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Executive function mediates age-related variation in social integration in female vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus sabaeus)

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Abstract

In humans, social participation and integration wane with advanced age, a pattern hypothesized to stem from cognitive or physical decrements. Similar age-related decreases in social participation have been observed in several nonhuman primate species. Here, we investigated cross-sectional age-related associations between social interactions, activity patterns, and cognitive function in 25 group-living female vervets (a.k.a. African green monkeys, Chlorocebus sabaeus) aged 8–29 years. Time spent in affiliative behavior decreased with age, and time spent alone correspondingly increased. Furthermore, time spent grooming others decreased with age, but the amount of grooming received did not. The number of social partners to whom individuals directed grooming also decreased with age. Grooming patterns mirrored physical activity levels, which also decreased with age. The relationship between age and grooming time was mediated, in part, by cognitive performance. Specifically, executive function significantly mediated age’s effect on time spent in grooming interactions. In contrast, we did not find evidence that physical performance mediated age-related variation in social participation. Taken together, our results suggest that aging female vervets were not socially excluded but decreasingly engaged in social behavior, and that cognitive deficits may underlie this relationship.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank David Bissinger, Carson Copeland, Christie Scott, Shanna Wise-Walden, Hannah Register, and Payton Valure for assistance with data collection. We also thank Dr. Haying Chen for her advice on statistical approaches.

Funding

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health RF1AG058829 (CAS), P30 AG072947, T32AG033534, and R24AG073199, Intramural Grant from the Department of Pathology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Wake Forest Claude Pepper Older Americans Independence Center grant P30 AG21332, Vervet Research Colony (P40-OD010965), and the Wake Forest Clinical and Translational Science Institute (NCATS UL1TR001420).

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Author notes

  1. Jacob D. Negrey and Brett M. Frye contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology/Comparative Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC, 27157-1040, USA

    Jacob D. Negrey, Thomas C. Register, Mark G. Baxter, Matthew J. Jorgensen & Carol A. Shively

  2. Department of Biology, Emory and Henry College, Emory, VA, USA

    Brett M. Frye

  3. Wake Forest Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    Brett M. Frye, Suzanne Craft, Thomas C. Register & Carol A. Shively

  4. Department of Internal Medicine/Gerontology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    Brett M. Frye & Suzanne Craft

  5. Department of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    Mark G. Baxter

  6. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    Mark G. Baxter

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  1. Jacob D. Negrey
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Negrey, J.D., Frye, B.M., Craft, S. et al. Executive function mediates age-related variation in social integration in female vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus sabaeus). GeroScience 46, 841–852 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-023-00820-7

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