Open AccessThe Roles of Dopamine D2 Receptor in the Social Hierarchy of Rodents and Primates
Author(s) -
Yoshiyuki Y. Yamaguchi,
YoungA Lee,
Akemi Kato,
Emanuel Jas,
Yukiori Goto
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
scientific reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.24
H-Index - 213
ISSN - 2045-2322
DOI - 10.1038/srep43348
Subject(s) - macaque , social relation , dopamine receptor d2 , sulpiride , aggression , social stratification , social group , psychology , biology , antagonist , dopamine , receptor , medicine , sociology , neuroscience , developmental psychology , social psychology , social science
Dopamine (DA) plays significant roles in regulation of social behavior. In social groups of humans and other animals, social hierarchy exists, which is determined by several behavioral characteristics such as aggression and impulsivity as well as social affiliations. In this study, we investigated the effects of pharmacological blockade of DA D2 receptor on social hierarchy of Japanese macaque and mouse social groups. We found acute administration of the D2 antagonist, sulpiride, in socially housed Japanese macaques attenuated social dominance when the drug was given to high social class macaques. A similar attenuation of social dominance was observed in high social class mice with D2 antagonist administration. In contrast, D2 antagonist administration in low social class macaque resulted in more stable social hierarchy of the group, whereas such effect was not observed in mouse social group. These results suggest that D2 receptor signaling may play important roles in establishment and maintenance of social hierarchy in social groups of several species of animals.