Stable Social Conditions Research Articles

Intrafemale agonistic interactions in the domestic rabbit (oryctolagus cuniculus L.)

Agonistic interactions between adult domestic rabbit females were observed. Females were housed in groups of four in outdoor enclosures measuring 4 × 4 m. Agonistic patterns included aggression (AG), flight (FL), and submission (SB). Observations focused on 1) initial interactions between unfamiliar females, concomitant with the formation and establishment of a social structure (Phase 1); and 2) interactions between familiar females organized in a stable social structure (Phase 2). AG was frequent between unfamiliar females and appeared related to the acquisition of social dominance. When social organization was settled, there was a dramatic reduction in the number and frequency of aggressive behaviors. Similarly, FL was more frequent when females were unfamiliar, but it did not appear to be merely a response to AG. The decreased frequency of both AG and FL in Phase 2 was paralleled by an increased frequency of SB with respect to FL. Under stable social conditions, subordinate females frequently signalled submission to dominant counterparts. In contrast, the latter did not signal their social status with any consistent behavioral pattern. It follows that SB was not necessarily induced as the appropriate response to aggression given by dominant females. Thus, SB appeared relevant in social communication especially in structured groups, where it conveyed information on the actor's subordination and possibly inhibited the receiver's aggression. A further possibility is that it has an autonomous rather than secondary role in the maintenance of stable dominance/subordination relationships.

Tubal sterilization. A prospective long term investigation of 218 sterilized women.

The present study is a long-term investigation of 218 consecutively sterilized women in Akershus County, Norway. The operations were performed in 1973-74, when the access to sterilization was regulated by a legislation from 1934. The women were interviewed personally, and a clinical examination was performed before sterilization, at discharge from hospital, three months, one and six years later. At each occasion the participation was about 95%, and only one woman was lost to follow-up. The women in this series lived in stable social conditions, their average age was 33.7, their parity 2.8. They were not socially distinguishable from women of the same age in the county at large, but there were important socially and age related differences within the series. Their contraceptive usage was widespread, but inconsistent. Family planning was the all-dominant motive. Forty per cent of the women had been suggested the sterilization by a doctor, 30% at abortion application. The operations were performed as laparoscopic electrocoagulation of the tubes or as a Pomeroy resection. Five pregnancies were recognized in the study period, four of these in the laparoscopy group. There were few serious complications, but 20% had a diversity of complaints at the three month interview. At six years seven women had complaints attributed to the operation. The large majority of the series was satisfied with the sterilization. Almost half the women would have preferred an even earlier operation, and six years after the sterilization 85% of the women had told friends about it, and 71% of these had directly recommended sterilization to someone. Six years after the sterilization 74% said the operation should be more widespread, 69% believed postoperative regret was uncommon, and the impact on postoperative marital life was mainly positive. However, during the study period, 18% of the women had experienced regret, ambivalence or periodic depression because of their sterilization. The rate of, and reasons for regret varied with time. The rate increased; at six years 6% of the women would have preferred the sterilization undone, and in 10% of the couples at least one of the partners held that view. At one year, the primary reason for regret was a feeling of having been persuaded by the doctor at abortion application. Six years after the sterilization the desire for a child with a new spouse was the principle reason. There was no association between regret and age or parity at operation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Social status, environment, and atherosclerosis in cynomolgus monkeys.

The purpose of this experiment was to examine the effects of social environment and social status on coronary artery and aortic atherosclerosis in adult male cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis). Thirty experimental animals were assigned to six groups of five members each, and all animals were fed a moderately atherogenic diet (43% of calories as fat, 0.34 mg cholesterol/Cal) for 22 months. Group memberships were changed periodically among 15 monkeys (unstable social condition) and remained fixed throughout the experiment in the remaining animals (stable social condition). Within each condition, individual monkeys were classified as either dominant or subordinate animals, based on dyadic patterns of aggression and submission. At necropsy, the coronary arteries were subjected to pressure fixation and five sections each were taken from the left anterior descending, left circumflex, and right coronary arteries. The mean intimal area measurement, based on all arterial sections, served as a coronary index for each animal. Results indicated that dominant animals in the unstable condition had significantly greater coronary artery atherosclerosis than dominant monkeys housed in stable social groups. Coronary artery atherosclerosis in the unstable dominants was also greater than among similarly housed (i.e., unstable) subordinates. A similar pattern was observed in the abdominal aorta, but was not statistically significant. No significant differences or similar patterns were seen in the thoracic aorta. Additional analyses revealed that the coronary artery effects were not due to concomitant differences in total serum cholesterol or high density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations, blood pressures, ponderosity, or fasting glucose concentrations among the experimental animals. Behaviorally, manipulation of group memberships intensified agonistic encounters and disrupted patterns of affiliative interaction between dominant and subordinate monkeys. Overall, these results suggest that social dominance (an individual behavioral characteristic) is associated with increased coronary artery atherosclerosis, but only under social conditions that provide recurrent threats to the status of dominant animals (i.e., under behavioral challenge).

Energetics of mice in stable and unstable social conditions: Evidence of an air-borne factor affecting metabolism

The metabolic rates of laboratory mice were compared in three conditions: isolated mice, mice paired together over six days (stable groups), and mice paired with strange partners daily (unstable groups). Stable pairs had 15% lower metabolic rates than either isolated or unstable pairs. In other experiments when two mice were placed in separate metabolic chambers and connected together via an air flow, the metabolic rate of the recipient in the series was 35% lower than the donor. The data suggest that a ‘factor’ produced by the donor mouse was passed via the air supply into the recipient's chamber.

Stress response in chronic hypercapnia.

ARTICLESStress response in chronic hypercapniaKE Schaefer, N McCabe, and J WithersKE Schaefer, N McCabe, and J WithersPublished Online:01 Mar 1968https://doi.org/10.1152/ajplegacy.1968.214.3.543MoreSectionsPDF (1 MB)Download PDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesGet permissionsTrack citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInWeChat Previous Back to Top Next Download PDF FiguresReferencesRelatedInformation Cited ByHypercapnia Regulates Gene Expression and Tissue Function20 November 2020 | Frontiers in Physiology, Vol. 11Dodecandisäure [MAK Value Documentation in German language, 2008]31 January 2012Toxicity of Carbon Dioxide: A Review19 July 2011 | Chemical Research in Toxicology, Vol. 24, No. 12Regulation of gene expression by carbon dioxide18 February 2011 | The Journal of Physiology, Vol. 589, No. 4Environmental Stress, Erythrocyte Dysfunctions, Inflammation, and the Metabolic Syndrome: Adaptations to CO 2 Increases?Journal of the CardioMetabolic Syndrome, Vol. 3, No. 1Long-term effects of the perinatal environment on respiratory controlRyan W. Bavis, and Gordon S. Mitchell1 April 2008 | Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol. 104, No. 4Gas Exchange in Acid‐Base Disturbances1 January 2011Carbon Dioxide NarcosisRegulation of blood acid base status in guinea pigs exposed to hypercapniaComparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology, Vol. 75, No. 1Energetics of mice in stable and unstable social conditions: Evidence of an air-borne factor affecting metabolismAnimal Behaviour, Vol. 28, No. 1Blood-gas properties and function in the fossorial mole rat under normal and hypoxic-hypercapnic atmospheric conditionsRespiration Physiology, Vol. 30, No. 1-2Metabolic Responses of a Fossorial Rodent (Spalax ehrenbergi) to Simulated Burrow ConditionsPhysiological Zoology, Vol. 50, No. 1Metabolic Aspects of Adaptation to Carbon DioxideVariations d’Activité de la Cortico surrénale et de l’Appareil hypothalamo-hypophysaire chez le Rat maintenu en Hypercapnie de longue DuréeBeiträge zur Pathologie, Vol. 149, No. 4The effects of chronic hypercapnia on blood phosphofructokinase activity and the adenine nucleotide systemRespiration Physiology, Vol. 16, No. 2Methemoglobin formation and red cell metabolism in guinea pigs during chronic hypercapniaRespiration Physiology, Vol. 13, No. 3RATE OF ACCLIMATIZATION TO CHRONIC HYPERCAPNIA IN MANCOMPARISON OF PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES OF NORMAL MAN TO EXERCISE IN AIR AND IN ACUTE AND CHRONIC HYPERCAPNIADisplacement of oxygen dissociation curves and red cell cation exchange in chronic hypercapniaRespiration Physiology, Vol. 10, No. 3 More from this issue > Volume 214Issue 3March 1968Pages 543-548 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 1968 by American Physiological Societyhttps://doi.org/10.1152/ajplegacy.1968.214.3.543PubMed5638987History Published online 1 March 1968 Published in print 1 March 1968 Metrics