Shively C A
Department of Comparative Medicine, Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157-1040, USA.
Biol Psychiatry. 1998 Nov 1;44(9):882-91. doi: 10.1016/s0006-3223(97)00437-x.
Social subordination in female cynomolgus monkeys is stressful and activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. In a previous experiment behavioral depression was observed in a subset of subordinates.
In the experiment reported here behavioral and physiological indicators of stress were evaluated in dominant and subordinate female cynomolgus monkeys, and brain dopaminergic activity was assessed, as reflected in the prolactin response to haloperidol, a dopamine2 (D2) receptor antagonist.
Subordinates were aggressed more, spent more time in fearful scanning of the social environment, spent less time as the recipients of the active affiliative behavior of being groomed, had more variable heart rates in response to a novel environment, and were hypercortisolemic compared to dominants. Prolactin responses to haloperidol challenge were lower in subordinates than dominants, an observation consistent with the hypothesis that subordinate females have decreased D2 receptor function.
These observations suggest that social subordination is stressful and may alter brain dopaminergic function in primates. The neurophysiological characteristics of social subordinates may contribute to their susceptibility to depression.
雌性食蟹猴的社会从属地位会带来压力，并激活下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺轴。在之前的一项实验中，观察到一部分从属食蟹猴出现了行为性抑郁。
在本报告的实验中，对处于优势地位和从属地位的雌性食蟹猴的应激行为和生理指标进行了评估，并评估了脑多巴胺能活性，这可通过催乳素对多巴胺2（D2）受体拮抗剂氟哌啶醇的反应来反映。
与优势猴相比，从属猴受到更多攻击，在对社会环境进行恐惧性扫视上花费更多时间，作为接受梳理这种积极亲和行为的对象所花费时间更少，对新环境的心率变化更大，且皮质醇水平更高。从属猴对氟哌啶醇激发的催乳素反应低于优势猴，这一观察结果与从属雌性食蟹猴D2受体功能降低的假说一致。
这些观察结果表明，社会从属地位会带来压力，并且可能改变灵长类动物的脑多巴胺能功能。社会从属者的神经生理特征可能导致其易患抑郁症。
