The relationship between personality, season, and wounding receipt in zoo-housed Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata): A multi-institutional study
It is important to those managing Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) in captive settings to understand predictors of wounding. While studies have demonstrated that season (breeding or nonbreeding) and sex predict rates of wounding received by zoo-housed Japanese macaques, we investigated whether individual differences in personality ratings also might explain some of the observed interindividual variance […]
Vocal buffering of the stress response: exposure to conspecific vocalizations moderates urinary cortisol excretion in isolated marmosets
For many species, the presence of a significant social partner can lessen the behavioral and physiological responses to stressful stimuli. This study examined whether a single, individually specific, signature vocalization (phee call) could attenuate the physiological stress response that is induced in marmosets by housing them in short-term social isolation. Utilizing a repeated-measures design, adult […]
Social buffering of the cortisol response of adult female guinea pigs
When housed in spacious, mixed age/sex colonies, male guinea pigs form small harems of females with which attachment-like social bonds are established. A previous study indicated that the bonded male, but not an unfamiliar male from the same colony, could reduce the plasma cortisol response of a female when exposed to a novel environment. We […]
Is Full Physical Contact Necessary for Buffering Effects of Pair Housing on Social Stress in Rats?
Our previous study showed that pair housing with a familiar male prevented an increase in anxiety caused by social defeat in male rats. The present study attempted to identify the aspects of social interactions with a familiar male that are needed for the emergence of such a pair-housing effect. In Experiment 1, the subject was […]
Social buffering in a bird
The presence of a conspecific can ameliorate an individual’s stress response. This social buffering is known to be widespread in social mammals but the capacity of birds to act as social buffers has not yet been determined. We previously demonstrated that domestic hens, Gallus gallus domesticus, show socially mediated arousal when watching their chicks receiving […]
Social buffering ameliorates conditioned fear responses in female rats
The stress experienced by an animal is ameliorated when the animal is exposed to distressing stimuli along with a conspecific animal(s). This is known as social buffering. Previously, we found that the presence of an unfamiliar male rat induced social buffering and ameliorated conditioned fear responses of a male rat subjected to an auditory conditioned […]
Social buffering enhances extinction of conditioned fear responses in male rats
In social species, the phenomenon in which the presence of conspecific animals mitigates stress responses is called social buffering. We previously reported that social buffering in male rats ameliorated behavioral fear responses, as well as hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation, elicited by an auditory conditioned stimulus (CS). However, after social buffering, it is not clear whether rats […]
Social Support Modulates Stress-Related Gene Expression in Various Brain Regions of Piglets
The presence of an affiliative conspecific may alleviate an individual’s stress response in threatening conditions. However, the mechanisms and neural circuitry underlying the process of social buffering have not yet been elucidated. Using the domestic pig as an animal model, we examined the effect of a 4-h maternal and littermate deprivation on stress hormones and […]