Abstract
Primates form strong social bonds and depend on social relationships and networks that provide shared resources and protection critical for survival. Social deficits such as those present in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other psychiatric disorders hinder the individual’s functioning in communities. Given that early diagnosis and intervention can improve outcomes and trajectories of ASD, there is a great need for tools to identify early markers for screening/diagnosis, and for translational animal models to uncover biological mechanisms and develop treatments. One of the most widely used screening tools for ASD in children is the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), a quantitative measure used to identify individuals with atypical social behaviors. The SRS has been adapted for use in adult rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)–a species very close to humans in terms of social behavior, brain anatomy/connectivity and development–but has not yet been validated or adapted for a necessary downward extension to younger ages matching those for ASD diagnosis in children. The goal of the present study was to adapt and validate the adult macaque SRS (mSRS) in juvenile macaques with age equivalent to mid-childhood in humans. Expert primate coders modified the mSRS to adapt it to rate atypical social behaviors in juvenile macaques living in complex social groups at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. Construct and face validity of this juvenile mSRS (jmSRS) was determined based on well-established and operationalized measures of social and non-social behaviors in this species using traditional behavioral observations. We found that the jmSRS identifies variability in social responsiveness of juvenile rhesus monkeys and shows strong construct/predictive validity, as well as sensitivity to detect atypical social behaviors in young male and female macaques across social status. Thus, the jmSRS provides a promising tool for translational research on macaque models of children social disorders.
Highlights
Primates, both humans and nonhuman species, depend on social relationships that provide shared resources and protection critical for survival of the individual and the group
The goal of this study was to adapt and validate the adult macaque SRS (mSRS) to assess social and non-social behaviors in 16–18 months old juvenile macaques of equivalent ages to human mid-childhood. We termed this downward extension of the instrument the “juvenile mSRS (jmSRS)”, composed of 14 items that measure global dimensions of typical and atypical social behaviors, as well as stereotypic and odd behaviors of relevance to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in juveniles
The Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) analysis identified 4 jmSRS factors with high levels of internal consistency/reliability and items with high factor loadings along the constructs identified in the human Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) as relevant to ASD: jmSRS #1) impairments in social interactions/play; #2) atypical/awkward social communication/responses; #3) impaired motor coordination and staring off into space; #4) stereotypic/repetitive and odd behaviors
Summary
Both humans and nonhuman species, depend on social relationships that provide shared resources and protection critical for survival of the individual and the group. Social deficits present in neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and ADHD, and other psychiatric disorders (e.g. social anxiety, schizophrenia), can severely hinder the individual’s ability to function in a community. The prevalence of ASD, in particular, is estimated at 1 in 59 children in the USA [2]. It is defined by impairments in social communication and interactions, repetitive/stereotypic patterns of behavior and restricted interests [3]. Children with ASD are at high risk for anxiety disorders [4, 5] with an estimated co-frequency of ~40%, compared to ~6.5% in the general population [4]. Diagnosis and intervention is critical, given their positive effects in changing the trajectory of the disorder and improving outcomes [8, 9]
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