Stephen J Suomi
Biographic Data
| ID | 94179 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Stephen J Suomi |
| GIVEN NAMES | Stephen J |
| FAMILY NAME | Suomi |
| SIGNATURE | SUOMI S J |
| AFFILIATIONS | National Institutes of Health |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9693-338X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 92 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 203 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 92 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1970 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Effects of Multigenerational Exposure to Early-Life Advantage
Behavioral inhibition in a translational nonhuman primate model
Behavioral inhibition (BI), a temperamental trait first described by Jerome Kagan, is characterized by wariness to unfamiliar persons and novel situations. BI is a moderately stable trait, with biological and genetic underpinnings. Kagan's methodology for assessing BI is widely used in humans. Although this paradigm could be readily translated for use in nonhuman primates, thereby increasing generalizability from nonhuman primates to humans and f…
Neonatal temperament and neuromotor differences are predictive of adolescent alcohol intake in rhesus monkeys ( Macaca mulatta )
Identifying predictors of teenage alcohol use disorder (AUDs) is a major health initiative, with studies suggesting that there are distinct personality‐related traits that underlie patterns of alcohol intake. As temperament is biologically based, identifiable early in life, and stable across time, it is considered the foundation of personality. As such, we hypothesized that neonatal temperament traits would predict anxiety‐mediated adolescent alc…
Midlife reversibility of early-established biobehavioral risk factors
Objectives: Epidemiological evidence links exposure to early life adversities --such as childhood maltreatment-- with impaired health and wellbeing in adulthood. Since these effects are usually unrecognized or untreated in childhood, preventive and remediating interventions in adults are needed. We asked, first, can we validly ascertain childhood adversity through retrospective assessments in adulthood? Second, what dimensions of childhood advers…
Differential relationships between chronic hormone profiles in pregnancy and maternal investment in rhesus monkey mothers with hair loss in the neonatal period
Hair loss is commonly used as an indicator of well being in primate facilities, yet it has been shown to also occur in otherwise healthy pregnant and postpartum females. There is significant variability in the incidence of hair loss during these important developmental periods, reasons for which remain unclear. We studied female rhesus monkeys ( Macaca mulatta , n = 47) with and without hair loss in pregnancy/postpartum. We hypothesized that, sim…
First‐time rhesus monkey mothers, and mothers of sons, preferentially engage in face‐to‐face interactions with their infants
Face-to-face interactions between mothers and infants occur in both human and non-human primates, but there is large variability in the occurrence of these behaviors and the reason for this variability remains largely unexplored. Other types of maternal investment have been shown to be dependent on infant sex (e.g. milk production and maternal responsiveness) and maternal experience (e.g. symmetrical communication). Thus, we sought to determine w…
Early-Life Experiences and Telomere Length in Adult Rhesus Monkeys
OBJECTIVE: Child-rearing environments have been associated with morbidity in adult rhesus monkeys. We examine whether such links are also seen with leukocyte telomere length. METHODS: To determine telomere length in leukocytes, blood was collected from 11 adult female monkeys aged 7 to 10 years who had been exposed to different rearing environments between birth and 7 months. Four had been reared with their mothers in typical social groups compos…
Harlow, Harry Frederick (1905–81)
Reproductive consequences of a matrilineal overthrow in rhesus monkeys
Matrilineal overthrows in macaque societies are rare but devastating events, often resulting in severe morbidity, mortality, and loss of individual and group fitness. The handful of documented macaque overthrows provides scant evidence to reveal the severity or longevity of reproductive consequences resulting from such violent events. We analyzed archival records from semi-free ranging rhesus monkeys, Macaca mulatta, across 6 years (55 ≤ N ≤ 107,…
Effect of Mother's Dominance Rank on Offspring Temperament in Infant Rhesus Monkeys ( M acaca mulatta)
In humans, temperament plays an important role in socialization and personality. Some temperaments, such as behavioral inhibition are associated with an increased risk for psychopathology. Nonhuman primates can serve as a model for neurobiological and developmental contributions to emotional development and several recent studies have begun to investigate temperament in nonhuman primates. In rhesus monkeys, dominance rank is inherited from the mo…
Social after-effects of fur rubbing in tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella)
Can Traditions Emerge from the Interaction of Stimulus Enhancement and Reinforcement Learning? An Experimental Model
The study of social learning in captivity and behavioral traditions in the wild are two burgeoning areas of research, but few empirical studies have tested how learning mechanisms produce emergent patterns of tradition. Studies have examined how social learning mechanisms that are cognitively complex and possessed by few species, such as imitation, result in traditional patterns, yet traditional patterns are also exhibited by species that may not…
Sex differences in play behavior in juvenile tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella)
Intimate social behavior in infant interactions in Cebus apella
The development and individual stability of three intimate social behaviors (Lipsmacking, Carrying Attempts, and Facial Inspection) were examined for 43 group‐housed Cebus apella infants from birth to 2 years of age. Occurrence of these behaviors was scored from 10‐min videotape samples recorded three times a week over that time. Frequency of Lipsmacking and Carrying Attempts by adult males, adult females, and juveniles were all highest in early …
Successful behavioral strategy to unite mother and infant rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) after cesarean delivery
Developmental studies of pre‐ to postnatal continuities in rhesus monkeys sometimes require infants be reared with their mothers. However, complications during pregnancy or experimental designs may require cesarean delivery. Owing to lack of published information on this subject, strategies are needed to introduce mothers to their infants following cesarean delivery. Using positive and negative reinforcement techniques we attempted to unite six i…
Sex differences in play behavior in juvenile tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella)
The effects of fur rubbing on the social behavior of tufted capuchin monkeys
Fur rubbing has often been attributed as a social as well as a medicinal function in capuchin monkeys, yet to date there have been no studies investigating the effects of fur rubbing on subsequent group dynamics. Here, we report for the first time how social group cohesion is affected by fur rubbing in tufted capuchin monkeys. Fifteen captive capuchins were each observed six times for 45 min, three times following the provision of materials typic…
Why do captive tufted capuchins ( Cebus apella ) urine wash
Urine washing (UW) has been observed in numerous species of prosimians and New World monkeys. The functional significance of UW in Cebidae, specifically, Cebus apella , has not been determined. The objective of our study was to test two major hypotheses related to the function of UW: (1) UW functions as a thermoregulatory mechanism, and (2) UW functions as a means of social communication related to (a) territoriality, (b) sexual encounters, or (c…
Rigorous Experiments on Monkey Love
On the basis of personal reminiscences an account is given of Harlow's role in the development of attachment theory and key notions of attachment theory are being discussed. Among other things, it is related how Harlow arrived at his famous research with rhesus monkeys and how this made Harlow a highly relevant figure for attachment theorist Bowlby
Mark Tests for mirror self‐recognition in capuchin monkeys ( Cebus apella ) trained to touch marks
In Experiment 1, three capuchin monkeys ( Cebus apella ) were exposed to a mirror in their home cage for 3 days and then given food treats for touching orange marks located on the surface of an experimental chamber. Following training, a mirror was added to the chamber to see if the monkeys would use it to guide non‐reinforced contacts with an orange mark on their foreheads that was only visible as a mirror reflection (mark test). Two monkeys tou…
Early predictors of self‐biting in socially‐housed rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta )
The development of self‐biting behavior in captive monkeys is little understood and poses a serious risk to their well‐being. Although early rearing conditions may influence the expression of this behavior, not all animals reared under similar conditions self‐bite. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of three rearing conditions on biting behavior and to determine whether early infant behavior can predict later self‐biting. The su…
Serotonergic influences on life‐history outcomes in free‐ranging male rhesus macaques
Several studies have demonstrated that nonhuman primate males with low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of the serotonin metabolite 5‐hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5‐HIAA) exhibit antisocial behavior patterns. Included in these deleterious patterns are impulse control deficits associated with violence and premature death. No studies to date have longitudinally studied the long‐term outcome of young subjects with low CSF 5‐HIAA concentrations as they …
Mother-Infant Attachment, Peer Relationships, and the Development of Social Networks in Rhesus Monkeys
The social networks that rhesus monkeys develop in nature are centered around multiple generations of matrilineal kin embedded in larger social groupings that have some degree of distinctiveness and permanence. Within each family, infants initially grow up in the care of their mothers and the close presence of relatives, and they subsequently expand their social network to include peers and others in the larger community and beyond while continui…
Program and Conference Schedule
Relationships among CSF monoamine metabolite levels, alcohol sensitivity, and alcohol‐related aggression in rhesus macaques
A relationship between alcohol intake and aggressive behavior has been demonstrated in both associational and laboratory studies. Among the factors that contribute to aggression during intoxication are a history of violence and the level of alcohol‐induced stimulation. In humans, excessive alcohol intake and alcoholism are predicted by decreased sensitivity, or a low level of response (LOR), to alcohol. In addition, aggressive behavior, LOR, and …
Social rehabilitation of isolate-reared monkeys
Nature of love
Hand preference for stone artefact production and tool-use by monkeys
A simple stone-tool technology in monkeys
Aimed throwing of stones by tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella)
Stone-Tool Bone-Surface Modification by Monkeys
The Use and Modification of Bone Tools by Capuchin Monkeys
The manufacture and use of bamboo tools by monkeys
Generalization of behavioral data between nonhuman and human animals
Ant-Gathering with Tools by Captive Tufted Capuchins (Cebus apella)
Aging in rhesus monkeys
Rhesus monkeys were observed longitudinally from 6 to 20 years of age, the period encompassing early to late adulthood in this species. Repeated-measures analyses of the monkeys' behavioral repertoire revealed 3 quite different pictures of the aging process. First, there were significant systematic changes in the levels of many categories of behavior with increasing age, although the direction and timing of change varied from category to category…
The stone tools of capuchins (Cebus apella)
Can Traditions Emerge from the Interaction of Stimulus Enhancement and Reinforcement Learning? An Experimental Model
The study of social learning in captivity and behavioral traditions in the wild are two burgeoning areas of research, but few empirical studies have tested how learning mechanisms produce emergent patterns of tradition. Studies have examined how social learning mechanisms that are cognitively complex and possessed by few species, such as imitation, result in traditional patterns, yet traditional patterns are also exhibited by species that may not…
Rigorous Experiments on Monkey Love
On the basis of personal reminiscences an account is given of Harlow's role in the development of attachment theory and key notions of attachment theory are being discussed. Among other things, it is related how Harlow arrived at his famous research with rhesus monkeys and how this made Harlow a highly relevant figure for attachment theorist Bowlby
The use of probing tools by tufted capuchins (cebus apella)
Pestle use and modification by tufted capuchins (Cebus apella)
Subjective assessment of reactivity level and personality traits of rhesus monkeys
Social separation in monkeys
The Production and Use of Digging Tools by Monkeys
This research examined the production and use of digging tools by tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). We provided groups of subjects with sticks and containers that held peanuts buried in hard-packed earth. Nine of the ten subjects used their fingers to loosen earth and their hands to scoop away soil. Four of these subjects used sticks as digging tools, and three of them produced tools for this purpose. Similarities were noted between the dig…
Effects of social isolation and social separation in domestic chicks
Midlife reversibility of early-established biobehavioral risk factors
Objectives: Epidemiological evidence links exposure to early life adversities --such as childhood maltreatment-- with impaired health and wellbeing in adulthood. Since these effects are usually unrecognized or untreated in childhood, preventive and remediating interventions in adults are needed. We asked, first, can we validly ascertain childhood adversity through retrospective assessments in adulthood? Second, what dimensions of childhood advers…
Developmental of sex preference in rhesus monkeys
Manipulative Tendencies of Captive Cebus albifrons
Carrying, Sharing, and Hand Preference in Tufted Capuchins (Cebus apella)
Aimed Throwing as a Means of Food Transfer Between Tufted Capuchins (Cebus apella)
Developmental of sex preference in rhesus monkeys
Nature of love
Behavioral Effects of Prolonged Partial Social Isolation in the Rhesus Monkey
48 rhesus monkeys, reared from birth in partial social isolation and ranging in age from 2 mo. to 131⁄2 yr., and 12 feral-born monkeys, comparable in age to the 12 oldest partial isolates, were each scored for home-cage behavior. The survey showed that most partial isolates' behavioral levels declined with increasing age, males exhibiting more disturbance activity, more threats, and less grooming than females. The oldest partial isolates showed l…
Social rehabilitation of isolate-reared monkeys
Generalization of behavioral data between nonhuman and human animals
Infantile sexuality in monkeys
Effects of permanent separation from mother on infant monkeys
Social interactions of monkeys reared in a nuclear family environment versus monkeys reared with mothers and peers
Reversal of social deficits produced by isolation rearing in monkeys
Long-term effects of social rehabilitation in rhesus monkeys
Effects of social isolation and social separation in domestic chicks
Social separation in monkeys
Effects of multiple peer separation in domestic chicks
Social separation in monkeys
In memoriam
Short- and long-term effects of repetitive mother-infant separations on social development in rhesus monkeys
Short- and long-term effects of repetitive mother–infant separations on social development in rhesus monkeys
Des dyades mere-nourrisson singe Rhesus sont soumises a 16 separations physiques de 4 jours, reparties entre le troisieme et le neuvieme mois de la vie du nourrisson. Les separations retardent le developpement des rapports normaux mere-enfant
Reactions of nuclear‐family–reared rhesus macaques to the births of younger siblings
A group of juvenile rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta ) living in a nuclear‐family laboratory environment was studied to determine their responses to the births of siblings. The frequencies of interactions with family members (mothers, fathers, and new siblings) and nonfamily (peers, unrelated infants, and unrelated adults) were studied over both the year preceding and the year following sibling birth. The frequencies of specific behaviors in each…
Effects of age, rearing, and separation stress on immunoglobulin levels in rhesus monkeys
The study reported here examined the effect of different rearing conditions and psychological stress on immunoglobulin levels in rhesus monkey infants. In the first experiment, 24 rhesus neonates were placed in one of the three following rearing conditions: Separated from their mothers and reared in the laboratory nursery; kept with their biological mothers; or removed at birth from their biological mothers and cross‐fostered to adoptive rhesus m…
Psychological well-being of primates in captivity
Psychological well-being of primates in captivity
Recent amendments to the Animal Welfare Act will, upon taking effect, require that researchers who maintain nonhuman primates in captivity house their animals in such a way as to promote their psychological Unfortunately, no consensus presently exists in terms of how to define or identify psychological well-being in primate subjects. We propose a strategy for defining psychological well-being that includes assessment of physical health, compariso…
Interface of field and laboratory‐based research in primatology
Hormonal effects of early rearing conditions in the infant rhesus monkey
Mother‐reared and nursery‐reared rhesus monkeys were evaluated during the first month of life to assess the effects of early rearing on endocrine status in infancy. Plasma cortisol and growth hormone (GH) levels were measured in two conditions: (1) basal and (2) 30 min following removal from either the mother or the nursery. Nursery‐reared infants had lower basal GH levels and higher cortisol levels than did mother‐reared infants. Both GH and cor…
Inanimate environmental enrichment for group‐housed rhesus macaque infants
The behavior of peer‐reared infant rhesus macaques raised in enriched and nonenriched housing conditions was examined in order to evaluate the utility and effectiveness of object enrichment in a group housing setting. Environmental enrichment consisted of apparatuses designed to promote motor activity and to provide response‐contingent feedback. Four animals in each condition were tested over a 14‐month period. Behavioral observations were conduc…
Behavior of nursery/peer-reared and mother-reared rhesus monkeys from birth through 2 years of age
Psychology (69 works) · Primate Behavior and Ecology (68 works) · Biology (65 works) · Developmental psychology (41 works) · Zoology (33 works) · Child and Animal Learning Development (27 works) · Social Psychology (23 works) · Medicine (20 works) · Animal ecology (19 works) · Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior (19 works)