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Cited by 64Neuroendocrine regulation and behaviorPrimate Behavior and EcologyMemory and Neural Mechanisms

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 221 of the 221 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Neural systems that facilitate the representation of social rank

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Dwortz, Madeleine F., Curley, James P., Tye, Kay M., Padilla-Coreano, Nancy·2022·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B
DOI 10.1098/rstb.2020.0444PMC PMC8743891
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Abstract

Across species, animals organize into social dominance hierarchies that serve to decrease aggression and facilitate survival of the group. Neuroscientists have adopted several model organisms to study dominance hierarchies in the laboratory setting, including fish, reptiles, rodents and primates. We review recent literature across species that sheds light onto how the brain represents social rank to guide socially appropriate behaviour within a dominance hierarchy. First, we discuss how the brain responds to social status signals. Then, we discuss social approach and avoidance learning mechanisms that we propose could drive rank-appropriate behaviour. Lastly, we discuss how the brain represents memories of individuals (social memory) and how this may support the maintenance of unique individual relationships within a social group. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies’.

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Crossref · 10.1098/rstb.2020.0444

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Figures

Figure 1. Common species used to study social dominance in the laboratory. Fish, lizards, rodents and primates have been used to study the neural basis of dominant and subordinate behaviour in the laboratory setting. On the left, the life stage and sex in which hierarchies have been documented are listed. On the right, how dominance is assessed in the laboratory conditions is noted. Figure art by Amy Cao.
Figure 1. Common species used to study social dominance in the laboratory. Fish, lizards, rodents and primates have been used to study the neural basis of dominant and subordinate behaviour in the laboratory setting. On the left, the life stage and sex in which hierarchies have been documented are listed. On the right, how dominance is assessed in the laboratory conditions is noted. Figure art by Amy Cao.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 2. Brain systems involved in the representation of a dominance hierarchy. Brain regions downstream of primary sensory processing regions (e.g. olfactory regions) involved in representing social rank are colour coded by whether local activity has been shown to represent status signals, social rank of familiar conspecifics, and social identity, as well as any combination of those types of conspecific stimuli in primates (top) and rodents (bottom). Hippocampal subregions in the rodent brain and their input and output locations are displayed in the blow-out diagram. Grey lines represent anatomical connectivity across regions. CA1, cornu ammonis 1; CA2, cornu ammonis 2; CA3, cornu ammonis 3; DG, dentate gyrus; DLPFC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; mPFC, medial prefrontal cortex; OFC, orbitofrontal cortex; Amyg, amygdala; STC, superior temporal cortex; HPC, hippocampus; NAcc, nucleus accumbens; VTA, ventral tegmental area; BNST, bed nuclei terminalis; BLA, basolateral amygdala; MeA, medial amygdala; PVN paraventricular hypothalamus; SUB, subiculum; VMH, ventromedial hypothalamus; PMv, ventral premammillary nucleus.
Figure 2. Brain systems involved in the representation of a dominance hierarchy. Brain regions downstream of primary sensory processing regions (e.g. olfactory regions) involved in representing social rank are colour coded by whether local activity has been shown to represent status signals, social rank of familiar conspecifics, and social identity, as well as any combination of those types of conspecific stimuli in primates (top) and rodents (bottom). Hippocampal subregions in the rodent brain and their input and output locations are displayed in the blow-out diagram. Grey lines represent anatomical connectivity across regions. CA1, cornu ammonis 1; CA2, cornu ammonis 2; CA3, cornu ammonis 3; DG, dentate gyrus; DLPFC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; mPFC, medial prefrontal cortex; OFC, orbitofrontal cortex; Amyg, amygdala; STC, superior temporal cortex; HPC, hippocampus; NAcc, nucleus accumbens; VTA, ventral tegmental area; BNST, bed nuclei terminalis; BLA, basolateral amygdala; MeA, medial amygdala; PVN paraventricular hypothalamus; SUB, subiculum; VMH, ventromedial hypothalamus; PMv, ventral premammillary nucleus.CC BY · PubMed Central

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Senar, 2006, Bird colors as intrasexual signals of aggression and dominance, 87
  2. Maynard-Smith, 2003, Animal signals, 10.1093/oso/9780198526841.001.0001 · DOI · Paper page

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Metadata

Authors
Dwortz, M. F., Curley, J. P., Tye, K. M., & Padilla-Coreano, N.
Affiliations
  • Institute for Neuroscience (CH)
  • The University of Texas at Austin (US)
  • Salk Institute for Biological Studies (US)
Corresponding author
Padilla-Coreano, Nancy
ORCID
Venue
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B
Publisher
The Royal Society
Published
2022-01-10
Volume
377
Issue
1845
Pages
20200444-20200444
ISSN
  • 0962-8436 (ISSN-L)
  • 1471-2970
DOI
10.1098/rstb.2020.0444
PMC
PMC8743891
OpenAlex
W4206698489
Cited by
64
References
216
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 10
FWCI
2.13
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (DP1-502 AT009925)
  • Burroughs Wellcome Fund
  • National Institute of Mental Health (K99 MH124435, R01-MH115920)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Primate Behavior and Ecology
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
Keywords
social dominance hierarchy, social rank, social memory, individual recognition, pecking order, aggression, comparative neurobiology
MeSH terms
Aggression, Animals, Hierarchy, Social, Social Dominance

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