科研之友
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摘要
Reduced hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) activity is associated with greater novelty seeking in humans. Hair cortisol represents an integrated proxy measure of total cortisol production/release over an extended period of time and may be a valuable tool for tracking the HPA system. Sampling approaches (collection of blood, saliva, urine, or feces) for socially housed nonhuman primates present a number of technical challenges for collection particularly when repeated sampling is necessary. Herein we describe a relationship between cortisol levels measured in hair collected from 230 socially housed female vervet (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus) monkeys and a free-choice novelty seeking phenotype. A predator-like object was placed at the periphery of the outdoor enclosures for 30 min and speed of approach (latency to approach within 1 m) and persistence of interest (number of 1 min intervals within 1 m) were scored. A composite Novelty Seeking score, combining these two measures, was calculated. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC =.68) for two different objects across years indicated that this score reflects a stable aspect of temperament. Hair samples were collected from each subject approximately 3-6 months following the second assessment: cortisol levels were determined from the hair. A significant inverse relationship of Novelty Seeking score with hair cortisol level (p <.01) was noted. The high hair cortisol groups had significantly lower Novelty Seeking scores than the low cortisol groups both years (p's <.05). These results suggest that low average cortisol levels promote novelty seeking, while high average levels inhibit novelty seeking behavior.
- 出版日期2011-8-3
