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Linda P Spear - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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ethanol induced Social Facilitation in adolescent rats role of endogenous activity at mu opioid receptors
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 2009Co-Authors: Elena I Varlinskaya, Linda P SpearAbstract:Ethanol consumption is considerably elevated during adolescence. According to the 2007 Monitoring the Future National Survey, 8% of eighth graders, 19% of tenth graders, and 30% of twelfth graders were reported being drunk within the past 30 days, with approximately 11% of eighth graders, 22% of tenth graders, and 25% of high school seniors reported to show binge pattern of drinking (i.e., consumption of five or more drinks per occasion) in the last 2 weeks (Johnston et al., 2007). Given the importance of interactions with peers during adolescence (see Spear, 2000 for references and review), it is not surprising that human adolescents often drink with peers, with heavy drinkers, and problem drinkers expecting alcohol to make them more sociable and relaxed (Brown et al., 1987). Therefore, attractiveness of ethanol for human adolescents seems to be based, in part, on its ability to facilitate Social interactions (Beck and Treiman, 1996; Beck et al.,1993). Adolescence is a developmental transition during which an immature and dependent youth is gradually transformed into a mature and relatively independent adult. A similar developmental transition from immaturity toward maturity can be identified across different mammalian species. In humans, adolescence is commonly defined as the second decade of life (Petersen et al., 1996), with females generally maturing more rapidly than males (e.g., Buchanan et al., 1992). A conservative interval during which rats of both sexes and most breeding stock exhibit adolescent-typical neurobehavioral features is the range between postnatal day (P) 28 and P42 (Spear, 2000), with this age range being sometimes subdivided into three developmental phases, namely, early (around P28), mid (around P35), and late (around P42) adolescence (Adriani et al., 2002). Human adolescents and adolescents of other mammalian species demonstrate substantial commonalities in developmental history, age-typical behavioral predispositions, neural characteristics, and changing hormonal milieu (see Spear, 2007, for review). These across-species similarities provide sufficient face and construct validity to support elaboration of animal models of adolescence. The use of a model of adolescence in the rat has demonstrated that the propensity for elevated ethanol intake and ethanol-induced Social Facilitation is not restricted to human adolescents. Adolescent rats likewise demonstrated greater voluntary ethanol intake than their adult counterparts under various circumstances (Brunell and Spear, 2005; Doremus et al., 2005; Lancaster et al., 1996; Vetter et al., 2007; although see also Yoshimoto et al., 2002). Moreover, acute exposure to relatively low experimental doses of ethanol (0.5 to 0.75 g/kg) administered intraperioneally (i.p.) has been shown to facilitate Social interactions in adolescent rats tested under familiar, nonanxiogenic circumstances (Varlinskaya and Spear, 2002, 2006). These doses produce blood ethanol concentrations (BECs) from approximately 40 to 80 mg/dl—BECs that are within the moderate to heavy consumption range in humans (see Eckardt et al., 1998, for references and review). Ethanol-induced Social Facilitation is seen in both male and female adolescent rats and is predominantly characterized by an increase in play fighting—an adolescent-characteristic form of Social interactions in rats (Vanderschuren et al., 1997). This Social Facilitation is most pronounced early in adolescence and declines gradually across the adolescent period to be no longer evident in late adolescents and adults (Varlinskaya and Spear, 2002, 2006). Adolescents develop tolerance to the Social consequences of ethanol following repeated exposure, with ethanol-induced Social Facilitation emerging at higher ethanol doses in these tolerant animals (Varlinskaya and Spear, 2007). Although sex differences in ethanol consumption, pharmacokinetics, and some ethanol-induced effects have been reported for adult rats (Blanchard and Glick, 1995; Blanchard et al., 1993; Brasser and Spear, 2002; Cailhol and Mormede, 2001; Doremus et al, 2005; Lancaster et al., 1996; Silveri and Spear, 1999; Varlinskaya and Spear, 2004; Webb et al., 2002), in sufficiently powered experiments, we have not observed significant sex differences in responsiveness to ethanol-induced Social Facilitation among adolescent animals (Varlinskaya and Spear, 2002, 2006). Likewise, although sex differences in Social interactions with same sex peers have been reported in adult rats, as well as in some experiments with adolescent rats (Johnston and File, 1991; Pellis and Pellis, 1990; Pellis et al., 1997; Thor and Holloway, 1986), sex differences in baseline Social activity have not emerged in group-housed adolescents in our studies (Varlinskaya and Spear, 2008). Variations across studies in the incidence of sex differences in Social behavior may, in part, be strain-dependent. For instance, sex differences in play fighting have been observed in adolescent Long–Evans hooded but not Sprague–Dawley rats (Pellis et al., 1997). Given the reliable ethanol-induced Social Facilitation seen under our testing circumstances in adolescent animals regardless of sex (Varlinskaya and Spear, 2002, 2006), both male and female adolescent rats were used in the present study to explore the role of endogenous activity at opioid receptors in ethanol-induced Social Facilitation. Although multiple neurochemical brain systems have been implicated in the behavioral and reinforcing effects of ethanol (see Eckardt et al., 1998, for references and review), the current project focused on the role of endogenous opioid systems, as activation of μ-opioid receptors contributes to the positive reinforcing and stimulatory effects of ethanol. Ethanol has been shown to induce the release of endogenous ligands (including β-endorphin) for these receptors in the hypothalamus, nucleus accumbens, and ventral tegmental area (Boyadjieva and Sarkar, 1997; De Waele and Gianoulakis, 1993; De Waele et al., 1992; Olive et al., 2001; Rasmussen et al., 1998). The consequent interaction of these endogenous ligands with μ-opioid receptors located within the mesolimbic reward system is viewed as a central event underlying the euphoric, positively reinforcing effects of ethanol (Froehlich and Li, 1994; Gianoulakis, 1996; Herz, 1997; Oswald and Wand, 2004). Likewise, μ-opioid agonists (Beatty and Costello, 1982; Niesink and Van Ree, 1989; Vanderschuren et al., 1995) join ethanol, alpha-2 adrenoreceptor antagonists (Siviy and Baliko, 2000; Siviy et al., 1994), indirect cannabinoid agonists (Trezza and Vanderschuren, 2008a,b), and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists (Siviy et al., 1995) in being among the few pharmacological manipulations effective in precipitating play fighting in young adolescent animals. Together, such data support the hypothesis that the Facilitation of play fighting in adolescent animals may be mediated, in part, via ethanol-induced release of endogenous ligands for the μ-opioid receptor or ethanol-associated enhancement of sensitivity of μ-opioid receptors to their endogenous ligands. Therefore, the present study used an animal model of peer-directed Social behavior to investigate the possible roles of endogenous opioid systems in the Facilitation of Social interactions by low doses of ethanol during early adolescence. Specifically, Experiment 1 assessed the effects of a nonselective opioid antagonist naloxone on ethanol-induced Social Facilitation in rats challenged with 0.5 g/kg ethanol, whereas Experiment 2 examined whether naloxone-induced blockade of the stimulatory effects of ethanol on Social behavior reflected an overall shift in the dose–response curve for ethanol or pharmacokinetic factors. Finally, Experiment 3 investigated whether selective blockade of μ-opioid receptors was effective in attenuating ethanol-induced Social Facilitation during early adolescence.
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differences in the Social consequences of ethanol emerge during the course of adolescence in rats Social Facilitation Social inhibition and anxiolysis
Developmental Psychobiology, 2006Co-Authors: Elena I Varlinskaya, Linda P SpearAbstract:The present experiments explored Social consequences of ethanol during adolescence by examining dose-dependent ethanol-induced Social Facilitation and inhibition in a non-anxiogenic (familiar) environment, and ethanol-related anxiolysis in an anxiogenic (unfamiliar) environment in early (P28) and late (P42) adolescent rats. Pronounced age-related differences in the Social consequences of ethanol emerged during the course of adolescence, with early adolescents being uniquely sensitive to activating effects of low doses of ethanol when tested in the familiar context in terms of play fighting-an adolescent-characteristic form of Social interactions, but conversely less sensitive than late adolescents to ethanol-associated Social suppression when tested at higher ethanol doses in this context. Early adolescents were also less sensitive than late adolescents to the anxiolytic effects of ethanol revealed in the unfamiliar test situation, when indexed in terms of increases in Social investigation and the ethanol-induced transformation of Social avoidance into Social preference. Anti-anxiety properties of ethanol were found to be sex-dependent in older animals, with late adolescent females being more sensitive to ethanol anxiolysis than their male counterparts. Considerable ontogenetic differences in the Social consequences of ethanol are evident even within the adolescent period, with early adolescence being a time of particularly pronounced adolescent-typical sensitivities to ethanol.
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changes in sensitivity to ethanol induced Social Facilitation and Social inhibition from early to late adolescence
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2004Co-Authors: Elena I Varlinskaya, Linda P SpearAbstract:: Adolescent rats are more sensitive than adults to ethanol-induced Social Facilitation, but are less sensitive to the suppression of Social interactions seen at higher ethanol doses. Given recent findings that point to age differences in ethanol responsiveness, even within the adolescent period, the present study assessed acute effects of low to moderate doses of ethanol on Social behavior of early, mid- or late adolescent rats. Age-related changes in responsiveness to the effects of ethanol on Social behavior were apparent even within the adolescent period, with early adolescents being more sensitive to ethanol-induced Social Facilitation and less sensitive to ethanol-induced Social inhibition than mid- and late adolescents. Given that ethanol-induced Social Facilitation as well as a lower sensitivity to the adverse effects of ethanol may contribute to heavy drinking, this pattern of early adolescent responsiveness to ethanol's Social consequences may put them at higher risk for extensive alcohol use.
Elisabetta Visalberghi - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Social Facilitation of Eating Familiar Food in Tufted Capuchins (Cebus apella): Does it Involve Behavioral Coordination?
International Journal of Primatology, 2005Co-Authors: Amy T. Galloway, Elsa Addessi, Dorothy M. Fragaszy, Elisabetta VisalberghiAbstract:Social Facilitation of eating familiar foods might serve to synchronize eating activities within groups. We aimed to assess whether capuchins (Cebus apella) are prompted to eat when observing other conspecifics eating a familiar food. Subjects were 8 male captive-born tufted capuchins. One pair of capuchins acted as demonstrators for the other 6 observer subjects. In the Experimental condition, the demonstrator pair was given fresh chow in addition to having access to the leftover food and ate continuously. In the Control condition, the demonstrator pair had access to food leftover from the morning feed and ate very little. The initiation of feeding by the demonstrator pair prompted the initiation of feeding behavior in the observers, and the latter ate significantly more of their leftovers in the Experimental than in the Control condition. The tempo ofthe Social Facilitation of eating familiar foods in capuchins supportisomorphic coordination, a process that occurs when one individual’s activity focuses the attention of another individual to the same activity, thereby increasing behavioral similarity in a group.
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Social Facilitation of Eating Familiar Food in Tufted Capuchins 189
Cambridge University Press, 2003Co-Authors: Amy T. Galloway, Elsa Addessi, Dorothy M. Fragaszy, Elisabetta VisalberghiAbstract:Social Facilitation of eating familiar foods might serve to synchronize eating activities within groups. We aimed to assess whether capuchins (Cebus apella) are prompted to eat when observing other conspecifics eat-ing a familiar food. Subjects were 8 male captive-born tufted capuchins. One pair of capuchins acted as demonstrators for the other 6 observer subjects. In the Experimental condition, the demonstrator pair was given fresh chow in addition to having access to the leftover food and ate continuously. In the Control condition, the demonstrator pair had access to food leftover from the morning feed and ate very little. The initiation of feeding by the demon-strator pair prompted the initiation of feeding behavior in the observers, and the latter ate significantly more of their leftovers in the Experimental than in the Control condition. The tempo of the Social Facilitation of eating fa-miliar foods in capuchins support isomorphic coordination, a process that occurs when one individual’s activity focuses the attention of another in-dividual to the same activity, thereby increasing behavioral similarity in a group. KEY WORDS: capuchin monkey; Social Facilitation; feeding behavior
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Social Facilitation of eating novel food in tufted capuchin monkeys cebus apella input provided by group members and responses affected in the observer
Animal Cognition, 2001Co-Authors: Elsa Addessi, Elisabetta VisalberghiAbstract:Learning about food palatability from watching what conspecifics eat might be one of the advantages of group living. A previous study investigated whether group members’ presence or eating activity account for Social Facilitation of eating of foods never previously tasted. Capuchins encountered novel colored foods when (1) alone (Alone condition) or (2) with group members visible in the nearby cage (Group-present condition) or (3) with group members present and eating a familiar food that had not been colored (Group+food condition). Social Facilitation of eating occurred when group members were eating, despite the difference in color between the familiar food eaten by them and the novel food presented to the experimental subject. To clarify what subjects learnt from group members when Social Facilitation occurred, we further analyze here the data from the previous study. The number of visual exposures to the colored novel food (as a group member) correlated with increased consumption of that novel food when encountered later (as experimental subject). In contrast, the number of times that an individual fed on the familiar food (as a group member) did not decrease its consumption of novel food (as experimental subject). Therefore, capuchins (1) habituated to the colors of the novel foods, and (2) did not take into account that seeing group members eating a food does not provide information about the palatability of a differently colored food. Since Social Facilitation of eating occurs when foods do not match in color, at least in capuchins, Social Facilitation of eating should not be considered as a way of learning about a safe diet, but rather as a way of overcoming neophobia.
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seeing group members eating a familiar food enhances the acceptance of novel foods in capuchin monkeys
Animal Behaviour, 2000Co-Authors: Elisabetta Visalberghi, Elsa AddessiAbstract:In primates, Social context is one of the factors that increases the acceptance of novel foods. Previous experiments showed that tufted capuchins, Cebus apella, eat significantly more of novel foods when in the presence of group members eating the same novel foods. Several processes may have led to these results. The mere presence of group members may reduce the individual's stress of being alone, or its neophobic response and, consequently, may increase its food consumption. The individual may be influenced by what group members do, and local/stimulus enhancement and/or Social Facilitation may occur. To investigate the above processes, we assessed whether an individual capuchin monkey's consumption of novel foods is lower when (1) the individual is alone with nobody in the nearby cage than when (2) group members are present in the nearby cage with no food or when (3) they are present and eating a familiar food. We tested 15 subjects with three novel foods, each presented in one condition. In both Social conditions, the more group members there were by the food box the more the experimental subject ate. In addition, when group members were present and eating food, there was a significant increase in the acceptance of the three foods, regardless of what group members were eating. We argue that Social Facilitation of eating is a quicker way to overcome neophobia and only Social Facilitation of eating what the others are eating can be considered a safe way to learn about a safe diet.
Guillaume Isabel - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Social Facilitation of long lasting memory is mediated by co2 in drosophila
Current Biology, 2021Co-Authors: Aurelie Muria, Pierreyves Musso, Matthias Durrieu, Felipe Ramon Portugal, Brice Ronsin, Michael D Gordon, Raphael Jeanson, Guillaume IsabelAbstract:How Social interactions influence cognition is a fundamental question, yet rarely addressed at the neurobiological level. It is well established that the presence of conspecifics affects learning and memory performance, but the neural basis of this process has only recently begun to be investigated. In the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, the presence of other flies improves retrieval of a long-lasting olfactory memory. Here, we demonstrate that this is a composite memory composed of two distinct elements. One is an individual memory that depends on outputs from the α'β' Kenyon cells (KCs) of the mushroom bodies (MBs), the memory center in the insect brain. The other is a group memory requiring output from the αβ KCs, a distinct sub-part of the MBs. We show that Social Facilitation of memory increases with group size and is triggered by CO2 released by group members. Among the different known neurons carrying CO2 information in the brain, we establish that the bilateral ventral projection neuron (biVPN), which projects onto the MBs, is necessary for Social Facilitation. Moreover, we demonstrate that CO2-evoked memory engages a serotoninergic pathway involving the dorsal-paired medial (DPM) neurons, revealing a new role for this pair of serotonergic neurons. Overall, we identified both the sensorial cue and the neural circuit (biVPN>αβ>DPM>αβ) governing Social Facilitation of memory in flies. This study provides demonstration that being in a group recruits the expression of a cryptic memory and that variations in CO2 concentration can affect cognitive processes in insects.
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Social Facilitation of long lasting memory is mediated by co 2 in drosophila
Social Science Research Network, 2020Co-Authors: Aurelie Muria, Pierreyves Musso, Matthias Durrieu, Felipe Ramon Portugal, Brice Ronsin, Michael D Gordon, Raphael Jeanson, Guillaume IsabelAbstract:How Social interactions influences cognition is a fundamental question, yet rarely addressed at the neurobiological level. It is well established that the presence of conspecifics affects learning and memory performance, but the neural basis for the influence of the Social context has received little attention. In the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster, the presence of conspecifics improves retrieval of a long-lasting olfactory memory. Here, we demonstrate that this memory is composite and involves two independent neural pathways. One is based on the expression of individual memory and depends on the α’β’ lobes outputs of the Mushroom Bodies (MBs), the memory center in the insect brain. The other one relies on the expression of group memory and requires a distinct sub-part of the MBs, the αβ lobes outputs. We show that such Social Facilitation increases with group size and is triggered by the CO2 released by group members. Among the known neurons carrying CO2 information in the brain, we establish that the bilateral Ventral Projection Neuron (biVPN), which projects onto the MBs, is necessary for Social Facilitation. Moreover, we demonstrate that this CO2-dependent memory engages a serotoninergic pathway involving the Dorsal-Paired Median neurons (DPM), which reveals a new role for this pair of serotonergic neurons. Overall, we identify both the sensorial cue and the neural circuit (biVPN>αβ>DPM>αβ) governing Social Facilitation of memory. This study provides the first demonstration that being in a group recruits the expression of a cryptic memory and that variations in CO2 concentration can affect cognitive processes in insects.
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Social Facilitation of Long-Lasting Memory Retrieval in Drosophila
Current Biology - CB, 2009Co-Authors: M.-a. Chabaud, Guillaume Isabel, Laetitia Kaiser, T. PreatAbstract:Recent studies demonstrate that Social interactions can have a profound influence on Drosophila melanogaster behavior [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8] and cuticular pheromone patterns [8,9,10]. Olfactory memory performance has mostly been investigated in groups, and previous studies have reported that grouped flies do not interact with each other and behave in the same way as individual flies during short-term memory retrieval [11,12,13]. However, the influence of Social effects on the two known forms of Drosophila long-lasting associative memory, anesthesia-resistant memory (ARM) and long-term memory (LTM), has never been reported. We show here that ARM is displayed by individual flies but is Socially facilitated; flies trained for ARM interact within a group to improve their conditioned performance. In contrast, testing shows LTM improvement in individual flies rather than in a group. We show that the Social Facilitation of ARM during group testing is independent of the Social context of training and does not involve nonspecific aggregation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Social interactions facilitate ARM retrieval. We also show that Social interactions necessary for this Facilitation are specifically generated by trained flies: when single flies trained for ARM are mixed with groups of naive flies, they display poor retrieval, whereas mixing with groups trained either for ARM or LTM enhances performance.
Suzanne Higgs - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the Social Facilitation of eating why does the mere presence of others cause an increase in energy intake
Physiology & Behavior, 2021Co-Authors: Helen K Ruddock, Jeffrey M Brunstrom, Suzanne HiggsAbstract:Abstract There is strong evidence that people eat more when eating with friends and family, relative to when eating alone. This is known as the ‘Social Facilitation of eating’. In this review, we discuss several gaps in the current scientific understanding of this phenomenon, and in doing so, highlight important areas for future research. In particular, we discuss the need for research to establish the longer-term consequences of Social eating on energy balance and weight gain, and to examine whether people are aware of Social Facilitation effects on their own food intake. We also suggest that future research should aim to establish individual and contextual factors that moderate the Social Facilitation of eating (e.g. sex/gender), and it should clarify how eating Socially causes people to eat more. Finally, we propose a novel evolutionary framework in which we suggest that the Social Facilitation of eating reflects a behavioural strategy that optimises the evolutionary fitness of individuals who share a common food resource.
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a systematic review and meta analysis of the Social Facilitation of eating
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2019Co-Authors: Helen K Ruddock, Jeffrey M Brunstrom, Lenny R Vartanian, Suzanne HiggsAbstract:BACKGROUND Research suggests that people tend to eat more when eating with other people, compared with when they eat alone, and this is known as the Social Facilitation of eating. However, little is known about when and why this phenomenon occurs. OBJECTIVES This review aimed to quantify the evidence for Social Facilitation of eating and identify moderating factors and underlying mechanisms. METHODS We systematically reviewed studies that used experimental and nonexperimental approaches to examine food intake/food choice as a function of the number of co-eaters. The following databases were searched during April 2019: PsychInfo, Embase, Medline, and Social Sciences Citation Index. Studies that used naturalistic techniques were narratively synthesized, and meta-analyses were conducted to synthesize results from experimental studies. RESULTS We reviewed 42 studies. We found strong evidence that people select and eat more when eating with friends, compared with when they eat alone [Z = 5.32; P < 0.001; standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.76; 95% CI: 0.48, 1.03]. The meta-analysis revealed no evidence for Social Facilitation across studies that had examined food intake when participants ate alone or with strangers/acquaintances (Z = 1.32; P = 0.19; SMD = 0.21, 95% CI: -0.10, 0.51). There was some evidence that the Social Facilitation of eating is moderated by gender, weight status, and food type. However, this evidence was limited by a lack of experimental research examining the moderating effect of these factors on the Social Facilitation of eating among friends. In 2 studies, there was evidence that the effect of the Social context on eating may be partly mediated by longer meal durations and the perceived appropriateness of eating. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that eating with others increases food intake relative to eating alone, and this is moderated by the familiarity of co-eaters. The review identifies potential mechanisms for the Social Facilitation of eating and highlights the need for further research to establish mediating factors. Finally, we propose a new theoretical framework in which we suggest that the Social Facilitation of eating has evolved as an efficient evolutionary adaptation.
Elsa Addessi - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Social Facilitation of Eating Familiar Food in Tufted Capuchins (Cebus apella): Does it Involve Behavioral Coordination?
International Journal of Primatology, 2005Co-Authors: Amy T. Galloway, Elsa Addessi, Dorothy M. Fragaszy, Elisabetta VisalberghiAbstract:Social Facilitation of eating familiar foods might serve to synchronize eating activities within groups. We aimed to assess whether capuchins (Cebus apella) are prompted to eat when observing other conspecifics eating a familiar food. Subjects were 8 male captive-born tufted capuchins. One pair of capuchins acted as demonstrators for the other 6 observer subjects. In the Experimental condition, the demonstrator pair was given fresh chow in addition to having access to the leftover food and ate continuously. In the Control condition, the demonstrator pair had access to food leftover from the morning feed and ate very little. The initiation of feeding by the demonstrator pair prompted the initiation of feeding behavior in the observers, and the latter ate significantly more of their leftovers in the Experimental than in the Control condition. The tempo ofthe Social Facilitation of eating familiar foods in capuchins supportisomorphic coordination, a process that occurs when one individual’s activity focuses the attention of another individual to the same activity, thereby increasing behavioral similarity in a group.
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Social Facilitation of Eating Familiar Food in Tufted Capuchins 189
Cambridge University Press, 2003Co-Authors: Amy T. Galloway, Elsa Addessi, Dorothy M. Fragaszy, Elisabetta VisalberghiAbstract:Social Facilitation of eating familiar foods might serve to synchronize eating activities within groups. We aimed to assess whether capuchins (Cebus apella) are prompted to eat when observing other conspecifics eat-ing a familiar food. Subjects were 8 male captive-born tufted capuchins. One pair of capuchins acted as demonstrators for the other 6 observer subjects. In the Experimental condition, the demonstrator pair was given fresh chow in addition to having access to the leftover food and ate continuously. In the Control condition, the demonstrator pair had access to food leftover from the morning feed and ate very little. The initiation of feeding by the demon-strator pair prompted the initiation of feeding behavior in the observers, and the latter ate significantly more of their leftovers in the Experimental than in the Control condition. The tempo of the Social Facilitation of eating fa-miliar foods in capuchins support isomorphic coordination, a process that occurs when one individual’s activity focuses the attention of another in-dividual to the same activity, thereby increasing behavioral similarity in a group. KEY WORDS: capuchin monkey; Social Facilitation; feeding behavior
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Social Facilitation of eating novel food in tufted capuchin monkeys cebus apella input provided by group members and responses affected in the observer
Animal Cognition, 2001Co-Authors: Elsa Addessi, Elisabetta VisalberghiAbstract:Learning about food palatability from watching what conspecifics eat might be one of the advantages of group living. A previous study investigated whether group members’ presence or eating activity account for Social Facilitation of eating of foods never previously tasted. Capuchins encountered novel colored foods when (1) alone (Alone condition) or (2) with group members visible in the nearby cage (Group-present condition) or (3) with group members present and eating a familiar food that had not been colored (Group+food condition). Social Facilitation of eating occurred when group members were eating, despite the difference in color between the familiar food eaten by them and the novel food presented to the experimental subject. To clarify what subjects learnt from group members when Social Facilitation occurred, we further analyze here the data from the previous study. The number of visual exposures to the colored novel food (as a group member) correlated with increased consumption of that novel food when encountered later (as experimental subject). In contrast, the number of times that an individual fed on the familiar food (as a group member) did not decrease its consumption of novel food (as experimental subject). Therefore, capuchins (1) habituated to the colors of the novel foods, and (2) did not take into account that seeing group members eating a food does not provide information about the palatability of a differently colored food. Since Social Facilitation of eating occurs when foods do not match in color, at least in capuchins, Social Facilitation of eating should not be considered as a way of learning about a safe diet, but rather as a way of overcoming neophobia.
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seeing group members eating a familiar food enhances the acceptance of novel foods in capuchin monkeys
Animal Behaviour, 2000Co-Authors: Elisabetta Visalberghi, Elsa AddessiAbstract:In primates, Social context is one of the factors that increases the acceptance of novel foods. Previous experiments showed that tufted capuchins, Cebus apella, eat significantly more of novel foods when in the presence of group members eating the same novel foods. Several processes may have led to these results. The mere presence of group members may reduce the individual's stress of being alone, or its neophobic response and, consequently, may increase its food consumption. The individual may be influenced by what group members do, and local/stimulus enhancement and/or Social Facilitation may occur. To investigate the above processes, we assessed whether an individual capuchin monkey's consumption of novel foods is lower when (1) the individual is alone with nobody in the nearby cage than when (2) group members are present in the nearby cage with no food or when (3) they are present and eating a familiar food. We tested 15 subjects with three novel foods, each presented in one condition. In both Social conditions, the more group members there were by the food box the more the experimental subject ate. In addition, when group members were present and eating food, there was a significant increase in the acceptance of the three foods, regardless of what group members were eating. We argue that Social Facilitation of eating is a quicker way to overcome neophobia and only Social Facilitation of eating what the others are eating can be considered a safe way to learn about a safe diet.
