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At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

The influence of child-preferred activities on autistic children's social behavior.

One of the characteristics of autistic children is severe social avoidance behavior. We assessed whether the type of activity (child-preferred vs. activities that were arbitrarily determined by an adult) engaged in during an interaction was correlated with the amount of social avoidance behaviors these children exhibit. Results revealed a negative correlation between appropriate child-preferred activities and social avoidance behavior. Additional analyses revealed that (a) social avoidance behaviors could be manipulated within a reversal design, and would predictably decrease when the children were prompted to initiate appropriate child-preferred activities; and (b) these procedures could be used to teach children to initiate child-preferred activities in community settings, resulting in reductions in social avoidance responses even after the therapist's prompts were completely removed. These data suggest that the manipulation of task variables may influence the severe social unresponsiveness that is characteristic of autistic children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Emotion regulation and parenting in AD/HD and comparison boys: linkages with social behaviors and peer preference.

Children's emotion regulation strategies and parenting responses in a family task that elicited frustration are investigated by comparing core attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) symptomatology, emotional reactivity, and emotional regulation in the prediction of social behaviors and peer social preference. Participants were boys, ages 6-12 years, either with AD/HD (n = 45) or without problem behaviors (comparison; n = 34). A high-aggressive subgroup of AD/HD boys showed a significantly less constructive pattern of emotional coping than did both a low-aggressive AD/HD subgroup of boys and nondiagnosed comparison boys, who did not differ. With statistical control of core AD/HD symptomatology, noncompliance in a naturalistic summer camp was predicted by boys' overall emotion regulation and three specific strategies (emotional accommodation, problem solving, negative responses) during the parent-child interaction. Emotional accommodation and negative responses to the frustration task also marginally predicted social preference at the camp. These emotion regulation variables outperformed emotional reactivity in predicting such outcomes. Some emotion-related parenting behaviors were associated with child coping in the task. We discuss the relationship of emotion regulation to core AD/HD symptomatology and emotional reactivity, and the role of parents' behaviors in influencing children's emotional responses.

Affect↗
PubMed2007

Effects of two types and two genre of music on social behavior in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

Is music just noise, and thus potentially harmful to laboratory animals, or can it have a beneficial effect? Research addressing this question has generated mixed results, perhaps because of the different types and styles of music used across various studies. The purpose of this study was to test the effects of 2 different types (vocal versus instrumental) and 2 genres (classical vocal versus 'easy-listening' vocal) of music on social behavior in 31 female and 26 male chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Results indicated that instrumental music was more effective at increasing affiliative behavior in both male and female chimpanzees, whereas vocal music was more effective at decreasing agonistic behavior. A comparison of 2 genre of vocal music indicated that easy-listening (slower tempo) vocal music was more effective at decreasing agonistic behavior in male chimpanzees than classical (faster tempo) vocal music. Agonistic behavior in females remained low (<0.5%) throughout the study and was unaffected by music. These results indicate that, like humans, captive chimpanzees react differently to various types and genres of music. The reactions varied depending on both the sex of the subject and the type of social behavior examined. Management programs should consider both type and genre when implementing a musical enrichment program for nonhuman primates.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Peer assessment of the social behavior of accepted, rejected, and neglected children.

Positive and negative sociometric nominations were used with second and fifth-grade children to select 26 socially accepted, 32 rejected, and 28 neglected children. A total of 358 of their classmates evaluated these children by indicating whether each of 19 descriptions of social behavior was characteristic of each child. Rejected children were perceived by their peers as being more aggressive, disruptive, irritable, domineering , dishonest , and selfish than accepted and/or neglected children. Neglected children, in contrast, differed from accepted children only in being less likely to brag about physical prowess . While the low sociometric status of rejected children appears to be related to the negative impact of their behavior on peers, this does not appear to be the case for neglected children. Females were generally perceived as behaving more positively with peers, but no interactions were found between sex and sociometric status. In general, the test-retest reliability of peer evaluation items was higher for fifth- than for second-grade children, but significant grade by sociometric status interactions were found for only two items.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1978

The social behavior of elderly aphasic versus nonaphasic long-term patients.

A study was made of the social consequences of communicative disorders among 51 elderly hospitalized long-term patients. Independent variables used to account for variations in social behavior were: 1) the presence or absence of aphasia, an impairment resulting in varying degrees of loss of verbal recognition, comprehension and language production; 2) sex; and 3) the level of nursing-care needs as an indicator of overall physical independence. A rating scale for measuring "Social Involvement" was constructed. It involved four analytically-derived factors - Interpersonal Behavior, Familial and Social Contacts, Group Participation, and Extent of Social Contacts. Since a comparison of the 15 aphasic and 36 nonaphasic subjects on the basis of these four factors revealed no substantial main effect, it would seem that social isolation was not attributable to aphasia per se. Rather, a number of significant interactions indicated that differences in the levels of social involvement were attributable to the combined influences of sex, presence or absence of aphasia, and varying levels of physical independence. The relationship between social involvement and social isolation has implications for the overall management and rehibilitation of long-term patients.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Styles of male social behavior and their endocrine correlates among low-ranking baboons.

We have previously studied the relationship between social subordinance (by approach-avoidance criteria) and physiology among male olive baboons (Papio anubis) living freely in a national park in Africa. In stable hierarchies, subordinate individuals have elevated basal glucocorticoid concentrations and a blunted glucocorticoid response to stress, as well as a prompt suppression of testosterone concentrations during stress. These facets have been interpreted as reflecting the chronic stress of social subordinance. In the present report, we find these endocrine features do not mark all subordinate individuals. Instead, endocrine profiles differed among subordinate males as a function of particular stylistic traits of social behavior. A subset of subordinate males was identified who had significantly high rates of consortships, a behavior usually shown only by high-ranking males. Such behavior predicted the beginning transition to dominance, as these males were significantly more likely than other subordinates to have moved to the dominant half of the hierarchy over the subsequent 3 years. In keeping with this theme of emerging from subordinance, these individuals had also significantly larger glucocorticoid stress-responses, another feature typical of dominant males. However, these subordinate males also had significantly elevated basal glucocorticoid concentrations; it is suggested that this reflects the stressfulness of their overt and precocious strategy of reproductive competition. In support of this, subordinate males with high rates of covert "stolen copulations" did not show elevated basal glucocorticoid concentrations. A second subset of subordinate males were the most likely to initiate fights are to displace aggression onto a third party after losing a fight. these males had significantly or near-significantly elevated testosterone concentrations, compared to the remaining subordinate cohort. Moreover, these males had significantly lower basal glucocorticoid concentrations; this echoes an extensive literature showing that the availability of a displacement behavior (whether aggressive or otherwise) after a stressor decreases glucocorticoid secretion. In support of this interpretation suggesting that it was the initiation of these aggressive acts which attenuated glucocorticoid secretion, there was no association between glucocorticoid concentrations and participation (independent of initiation) in aggressive interactions. Thus, these findings suggest that variables other than rank alone may be associated with distinctive endocrine profiles, and that even in the face of a social stressor (such as subordinance), particular behavioral styles may attenuate the endocrine indices of stress.

Aggression↗
PubMed1992

Influence of day care experiences and demographic variables on social behavior in kindergarten.

Investigation of teacher ratings of kindergarten behavior indicated more negative scores for children who had attended day care. When demographic variables were included in the analysis, however, the relationship between day care and behavior was not significant. The need to consider children's ecological context in determining day care influence on developing social behavior is discussed.

Child↗
PubMed1987

The evolution of nonhuman primate social behavior.

A review of the recent literature concerning evolutionary mechanisms and possible genetic contributions to social behavior reveals a concentration on function rather than mechanism. Although functional consequences may influence future genetic changes in a population, they do not necessarily reflect evolutionary history. More important, genes cannot code for functions. Only when the anatomical structures and behavioral patterns of individuals are described can we study genetic contributions to social organization. Discussions of function in the abstract, without specification of mechanism, do not fall within the realm of scientific testing.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Effects of corticosterone on social behavior of male lizards.

Adrenal corticoid release is a major component of the stress response which can affect many body functions including behavior. The purpose of our studies was to examine the effects of corticosterone (B) on both the agonistic and courtship components of social behavior in male side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana). Of particular interest was the effect of B on plasma testosterone (T), a hormone known to influence aggression, and the importance of this action on the behavioral effects of B. Experiments included either castrated males, hormone (either B, T, or B + T)-implanted intact males, or sham males. Behavioral observations were recorded when these males were challenged with "immigrant" males; measurement of plasma steroids confirmed the efficacy of implants in elevating B and T. Castration, B implantation, and combined B and T implantation significantly reduced aggressive behavior to varying degrees, while T implants in intact animals had no effect. B implants significantly decreased plasma T levels (from 1.87 to 0.33 ng/ml), but this decrease was not essential for the inhibitory effect of B on aggression since B + T implantation also reduced aggression, even though plasma T was elevated above normal (67.6 ng/ml). In contrast, B implantation did not affect male courtship and copulatory behavior when males were presented with estrogenized females. These results suggest that the effect of B on social behavior is not through just a single route, that of decreasing plasma T, and that B can affect various intra- and intersexual behaviors differently.

Agonistic Behavior↗
PubMed1986

Management of maladaptive social behavior of a brain injured adult.

This study examined the effectiveness of an individualized behavior point system for reducing the frequency of surplus maladaptive social behaviors of a severely brain injured adult. Treatment, given during meal periods, was applied in a multiple baseline design across three behaviors: loud verbal outburst, interruptions, and nonsensical talk. Generalization of treatment effects was assessed in informal community restaurants. The results revealed that each of the target behaviors declined with the introduction of the point system, although loud verbal outbursts and interruptions were more responsive to treatment than nonsensical talk. Some evidence was found for skill generalizations to untrained settings.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Adult social behavioral effects of heavy adolescent marijuana use among African Americans.

The authors examined the effects of heavy adolescent marijuana use on employment, marriage, and family formation and tested both dropping out of high school and adult marijuana use as potential mediators of these associations among a community sample of African Americans followed longitudinally from age 6 to age 32-33. They used propensity score matching to reduce selection bias when estimating the effects of heavy adolescent marijuana use. Logistic regression results on the sample matched on sex, and early demographic and behavioral variables showed that adolescent marijuana use has adult social behavioral consequences: Use of marijuana 20 times or more during adolescence was associated with being unemployed and unmarried in young adulthood and having children outside of marriage for both males and females. Dropping out of high school and more frequent adult marijuana use seem to be important parts of the pathway from adolescent marijuana use to negative life outcomes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Puberty: a finishing school for male social behavior.

The classical view of steroid-dependent organization of brain and behavior holds that gonadal steroid hormones, acting during an early critical period of development, cause permanent structural changes in neural circuits that determine behavioral responses to hormones in adulthood. This classical view has been modified to incorporate evidence that organizational effects of steroids can occur outside of the established perinatal critical period and that multiple critical periods may exist during development. Experiments in this laboratory indicate that steroid-dependent organization of neural circuits underlying male social behaviors occurs during puberty. This work shows that adult-typical reproductive and flank marking behaviors cannot be activated by gonadal steroids in male Syrian hamsters prior to puberty, suggesting that developmentally timed processes during puberty render the nervous system responsive to activating effects of gonadal steroids in adulthood. Additional experiments demonstrate that the presence or absence of gonadal hormones during puberty is a major factor in the ability of steroids to activate reproductive and flank marking behavior in adult male hamsters and in androgen receptor expression within the neural circuit underlying these behaviors. Thus, gonadal hormones during puberty appear to exert long-lasting changes in neural circuits that are responsible for the programming of activational responses to steroids later in adulthood. A two-stage model for maturation of male social behaviors is proposed: a perinatal critical period for sexual differentiation of neural circuits, followed by the pubertal period, during which gonadal steroids further organize the circuits to enhance behavioral responsiveness to hormones in adulthood. Whether puberty is a critical period for the proposed second wave of steroid-dependent organization of behavioral circuits remains to be determined.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

The effect of prepubertal immunization against gonadotropin-releasing hormone on the development of sexual and social behavior of bulls.

To determine the effect of prepubertal immunization against GnRH on the development of sexual and social behavior of Friesian bulls, 90 calves were randomly assigned to five treatments: 1) I2, immunized against GnRH at 2 and boosted at 2.5, 4, and 7.5 mo of age, n = 2 x 10; 2) I4, immunized against GnRH at 4 and boosted at 4.5 and 7.5 mo of age, n = 2 x 10; 3) I7.5, immunized against GnRH at 7.5 and boosted at 8 mo of age n = 2 x 10; 4) S, steers castrated at 2 mo of age, n = 10; and 5) B, intact bulls, n = 2 x 10. Blood samples were collected initially every 2, then every 3 wk. Plasma was analyzed for anti-GnRH titers and plasma testosterone concentration. Sexual and agonistic behavior, male-male mounting, and damage to paddocks was assessed throughout the experiment. All immunized calves developed antibodies against GnRH (32.3 +/- 2.0% bound at a 1:10 plasma:PBS-BSA dilution, 14 d after first boost). Plasma testosterone concentrations were < 1 ng/mL for all immunized animals until 11 mo of age, when they increased to levels found in intact bulls at 14 mo of age. At slaughter, testes and seminal vesicle weights were 38.3 and 31.6% lighter, respectively, for all immunized treatments compared to B. There were no significant differences between I2, I4, and I7.5 in any of the sexual or agonistic behavior tests. Bulls scored higher than steers in all sexual behavior tests. Immunized bulls scored lower than bulls in sexual behavior tests from 10 to 17 mo of age. The proportion of immunized animals that serviced an estrous cow was lower than the proportion of intact bulls at 10, 12.5, 14, and 17 mo of age. Immunized animals scored lower than bulls in bull challenge tests at 8.5, 11.5, 13, 14.5, and 17 mo of age. Paddock damage by animals on the three immunization treatments was lower than that by bulls from 7 to 14.5 mo of age, as were leg were scores (an indicator of male-male mounting behavior) from 9 to 14 mo of age. There was no difference in sexual behavior between immunized bulls (I2, I4, and I7.5) and bulls while held in lairage pens for 16 h before slaughter, but all treatment groups scored higher than steers. There was a similar trend for agonistic behavior, although I4 bulls were no different from steers. Prepubertal immunization against GnRH at 2, 4, and 7.5 mo of age impaired testes function and affected the development of social and sexual behavior of young bulls.

Aging↗
PubMed2006

Abnormal social behaviors in young and adult rats neonatally infected with Borna disease virus.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been the focus of a great deal of research and clinical speculation. This intense interest relates to both the perplexing pathogenesis and devastating consequences of these disorders. One of the obstacles to understanding the pathogenesis of autism and to developing efficient treatment has been the paucity of animal models that could be used for hypotheses-driven mechanistic studies of abnormal brain and behavior development and for the pre-clinical testing novel pharmacological treatments. In this report, we briefly review our animal model of ASD based on neonatal Borna disease virus (BDV) infection and present new data about abnormal social interaction in adult BDV-infected rats. We found that neonatal BDV infection profoundly affected social behaviors in adult rats. Compared to the control rats, both 90- and 180-day-old infected rats spent less time in active social interaction and more time in following their partners. In the intruder-resident test, the BDV-infected resident rats exhibited less aggression towards the intruders and showed more the following-the-intruder behavior. The following-the-partner behavior may be an example of "stereotypic" activity due to BDV-induced abnormal social communication between rats. The previously published results and present findings indicate that neonatal BDV infection significantly altered the normal pattern of social interaction in rats. Co-localization of activated microglia and dying Purkinje cells in BDV-infected rats suggests that the BDV model could be used to study a pathogenic link of Purkinje cell dropout and neuroinflammation to abnormal social behaviors.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1996

Stability of interindividual differences in serotonin function and its relationship to severe aggression and competent social behavior in rhesus macaque females.

Few studies have investigated longitudinally interindividual stability of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) concentrations in adult nonhuman primates across time and between baseline and stressful conditions. Furthermore, whereas studies with male macaques consistently have reported a significant, negative correlation between CSF 5-HIAA and rates of spontaneous aggression, wounding, and severe aggression, very few studies have examined this relationship in adult female nonhuman primates. Even fewer studies have investigated correlations between CSF 5-HIAA and competent social behavior, such as social dominance, in female monkeys. In the present study, two social groups of adult rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were formed by placing 16 females (aged 42 to 180 months, mean age: 68 months) in one of two indoor-outdoor enclosures with one or two adult males. CSF norepinephrine (NE), monoamine metabolites, and behavioral data were collected systematically over a 24-week period. In week 5 of the study, one additional female, not familiar to any of the other subjects, was added to each social group. Thereafter the groups were left undisturbed, and data characterizing spontaneous aggressive wounding and severe wound injuries in the females were collected for an additional year. The results showed that both group introduction and the addition of a new subject into each group resulted in increased monoamine turnover in the animals within the social groups. Interindividual differences in CSF concentrations of each of the monoamine metabolites and NE were highly stable from the baseline period to the stress samplings, and between stress samplings. Females with low CSF 5-HIAA exhibited higher rates of spontaneous aggressive wounding, and they were more likely to be removed from their social groups for aggressive wounding and/or treatment of injuries. CSF NE concentrations also were negatively correlated with rates of spontaneous aggression. In contrast, competitive aggression, i.e. noninjurious aggression used to maintain social dominance ranking, was not correlated with CSF 5-HIAA or NE. Females with above average CSF 5-HIAA prior to and following group formation were more likely to attain and maintain a high social dominance ranking within their social group than females with below average CSF 5-HIAA. The present findings indicate that CNS monoamine functioning in adult female rhesus macaques is traitlike, showing a high degree of interindividual stability across time and setting. These findings also suggest a role for serotonin in controlling impulses that regulate aggression and that competent social behavior among nonhuman primates may require average or above average serotonin functioning.

Aggression↗
PubMed1988

Effects of daily activities and social behavior on blood-pressure elevation.

This study examined the effects of daily activities and social behavior on the blood-pressure elevation in 21 normotensives, 20 borderline hypertensives, and 20 sustained essential hypertensives. Blood pressures were recorded over a 24-hr period using an ambulatory monitor while subjects recorded their daily activities and social involvement at each cuff inflation. Results indicated that only a moderate proportion of the blood pressure readings of the two clinical groups exceeded 140/90 mm Hg. Results also suggested that the blood pressures of normotensives were more responsive to changes in physical activity, while the blood pressures of sustained hypertensives were more responsive to social involvement. When group differences emerged on mean blood-pressure elevation, analyses indicated that the two hypertensive groups frequently differed from the normotensive group but rarely from each other. The results suggest that differences in blood-pressure elevation cannot be fully understood without considering behavior and support its continued inclusion in the study of blood pressure.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2006

Social behavior of the yeast protein-protein interaction network.

Protein-protein interaction networks are useful in contextual annotation of protein function and in general to achieve a system-level understanding of cellular behavior. This work reports on the social behavior of the yeast protein-protein interaction network and concludes that it is non-random. This work, while providing an analysis of organization of genes into functional societies, can potentially be useful in assessing the accuracy of contextual gene annotation based on such interaction networks.

Computational Biology↗