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Early-life Social Adversity and Developmental Processes in Nonhuman Primates
Jeffrey A French1, Sarah B Carp1
1Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience and Behavior, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE, USA.
Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences
|February 10, 2016
Summary
Early social experiences significantly shape primate development. Negative early social adversity (ELSA) affects affect, social behavior, and cognitive processes in marmosets, squirrel monkeys, and macaques.
Area of Science:
- Primate developmental psychology
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral biology
Background:
- Primate offspring are typically altricial, requiring extensive care.
- Early life experiences profoundly influence developmental trajectories.
- Understanding these influences is crucial for primate welfare and research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the impact of early social experiences on primate development.
- To examine effects across different primate species and contexts.
- To synthesize findings on early-life social adversity (ELSA).
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on primate development.
- Inclusion of studies from both experimental models and naturalistic observations.
- Focus on marmosets, squirrel monkeys, and macaques.
Main Results:
- Early social experiences, including adversity, have lasting effects.
- ELSA impacts multiple developmental domains: affect, social behavior, cognition, and attention.
- Neural substrates underlying sociobehavioral traits are also affected by ELSA.
Conclusions:
- Early social adversity significantly alters primate developmental profiles.
- These effects are observed across various species and can be long-lasting.
- Findings highlight the critical role of early social environment in primate development.
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