Meta-Analysis of Public RNA Sequencing Data Revealed Potential Key Genes Associated with Reproductive Division of Labor in Social Hymenoptera and Termites.

Eusociality in insects has evolved independently many times. One of the most notable characteristics of eusociality is the reproductive division of labor. In social insects, the reproductive division of labor is accomplished by queens and workers. Transcriptome analyses of queens and workers have been conducted for various eusocial species. However, the genes that regulate the reproductive division of labor across all or multiple eusocial species have not yet been fully elucidated. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis using publicly available RNA-sequencing data from four major groups of social insects. In this meta-analysis, we collected 258 pairs (queen vs. worker) of RNA-sequencing data from 34 eusocial species. The meta-analysis identified a total of 20 genes that were differentially expressed in queens or workers. Out of these, 12 genes have not previously been reported to be involved in the reproductive division of labor. Functional annotation of these 20 genes in other organisms revealed that they could be regulators of behaviors and physiological states related to the reproductive division of labor. These 20 genes, revealed using massive datasets of numerous eusocial insects, may be key regulators of the reproductive division of labor.

AI for identifying social norm violation.

Identifying social norms and their violation is a challenge facing several projects in computational science. This paper presents a novel approach to identifying social norm violations. We used GPT-3, zero-shot classification, and automatic rule discovery to develop simple predictive models grounded in psychological knowledge. Tested on two massive datasets, the models present significant predictive performance and show that even complex social situations can be functionally analyzed through modern computational tools.

Sedentary behaviour profiles and longitudinal associations with academic performance in youth: The UP&DOWN study.

The current study evaluated longitudinal associations between profile transitions of context-specific sedentary behaviour (SB) and changes in academic performance (AP) among school-aged youth. Participants were 466 children and 717 adolescents (50.8% males) aged 8-18 years (children = 7.92 ± 0.41 years; adolescents = 11.85 ± 1.53 years). Non-school SBs and AP were evaluated at baseline and two years later. General linear mixed models were implemented, controlling for age, region, parental education, body mass index, and cardiorespiratory fitness. Cross-sectionally, participants with an Educative-profile (i.e., highest scores in doing homework with/without computer and reading for fun) had higher AP when compared to other profiles. Longitudinally, males who changed from a Screen- to an Educative-profile had higher AP than males who changed from an Educative- to a Social- or Screen-SB profile (p < 0.01). No significant differences were found in females. These findings show the importance of analysing SB patterns from a qualitative perspective (i.e., context-specific for boosting school children AP) and highlighting time spent in educative as the most positive for AP, as well the need to implement interventions to reduce time on screen and social behaviours, especially targeting males.

Glutamatergic cerebellar neurons differentially contribute to the acquisition of motor and social behaviors.

Insults to the developing cerebellum can cause motor, language, and social deficits. Here, we investigate whether developmental insults to different cerebellar neurons constrain the ability to acquire cerebellar-dependent behaviors. We perturb cerebellar cortical or nuclei neuron function by eliminating glutamatergic neurotransmission during development, and then we measure motor and social behaviors in early postnatal and adult mice. Altering cortical and nuclei neurons impacts postnatal motor control and social vocalizations. Normalizing neurotransmission in cortical neurons but not nuclei neurons restores social behaviors while the motor deficits remain impaired in adults. In contrast, manipulating only a subset of nuclei neurons leaves social behaviors intact but leads to early motor deficits that are restored by adulthood. Our data uncover that glutamatergic neurotransmission from cerebellar cortical and nuclei neurons differentially control the acquisition of motor and social behaviors, and that the brain can compensate for some but not all perturbations to the developing cerebellum.

Social Prescription Interventions Addressing Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: Meta-Review Integrating On-the-Ground Resources.

BACKGROUND: Social prescription programs represent a viable solution to linking primary care patients to nonmedical community resources for improving patient well-being. However, their success depends on the integration of patient needs with local resources. This integration could be accelerated by digital tools that use expressive ontology to organize knowledge resources, thus enabling the seamless navigation of diverse community interventions and services tailored to the needs of individual users. This infrastructure bears particular relevance for older adults, who experience a range of social needs that impact their health, including social isolation and loneliness. An essential first step in enabling knowledge mobilization and the successful implementation of social prescription initiatives to meet the social needs of older adults is to incorporate the evidence-based academic literature on what works, with on-the-ground solutions in the community. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to integrate scientific evidence with on-the-ground knowledge to build a comprehensive list of intervention terms and keywords related to reducing social isolation and loneliness in older adults. METHODS: A meta-review was conducted using a search strategy combining terms related to older adult population, social isolation and loneliness, and study types relevant to reviews using 5 databases. Review extraction included intervention characteristics, outcomes (social [eg, loneliness, social isolation, and social support] or mental health [eg, psychological well-being, depression, and anxiety]), and effectiveness (reported as consistent, mixed, or not supported). Terms related to identified intervention types were extracted from the reviewed literature as well as descriptions of corresponding community services in Montréal, Canada, available from web-based regional, municipal, and community data sources. RESULTS: The meta-review identified 11 intervention types addressing social isolation and loneliness in older adults by either increasing social interactions, providing instrumental support, promoting mental and physical well-being, or providing home and community care. Group-based social activities, support groups with educational elements, recreational activities, and training or use of information and communication technologies were the most effective in improving outcomes. Examples of most intervention types were found in community data sources. Terms derived from the literature that were the most commonly congruent with those describing existing community services were related to telehealth, recreational activities, and psychological therapy. However, several discrepancies were observed between review-based terms and those addressing the available services. CONCLUSIONS: A range of interventions found to be effective at addressing social isolation and loneliness or their impact on mental health were identified from the literature, and many of these interventions were represented in services available to older residents in Montréal, Canada. However, different terms were occasionally used to describe or categorize similar services across data sources. Establishing an efficient means of identifying and structuring such sources is important to facilitate referrals and help-seeking behaviors of older adults and for strategic planning of resources.

Lifetime inclusive fitness effects of cooperative polygamy in the acorn woodpecker.

Although over 50 y have passed since W. D. Hamilton articulated kin selection and inclusive fitness as evolutionary explanations for altruistic behavior, quantifying inclusive fitness continues to be challenging. Here, using 30 y of data and two alternative methods, we outline an approach to measure lifetime inclusive fitness effects of cooperative polygamy (mate-sharing or cobreeding) in the cooperatively breeding acorn woodpecker Melanerpes formicivorus. For both sexes, the number of offspring (observed direct fitness) declined while the number of young parented by related cobreeders (observed indirect fitness effect) increased with cobreeding coalition size. Combining these two factors, the observed inclusive fitness effect of cobreeding was greater than breeding singly for males, while the pattern for females depended on whether fitness was age-weighted, as females breeding singly accrued greater fitness at younger ages than cobreeding females. Accounting for the fitness birds would have obtained by breeding singly, however, lifetime inclusive fitness effects declined with coalition size for males, but were greater for females breeding as duos compared to breeding singly, due largely to indirect fitness effects of kin. Our analyses provide a road map for, and demonstrate the importance of, quantifying indirect fitness as a powerful evolutionary force contributing to the costs and benefits of social behaviors.

Vulture culture: dietary specialization of an obligate scavenger.

Individual dietary variation has important ecological and evolutionary consequences. However, it has been overlooked in many taxa that are thought to have homogeneous diets. This is the case of vultures, considered merely as 'carrion eaters'. Given their high degree of sociality, vultures are an excellent model to investigate how inter-individual transmissible behaviours drive individual dietary variation. Here, we combine GPS-tracking and accelerometers with an exhaustive fieldwork campaign to identify the individual diet of 55 griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) from two Spanish populations that partially overlap in their foraging areas. We found that individuals from the more humanized population consumed more anthropic resources (e.g. stabled livestock or rubbish), resulting in more homogeneous diets. By contrast, individuals from the wilder population consumed more wild ungulates, increasing their dietary variability. Between sexes, we found that males consumed anthropic resources more than females did. Interestingly, in the shared foraging area, vultures retained the dietary preference of their original population, highlighting a strong cultural component. Overall, these results expand the role of cultural traits in shaping key behaviours and call for the need of including cultural traits in Optimal Foraging models, especially in those species that strongly rely on social information while foraging.

Exposure to polystyrene particles causes anxiety-, depression-like behavior and abnormal social behavior in mice.

In the era of plastic use, organisms are constantly exposed to polystyrene particles (PS-Ps). PS-Ps accumulated in living organisms exert negative effects on the body, although studies evaluating their effects on brain development are scarce. In this study, the effects of PS-Ps on nervous system development were investigated using cultured primary cortical neurons and mice exposed to PS-Ps at different stages of brain development. The gene expression associated with brain development was downregulated in embryonic brains following PS-Ps exposure, and Gabra2 expression decreased in the embryonic and adult mice exposed to PS-Ps. Additionally, offspring of PS-Ps-treated dams exhibited signs of anxiety- and depression-like behavior, and abnormal social behavior. We propose that PS-Ps accumulation in the brain disrupts brain development and behavior in mice. This study provides novel information regarding PS-Ps toxicity and its harmful effects on neural development and behavior in mammals.

Long-term effects of early maternal deprivation on goat social behaviour.

Early maternal deprivation has been shown to disrupt goat kids' social behaviour and stress-coping strategy, and has long-term effects in other species like cattle. We studied the long-term effects of early maternal deprivation on 18-month-old goats. Seventeen goats were raised together with their dams (DR kids) and other lactating goats and kids, while 18 goats were separated from their dams three days after birth and artificially reared together (AR kids). Kids of both treatments were weaned around two to three months of age, grouped and raised together until this study 15 months later. Affiliative, playful, and agonistic behaviour was recorded by focal sampling in the home pen, when the focal goat had rejoined the herd after being physically isolated for 3 minutes, and after the focal goat was restrained and manipulated for 3 minutes. Behavioural observations were also conducted after the goats were introduced in groups of four in a herd of 77 unknown, lactating multiparous goats. Avoidance distance tests were performed in the home pen to assess the human-animal relationship. Salivary cortisol was measured before and after physical isolation, and faecal glucocorticoid metabolites were measured before and 24 hours after introduction in the lactating herd. In the home pen, AR goats were involved in less head nudging than DR goats, but other social behaviours or their behavioural and physiological response to the various stressful situations were not affected by their rearing treatment. Upon introduction in a DR lactating herd, most of the agonistic interactions observed were initiated by multiparous goats towards the introduced AR and DR goats alike. AR goats received more threats from the multiparous goats than DR goats, but were involved in less clashing than DR goats. AR goats showed less avoidance of familiar and unfamiliar humans than DR goats. Overall, previously AR and DR goats showed only a few differences in affiliative and agonistic behaviours in their home pen or after being exposed to different stressors 15 months later. Nonetheless, after being introduced into a multiparous goat herd, AR goats were still threatened more often than DR goats, and DR goats clashed more than AR goats, suggesting some persistent differences in their social abilities observed at an early age before and after weaning. As predicted, AR goats remained less fearful of humans than DR goats.

Wild social behavior differs following experimental loss of vision in social hermit crabs.

Even for animals with multiple senses at their disposal, there may be a strong reliance on a single sense, like vision, for social behavior. Experimentally blocking or eliminating vision offers a powerful means of testing impacts on social behavior, though few studies have followed experimentally blinded individuals in the wild to test potential changes in social behavior in natural settings. Here we conducted experiments with social hermit crabs (Coenobita compressus), applying opaque material overtop their eyes to temporarily blind individuals. We then released these experimentally blinded individuals and non-blinded control individuals into the wild as well as into captive social settings. Compared to control individuals, experimentally blinded individuals initiated significantly fewer social contacts with conspecifics in the wild. These experimentally blinded individuals were not, however, differentially targeted by conspecifics. Interestingly, unlike the wild experiments, the captive experiments showed no differences in social behavior between experimentally blinded and non-blinded control individuals, suggesting that experiments in natural settings in the wild may be essential to fully unraveling impacts of blindness on social behavior. Broadly, for social animals that are highly reliant on the visual modality, social behavior may change dramatically if they lose their vision.

Social learning mechanisms shape transmission pathways through replicate local social networks of wild birds.

The emergence and spread of novel behaviours via social learning can lead to rapid population-level changes whereby the social connections between individuals shape information flow. However, behaviours can spread via different mechanisms and little is known about how information flow depends on the underlying learning rule individuals employ. Here, comparing four different learning mechanisms, we simulated behavioural spread on replicate empirical social networks of wild great tits and explored the relationship between individual sociality and the order of behavioural acquisition. Our results reveal that, for learning rules dependent on the sum and strength of social connections to informed individuals, social connectivity was related to the order of acquisition, with individuals with increased social connectivity and reduced social clustering adopting new behaviours faster. However, when behavioural adoption depends on the ratio of an individuals' social connections to informed versus uninformed individuals, social connectivity was not related to the order of acquisition. Finally, we show how specific learning mechanisms may limit behavioural spread within networks. These findings have important implications for understanding whether and how behaviours are likely to spread across social systems, the relationship between individuals' sociality and behavioural acquisition, and therefore for the costs and benefits of sociality.

Human endogenous oxytocin and its neural correlates show adaptive responses to social touch based on recent social context.

Both oxytocin (OT) and touch are key mediators of social attachment. In rodents, tactile stimulation elicits the endogenous release of OT, potentially facilitating attachment and other forms of prosocial behavior, yet the relationship between endogenous OT and neural modulation remains unexplored in humans. Using a serial sampling of plasma hormone levels during functional neuroimaging across two successive social interactions, we show that contextual circumstances of social touch influence not only current hormonal and brain responses but also later responses. Namely, touch from a male to his female romantic partner enhanced her subsequent OT release for touch from an unfamiliar stranger, yet females' OT responses to partner touch were dampened following stranger touch. Hypothalamus and dorsal raphe activation reflected plasma OT changes during the initial social interaction. In the subsequent interaction, precuneus and parietal-temporal cortex pathways tracked time- and context-dependent variables in an OT-dependent manner. This OT-dependent cortical modulation included a region of the medial prefrontal cortex that also covaried with plasma cortisol, suggesting an influence on stress responses. These findings demonstrate that modulation between hormones and the brain during human social interactions can flexibly adapt to features of social context over time.

How doctors build community and socialize into a clinical department through morning reports. A positioning theory study.

PHENOMENON: The morning report is one of the longest surviving hospital practices. Most studies of the morning report focus on the effectiveness of formal medical training, while focus on social and communicative aspects is rarer. This study explores the social interactions and communication in morning reports, examining the ways in which they contribute to the construction of professional identity and socialization into the community of the clinical department. APPROACH: We used a qualitative explorative design with video observations of morning reports. Our data consisted of 43 video-recorded observations (in all, 15.5 hours) from four different hospital departments in Denmark. These were analyzed using the theoretical framework of positioning theory. FINDINGS: A key finding was that each department followed its own individual structure. This order was not articulated as such but played out implictly. Two alternative storylines unfolded in the elements of the morning report: 1) being equal members of the specialty and department, and 2) preserving the hierarchical community and its inherent positions. INSIGHTS: The morning report can be seen as playing an important role in community making. It unfolds as a "dance" of repeated elements in a complex collegial space. Within this complexity, the morning report is a space for positioning oneself and others as a collegial "we", i.e., equal members of a department and specialty, at the same time as "having a place" in a hierarchal community. Thus, morning reports contribute to developing professional identity and socialization into the medical community.

Factors shaping the gut microbiome of five species of lizards from different habitats.

Background: Host-gut microbiota interactions are complex and can have a profound impact on the ecology and evolution of both counterparts. Several host traits such as systematics, diet and social behavior, and external factors such as prey availability and local environment are known to influence the composition and diversity of the gut microbiota. Methods: In this study, we investigate the influence of systematics, sex, host size, and locality/habitat on gut microbiota diversity in five lizard species from two different sites in Portugal: Podarcis bocagei and Podarcis lusitanicus, living in syntopy in a rural area in northern Portugal (Moledo); the invasive Podarcis siculus and the native Podarcis virescens, living in sympatry in an urbanized environment (Lisbon); and the invasive Teira dugesii also living in an urban area (Lisbon). We also infer the potential microbial transmission occurring between species living in sympatry and syntopy. To achieve these goals, we use a metabarcoding approach to characterize the bacterial communities from the cloaca of lizards, sequencing the V4 region of the 16S rRNA. Results: Habitat/locality was an important factor explaining differences in gut bacterial composition and structure, with species from urbanized environments having higher bacterial diversity. Host systematics (i.e., species) influenced gut bacterial community structure only in lizards from the urbanized environment. We also detected a significant positive correlation between lizard size and gut bacterial alpha-diversity in the invasive species P. siculus, which could be due to its higher exploratory behavior. Moreover, estimates of bacterial transmission indicate that P. siculus may have acquired a high proportion of local microbiota after its introduction. These findings confirm that a diverse array of host and environmental factors can influence lizards' gut microbiota.

A new paradigm of learned cooperation reveals extensive social coordination and specific cortical activation in mice.

Cooperation is a social behavior crucial for the survival of many species, including humans. Several experimental paradigms have been established to study cooperative behavior and related neural activity in different animal species. Although mice exhibit limited cooperative capacity in some behavioral paradigms, it is still interesting to explore their cooperative behavior and the underlying neural mechanisms. Here, we developed a new paradigm for training and testing cooperative behavior in mice based on coordinated lever-pressing and analyzed social interactions between the animals during cooperation. We observed extensive social contact and waiting behavior in cooperating animals, with the number of such events positively correlated with the success of cooperation. Using c-Fos immunostaining and a high-speed volumetric imaging with synchronized on-the-fly scan and readout (VISoR) system, we further mapped whole-brain neuronal activity trace following cooperation. Significantly higher levels of c-Fos expression were observed in cortical areas including the frontal pole, motor cortex, anterior cingulate area, and prelimbic area. These observations highlight social interaction and coordination in cooperative behavior and provide clues for further study of the underlying neural circuitry mechanisms.

Reputation Reminders: When do Eye Cues Promote Prosocial Behavior?

The watching eyes effect has gained significant attention in recent years both from scientists and from policy makers and professionals in the field. The phenomenon posits that the mere presence of eye cues can promote prosocial behavior. However, there is a growing debate about the generality of the effect across various measures and contexts. This review seeks to combine various distinct -and formerly isolated- perspectives by identifying four key components for effective interventions based on the watching eyes effect: Anonymity, crowdedness, costs, and exposure. Eye cues need to reduce perceived anonymity, be placed in non-crowded places, target low-cost prosocial acts and appear for a short amount of time. Next to these conditions, we discuss implications for other cues to reputation and recommend directions that will stimulate further research and applications in society.

The effect of fear of missing out on mental health: differences in different solitude behaviors.

BACKGROUND: Depression, anxiety, and stress are the main issues that affect the mental health of individuals. Solitude behavior, fear of missing out, and mental health are all closely related. OBJECTIVE: This study was intended to investigate the relationship between solitude behavior, fear of missing out, and mental health. METHODS: Short Form of Solitude Behavior Scale, Fear of Missing Out scale, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 were employed in this study to investigate 616 college students. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 for basic data organization, and Mplus 8.3 was used to complete the analysis of the mediation model. RESULTS: (1) Positive solitude was positively associated with eccentricity and negatively related to loneliness; social avoidance positively correlated with eccentricity and loneliness. (2) Social avoidance and loneliness affected mental health through the mediating effect of fear of missing out, whereas positive solitude and eccentricity did not affect mental health through fear of missing out. Moreover, the results still held in the model with depression, anxiety, and stress as dependent variables. CONCLUSION: The roles of different solitude behavior in the relationship between fear of missing out and mental health differed. Social avoidance and loneliness as not self-determined solitude could activate the fear of missing out, which could affect mental health.

A study on the influence of personality characteristics on household charitable donation behavior in China.

Using the data of the 2018 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this paper empirically tests the impact of the "Big Five" personality characteristics on household charitable donation behavior. The benchmark regression results show that after controlling the individual characteristics and family characteristics of the household heads, the conscientiousness and openness of the household heads have a significant positive impact on the social donation behavior of the family. On this basis, this paper takes the openness personality as an example, selects the identification strategy of processing effect, and tests the robustness of the causal effect of personality on household donation behavior. The openness personality has a significant positive impact on household external donation behavior. In the further study, it is found that with the improvement of the level of household charitable donation, the positive effect of the household head 's openness personality on household charitable donation behavior is gradually weakening; The influence of openness personality on household charitable donation has the nonlinear characteristics of "marginal effect" increasing and obvious life cycle characteristics.

Early life adversity and adult social relationships have independent effects on survival in a wild primate.

Adverse conditions in early life can have negative consequences for adult health and survival in humans and other animals. What variables mediate the relationship between early adversity and adult survival? Adult social environments represent one candidate: Early life adversity is linked to social adversity in adulthood, and social adversity in adulthood predicts survival outcomes. However, no study has prospectively linked early life adversity, adult social behavior, and adult survival to measure the extent to which adult social behavior mediates this relationship. We do so in a wild baboon population in Amboseli, Kenya. We find weak mediation and largely independent effects of early adversity and adult sociality on survival. Furthermore, strong social bonds and high social status in adulthood can buffer some negative effects of early adversity. These results support the idea that affiliative social behavior is subject to natural selection through its positive relationship with survival, and they highlight possible targets for intervention to improve human health and well-being.