Division of Reproductive Sciences, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR 97006, United States.
Behav Brain Res. 2011 Nov 20;225(1):317-27. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2011.07.046. Epub 2011 Aug 3.
Symptoms of anxiety and depression often occur in young women after complete hysterectomy and in older women during menopause. There are many variables that are hard to control in human population studies, but that are absent to a large extent in stable nonhuman primate troops. However, macaques exhibit depressive and anxious behaviors in response to similar situations as humans such as isolation, stress, instability or aggression. Therefore, we hypothesized that examination of behavior in ovariectomized individuals in a stable macaque troop organized along matriarchal lineages and in which individuals have social support from extended family, would reveal effects that were due to the withdrawal of ovarian steroids without many of the confounds of human society. We also tested the hypothesis that ovariectomy would elicit and increase anxious behavior in a stressful situation such as brief exposure to single caging. Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) were ovariectomized (Ovx) or tubal-ligated (intact controls) at 3 years of age and allowed to mature for 3 years in a stable troop of approximately 300 individuals. Behaviors were recorded in the outdoor corral in the third year followed by individual temperament tests in single cages. There was no obvious difference in anxiety-related behaviors such as scratching between Ovx and tubal-ligated animals in the corral. Nonetheless, compared to tubal-ligated animals, Ovx animals exhibited a significant decrease in (1) positive social behavior, (2) initiating dominance behavior, (3) time receiving grooming, (4) locomoting, (5) mounting behavior, and in (6) consort behavior. However, Ovx females exhibited a significant increase in (1) consummatory behavior and (2) object play compared to tubal-ligated controls. In the individual temperament tests, Ovx individuals exhibited an increase in anxiety-related behaviors. There was no difference in adrenal weight/body weight suggesting that neither group was under chronic stress. These data indicate that ovarian hormones enable females to successfully navigate their social situation and may reduce anxiety in novel situations.
焦虑和抑郁症状在接受全子宫切除术的年轻女性和围绝经期的老年女性中经常出现。在人类人群研究中，有许多难以控制的变量，但在稳定的非人类灵长类动物群体中，这些变量在很大程度上是不存在的。然而，猕猴会对类似的情况表现出抑郁和焦虑行为，例如隔离、压力、不稳定或攻击。因此，我们假设，在一个按照母系血统组织的稳定猕猴群体中，对接受卵巢切除术的个体进行检查，这些个体可以从大家庭中获得社会支持，这种检查将揭示由于卵巢类固醇的撤出而产生的影响，而不会受到人类社会的许多干扰。我们还测试了这样一个假设，即卵巢切除术会在应激情况下（如短暂暴露于单笼中）引起并增加焦虑行为。3 岁时，对日本猕猴（Macaca fuscata）进行卵巢切除术（Ovx）或输卵管结扎术（未手术对照），并在一个约 300 只个体的稳定群体中成熟 3 年。在第三年，在户外围场中记录行为，然后在单笼中进行个体气质测试。在围场中，Ovx 和输卵管结扎动物之间在与焦虑相关的行为（如抓挠）方面没有明显差异。尽管如此，与输卵管结扎动物相比，Ovx 动物表现出（1）积极的社交行为、（2）发起支配行为、（3）接受梳理的时间、（4）运动、（5）交配行为和（6）交配行为的显著减少。然而，与输卵管结扎对照相比，Ovx 雌性表现出（1）摄取行为和（2）物体游戏的显著增加。在个体气质测试中，Ovx 个体表现出焦虑相关行为的增加。肾上腺重量/体重没有差异，这表明两组都没有慢性应激。这些数据表明，卵巢激素使雌性能够成功地驾驭其社交环境，并可能减轻新环境中的焦虑。
