Doctoral Dissertation Research: The role of testosterone in the modulation of parental behaviors in primates

New York University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

The hormone testosterone (T) occurs in females as well as males, and there is growing interest in understanding the role of T in female reproductive behavioral biology. This doctoral dissertation project investigates relationships between T and maternal behaviors in free-ranging monkeys. The study of T in relation to motherhood in these non-human primates will contribute to the literature on the hormonal mechanisms of parenting, and provide comparative data for understanding the development of human-like parenting behavior during primate and hominin evolution. The project will facilitate training in STEM fields for undergraduates and graduates, including women from underserved and underrepresented backgrounds. This project will also support research collaborations and public science outreach about human and primate biology and evolution. This project will investigate the role of T in regulation of maternal care away from the current offspring towards future reproduction, and displays of aggression to other group members who can potentially harm offspring ('maternal aggression'). The investigators will collect longitudinal data on behaviors and physiology from 49 Cayo Santiago rhesus macaque mothers during their first 3 months postpartum, when maternal care steeply decreases in preparation for the reproductive transition to the next offspring, and when maternal aggression towards others is heightened. Advances in field endocrinology, including the measurement of fecal hormone metabolites, will enable the continuous tracking of physiology along with a rich suite of behaviors and provide new methods for future studies. Comparative data from living non-human primates are valuable for investigating the evolutionary origins of human behavior. The project will therefore contribute to nascent efforts to expand the study of T across taxa and sexes, and to enhance our understanding of how parental care evolved in primates and early humans. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.