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Inverted-U shape relationship between cortisol and learning in ground squirrels.

Jill M Mateo1

  • 1Department of Comparative Human Development & The Institute for Mind and Biology, 5730 South Woodlawn Avenue, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. jmateo@uchicago.edu

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Moderate elevations of cortisol in juvenile Belding's ground squirrels facilitate learning survival behaviors. Both too high and too low cortisol levels impair memory and responses to alarm calls.

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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Ecology
  • Neuroendocrinology
  • Animal Cognition

Background:

  • Adrenal hormones, like glucocorticoids, influence cognition, with an inverted-U relationship observed in humans and rodents.
  • Previous studies on the cognition-hormone relationship have primarily used laboratory settings, lacking ecological relevance.
  • Juvenile Belding's ground squirrels exhibit elevated cortisol at natal emergence, a critical learning period.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of elevated cortisol in juvenile Belding's ground squirrels during natal emergence.
  • To determine if cortisol influences the acquisition of adaptive responses to alarm calls and spatial memory.
  • To test the inverted-U shape relationship between cortisol and cognition in a wild animal species.

Main Methods:

  • Examined the effects of experimentally increased and decreased basal cortisol levels on learning and memory.
  • Assessed acquisition of responses to predator alarm calls and spatial maze learning in juvenile squirrels.
  • Compared learning outcomes in squirrels with manipulated cortisol levels to those with naturally occurring moderate elevations.

Main Results:

  • Experimentally altered cortisol levels (both increased and decreased) impaired the acquisition and retention of alarm call responses compared to natural moderate elevations.
  • Decreased cortisol levels significantly hindered the learning of a complex spatial maze.
  • Naturally occurring moderate cortisol elevations at emergence were associated with facilitated learning.

Conclusions:

  • A brief elevation of cortisol during natal emergence in Belding's ground squirrels may facilitate the acquisition of crucial survival behaviors, including spatial memory and predator response learning.
  • This study provides the first field demonstration of an inverted-U shape function for cortisol in a wild mammal, suggesting adaptive hormonal regulation.
  • Natural selection may have favored this hormonal profile to enhance rapid learning of essential survival skills during a sensitive developmental period.