title: Connections Matter: Social Networks and Lifespan Health in Primate Translational Models.
abstract: Humans live in societies full of rich and complex relationships that influence health. The ability to improve human health requires a detailed understanding of the complex interplay of biological systems that contribute to disease processes, including the mechanisms underlying the influence of social contexts on these biological systems. A longitudinal computational systems science approach provides methods uniquely suited to elucidate the mechanisms by which social systems influence health and well-being by investigating how they modulate the interplay among biological systems across the lifespan. In the present report, we argue that nonhuman primate social systems are sufficiently complex to serve as model systems allowing for the development and refinement of both analytical and theoretical frameworks linking social life to health. Ultimately, developing systems science frameworks in nonhuman primate models will speed discovery of the mechanisms that subserve the relationship between social life and human health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA; California National Primate Research Center, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Brenda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McCowan
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA; California National Primate Research Center, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Brianne
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Beisner
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA; California National Primate Research Center, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Eliza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bliss-Moreau
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA; California National Primate Research Center, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vandeleest
authors.affiliation: California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis Davis, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA; California National Primate Research Center, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Darcy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hannibal
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, University of California, Davis Davis, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Fushing
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hsieh
keywords: health status; nonhuman primates; social network analysis; translational; well-being