title: Early Predictors of Impaired Social Functioning in Male Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta).
abstract: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by social cognition impairments but its basic disease mechanisms remain poorly understood. Progress has been impeded by the absence of animal models that manifest behavioral phenotypes relevant to ASD. Rhesus monkeys are an ideal model organism to address this barrier to progress. Like humans, rhesus monkeys are highly social, possess complex social cognition abilities, and exhibit pronounced individual differences in social functioning. Moreover, we have previously shown that Low-Social (LS) vs. High-Social (HS) adult male monkeys exhibit lower social motivation and poorer social skills. It is not known, however, when these social deficits first emerge. The goals of this study were to test whether juvenile LS and HS monkeys differed as infants in their ability to process social information, and whether infant social abilities predicted later social classification (i.e., LS vs. HS), in order to facilitate earlier identification of monkeys at risk for poor social outcomes. Social classification was determined for N = 25 LS and N = 25 HS male monkeys that were 1-4 years of age. As part of a colony-wide assessment, these monkeys had previously undergone, as infants, tests of face recognition memory and the ability to respond appropriately to conspecific social signals. Monkeys later identified as LS vs. HS showed impairments in recognizing familiar vs. novel faces and in the species-typical adaptive ability to gaze avert to scenes of conspecific aggression. Additionally, multivariate logistic regression using infant social ability measures perfectly predicted later social classification of all N = 50 monkeys. These findings suggest that an early capacity to process important social information may account for differences in rhesus monkeys' motivation and competence to establish and maintain social relationships later in life. Further development of this model will facilitate identification of novel biological targets for intervention to improve social outcomes in at-risk young monkeys.
authors: Winnicott Research Unit, University of Reading, RG6 6AL, Reading, United Kingdom.|California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, California, 95616, United States of America.
authors: Valentina
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7387-031X
authors: V
authors: Sclafani
authors: California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, California, 95616, United States of America.
authors: Laura A
authors: LA
authors: Del Rosso
authors: California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, California, 95616, United States of America.
authors: Shannon K
authors: SK
authors: Seil
authors: California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, California, 95616, United States of America.
authors: Laura A
authors: LA
authors: Calonder
authors: Neurosciences Program, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305, United States of America.|Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305, United States of America.
authors: Jesus E
authors: JE
authors: Madrid
authors: California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, California, 95616, United States of America.
authors: Kyle J
authors: KJ
authors: Bone
authors: Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, 94143, United States of America.
authors: Elliott H
authors: EH
authors: Sherr
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305, United States of America.|Department of Comparative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305, United States of America.
authors: Joseph P
authors: JP
authors: Garner
authors: California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, California, 95616, United States of America.|Department of Psychology, University of California Davis, Davis, California, 95616, United States of America.
authors: John P
authors: JP
authors: Capitanio
authors: California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, California, 95616, United States of America.|Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305, United States of America.
authors: Karen J
authors: KJ
authors: Parker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003463:Cues; D005145:Face; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D012919:Social Behavior