Premium
Time‐dependent effects of peer separation on lymphocyte proliferation responses in juvenile squirrel monkeys
Author(s) -
Friedman Elliot M.,
Coe Christopher L.,
Ershler William B.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.420240303
Subject(s) - concanavalin a , juvenile , stimulation , basal (medicine) , endocrinology , squirrel monkey , lymphocyte , period (music) , medicine , biology , immune system , hormone , psychology , immunology , neuroscience , insulin , ecology , biochemistry , physics , acoustics , in vitro
This study evaluated the immunological, hormonal, and behavioral responses of juvenile squirrel monkeys to repeated social separations of varying length. Following a 3‐hr separation, lymphocyte responses to stimulation with the mitogen concanavalin A (Con A) declined significantly, and these alterations were sustained after a 24‐hr separation period. The responses to Con A and to a second mitogen, phytohemagglutinin (PHA), were suppressed after 2 days. At the end of a 7‐day separation period, immune responses were not significantly different from basal values. Plasma cortisol levels were elevated above basal levels in all animals after the 3‐hr, 24‐hr, and 2‐day separations, but were not elevated after the 7‐day separation. While we observed no statistivally significant changes in locomotor activity or calling behavior during any of the separations, the monkeys tended to be most active and to call most immediately following separation. Our findings concur with earlier reports indicating that social strressors can influence lymphocyte proliferation in nonhuman primates and that certain cell types might be differentially sensitive to stress, but also indicate that these influences are transient.