals is identified primarily as either a quantitative behavior (an escalated, pathological and abnormal form of aggression characterized primarily by short attack latencies, and prolonged and frequent harm-oriented conflict behaviors) or a qualitative one (characterized by attack bites aimed at vulnerable parts of the opponent's body and context independent attacks regardless of the environment or the sex and type of the opponent). Identification of an operational definition for violence thus not only helps in understanding its potential differences from adaptive forms of aggression but also in the selection of appropriate animal models for both. We address this issue theoretically by drawing parallels from research on aggression and appeasement in humans and other animals. We also provide empirical evidences for violence in mice selected for high aggression by comparing our findings with other currently available potentially violent rodent models. The following violence-specific features namely (1) Display of low levels of pre-escalatory/ritualistic behaviors. (2) Immediate and escalated offense durations with low withdrawal rates despite the opponent's submissive supine and crouching/defeat postures. (3) Context independent indiscriminate attacks aimed at familiar/unfamiliar females, anaesthetized males and opponents and in neutral environments. (4) Orientation of attack-bites toward vulnerable body parts of the opponent resulting in severe wounding. (5) Low prefrontal serotonin (5-HT) levels upon repeated aggression. (6) Low basal heart rates and hyporesponsive hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis were identified uniquely in the short attack latency (SAL) mice suggesting a qualitative difference between violence and adaptive aggression in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepa Natarajan
- Department of Behavioral Physiology, Biological Center, University of GroningenHaren, Netherlands
| | - Doretta Caramaschi
- Groupe de Recherche sur I'Inadaptation Psychosociale chez l'Enfant, Université de MontréalMontréal, QC, Canada
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Neumann ID, Veenema AH, Beiderbeck DI. Aggression and anxiety: social context and neurobiological links. Front Behav Neurosci 2010; 4:12. [PMID: 20407578 PMCID: PMC2854527 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2010.00012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2009] [Accepted: 03/07/2010] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Psychopathologies such as anxiety- and depression-related disorders are often characterized by impaired social behaviours including excessive aggression and violence. Excessive aggression and violence likely develop as a consequence of generally disturbed emotional regulation, such as abnormally high or low levels of anxiety. This suggests an overlap between brain circuitries and neurochemical systems regulating aggression and anxiety. In this review, we will discuss different forms of male aggression, rodent models of excessive aggression, and neurobiological mechanisms underlying male aggression in the context of anxiety. We will summarize our attempts to establish an animal model of high and abnormal aggression using rats selected for high (HAB) vs. low (LAB) anxiety-related behaviour. Briefly, male LAB rats and, to a lesser extent, male HAB rats show high and abnormal forms of aggression compared with non-selected (NAB) rats, making them a suitable animal model for studying excessive aggression in the context of extremes in innate anxiety. In addition, we will discuss differences in the activity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, brain arginine vasopressin, and the serotonin systems, among others, which contribute to the distinct behavioural phenotypes related to aggression and anxiety. Further investigation of the neurobiological systems in animals with distinct anxiety phenotypes might provide valuable information about the link between excessive aggression and disturbed emotional regulation, which is essential for understanding the social and emotional deficits that are characteristic of many human psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inga D Neumann
- Department of Behavioural and Molecular Neuroendocrinology, University of Regensburg Regensburg, Germany
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de Boer SF, Caramaschi D, Natarajan D, Koolhaas JM. The vicious cycle towards violence: focus on the negative feedback mechanisms of brain serotonin neurotransmission. Front Behav Neurosci 2009; 3:52. [PMID: 19949469 PMCID: PMC2784299 DOI: 10.3389/neuro.08.052.2009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2009] [Accepted: 11/04/2009] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Violence can be defined as a form of escalated aggressive behavior that is expressed out of context and out of inhibitory control, and apparently has lost its adaptive function in social communication. Little is known about the social and environmental factors as well as the underlying neurobiological mechanisms involved in the shift of normal adaptive aggression into violence. In an effort to model the harmful acts of aggression and violence in humans, we recently (re)developed an animal model that is focused on engendering uncontrolled forms of maladaptive aggressive behavior in laboratory-bred feral rats and mice. We show that certain (8-12%) constitutionally aggressive individuals gradually develop, over the course of repetitive exposures to victorious social conflicts, escalated (short-latency, high-frequency and ferocious attacks), persistent (lack of attack inhibition by defeat/submission signals and perseverance of the aggressive attack-biting bout), indiscriminating (attacking female and anesthetized male intruders) and injurious (enhanced vulnerable-body region attacks and inflicted wounding) forms of offensive aggression. Based on the neurobiological results obtained using this model, a revised view is presented on the key role of central serotonergic (auto)regulatory mechanisms in this transition of normal aggression into violence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sietse F de Boer
- Department of Behavioral Physiology, University of Groningen Haren, The Netherlands.
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47
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Natarajan D, de Boer SF, Koolhaas JM. Lack of differential serotonin biosynthesis capacity in genetically selected low and high aggressive mice. Physiol Behav 2009; 98:411-5. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2009.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2009] [Revised: 05/28/2009] [Accepted: 07/09/2009] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Dingemanse NJ, Kazem AJN, Réale D, Wright J. Behavioural reaction norms: animal personality meets individual plasticity. Trends Ecol Evol 2009; 25:81-9. [PMID: 19748700 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2009.07.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 952] [Impact Index Per Article: 59.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2009] [Revised: 07/20/2009] [Accepted: 07/22/2009] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies in the field of behavioural ecology have revealed intriguing variation in behaviour within single populations. Increasing evidence suggests that individual animals differ in their average level of behaviour displayed across a range of contexts (animal 'personality'), and in their responsiveness to environmental variation (plasticity), and that these phenomena can be considered complementary aspects of the individual phenotype. How should this complex variation be studied? Here, we outline how central ideas in behavioural ecology and quantitative genetics can be combined within a single framework based on the concept of 'behavioural reaction norms'. This integrative approach facilitates analysis of phenomena usually studied separately in terms of personality and plasticity, thereby enhancing understanding of their adaptive nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niels J Dingemanse
- Animal Ecology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies & Department of Behavioural Biology, Centre for Behaviour and Neurosciences, University of Groningen, PO Box 14, 9750 AA Haren, The Netherlands.
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Natarajan D, de Vries H, de Boer SF, Koolhaas JM. Violent phenotype in SAL mice is inflexible and fixed in adulthood. Aggress Behav 2009; 35:430-6. [PMID: 19533684 DOI: 10.1002/ab.20312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Violence was shown to be qualitatively different from functional hyper-aggression in mice selected for high aggression namely Short Attack Latency (SAL), Turku Aggressive (TA) and North Carolina (NC900) strains. This study aimed at investigating whether this adulthood violent phenotype as seen previously in the SAL mice is fixed and hence behaviorally inflexible right from day 1 of the experiment or consequential, i.e., subject to gradual change from functional aggression to violence. The functionally hyper-aggressive strains namely TA and NC900 strains served as controls for the study. Methodologically, behavioral (in)flexibility was studied using the overall sequential structure of agonistic behavior. In particular, intra-individual variations in the overall agonistic behavior as well as offensive, pre- and post-offensive behavior transitions, directly related to the resident-intruder interactions were investigated. The SAL mice showed the least intra-individual variation in their overall sequential agonistic structure as well as a fixed offense-oriented agonistic behavior of highest magnitude when compared with the other strains. Additionally, the pre- and post- offensive transitions were most salient in the functionally hyper-aggressive TA and NC900 strains, whereas virtually absent in the SAL mice. Thus, the violent behavior of the adult SAL mice is behaviorally inflexible or fixed, whereas the functionally hyper-aggressive behavior of the adult TA and NC900 mice is behaviorally flexible and constantly adaptive to the opponent behavior, over 3 days of repeated resident-intruder interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepa Natarajan
- Department of Behavior Physiology, Biologisch Centrum, 9751 NN, Haren, The Netherlands.
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Caramaschi D, de Boer SF, Koolhaas JM. Is hyper-aggressiveness associated with physiological hypoarousal? A comparative study on mouse lines selected for high and low aggressiveness. Physiol Behav 2008; 95:591-8. [PMID: 18817794 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2008.08.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2008] [Revised: 07/23/2008] [Accepted: 08/27/2008] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Aggressiveness is often considered a life-long, persistent personality trait and is therefore expected to have a consistent neurobiological basis. Recent meta-analyses on physiological correlates of aggression and violence suggest that certain aggression-related psychopathologies are associated with low functioning of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and autonomic nervous system (ANS). We tested this hypothesis in mice selected for high and low aggressiveness by measuring baseline plasma corticosterone levels and, via radiotelemetry, heart rate and core body temperature. The radiotelemetric recordings were made for 48 h under baseline undisturbed conditions and for 90 min after a handling stressor. Consistent with the hypoarousal hypothesis of violence, we found lower resting heart rates in two out of the three highly aggressive selection lines. In contrast, body temperature during the active phase, as another ANS-regulated physiological parameter, was higher in two out of three highly aggressive lines. The handling-induced tachycardiac and hyperthermic responses were similar across the six mouse lines except for the most docile and obese line, which showed a blunted reactivity. Besides significant differences between strains, no differences in plasma corticosterone levels were found between the high- and low-aggressive phenotypes. These results are discussed in relation to the different types of aggression (normal versus pathological) exhibited by the three highly aggressive lines. We conclude that while high trait-like aggressiveness is generally associated with a higher active phase core body temperature, only animals that express pathological forms of aggression are characterized by a low resting heart rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Doretta Caramaschi
- Department of Behavioral Physiology, University of Groningen, Haren, 9750 AA, The Netherlands.
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