Explore the vast range of titles available.

Glycine is a co-agonist of glutamate at the NMDA receptor. Glycine transporter 1 (GlyT1) inhibitors are reported to be potential therapeutic agents for schizophrenia. super(18)F-MK6577 is a new positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracer useful for imaging brain GlyT1 and its occupancy in humans. We devised a novel multi-infusion paradigm of radiolabeled and unlabeled compound and an iterative linear/nonlinear alternating fitting method to allow for the determination of in vivo affinity (K sub(d)) and target concentration (B sub(max)) images, constraining K sub(d) to be uniform across the brain. This paradigm was tested with super(18)F-MK6577 in baboons. Voxel-based analysis produced high quality B sub(max) images and reliable K sub(d) estimates, and also suggested that the nondisplaceable distribution volume (V sub(ND)) is not uniform throughout the brain. In vivo GlyT1 K sub(d) was estimated to be 1.87 nmol/L for super(18)F-MK6577, and the rank order of GlyT1 distribution measured in the baboon brain was: high in the brainstem (133 nmol/L), medium in the cerebellum (83 nmol/L), and low in the cortex (30 nmol/L). These in vivo K sub(d) and B sub(max) values agreed well with those determined in vitro, thus validating our novel multi-infusion approach.

Culture pervades human life and is at the origin of the success of our species. A wide range of other animals have culture too, but often in a limited form that does not complexify through the gradual accumulation of innovations. We developed a new paradigm to study cultural evolution in primates in order to better evaluate our closest relatives' cultural capacities. Previous studies using transmission chain experimental paradigms, in which the behavioural output of one individual becomes the target behaviour for the next individual in the chain, show that cultural transmission can lead to the progressive emergence of systematically structured behaviours in humans. Inspired by this work, we combined a pattern reproduction task on touch screens with an iterated learning procedure to develop transmission chains of baboons (Papio papio). Using this procedure, we show that baboons can exhibit three fundamental aspects of human cultural evolution: a progressive increase in performance, the emergence of systematic structure and the presence of lineage specificity. Our results shed new light on human uniqueness: we share with our closest relatives essential capacities to produce human-like cultural evolution.

Rationale: The various alpha subtypes of GABA sub(A) receptors have been strongly implicated in alcohol reinforcement and consumption. Objectives: The effects of the GABA sub(A) alpha 1-preferring ligand, 3-propoxy- beta -carboline hydrochloride (3-PBC), on seeking and self-administration responses were evaluated in two groups of baboons trained under a 3-component chained schedule of reinforcement (CSR). Methods: Alcohol (4 %w/v; n=5; alcohol group) or a preferred nonalcoholic beverage (n=4; control group) was available for self-administration only in component 3 of the CSR. Responses in component 2 provided indices of motivation to drink (seeking). 3-PBC (1.0-30.0 mg/kg) and saline were administered before drinking sessions under both acute and 5-day dosing conditions. Results: Repeated, and not acute, doses of 3-PBC significantly decreased total self-administration responses (p<0.05), volume consumed (p<0.05), and gram per kilogram of alcohol (p<0.05) in the alcohol group. In the control group, 5-day administration of 3-PBC significantly decreased total self-administration responses (p<0.05) but produced nonsignificant decreases in volume consumed. Within-session pattern of drinking was characterized by a high level of drinking in the first 20 min of the session for both groups, which was significantly (p<0.05) decreased by all doses of 3-PBC (1.0-18.0 mg/kg) only in the alcohol group. In contrast, the first drinking bout in the control group was only reduced at the highest doses of 3-PBC (10.0 and 18.0 mg/kg). Conclusions: The results support the involvement of the GABA sub(A) alpha 1 subtype receptor in alcohol reinforcement and consumption.

The last couple of decades have highlighted the importance of studying hybridization, particularly among primate species, as it allows us to better understand our own evolutionary trajectory. Here, we report on genetic ancestry estimates using dense, full genome data from 881 olive ( Papio anubus ), yellow ( Papio cynocephalus ), or olive-yellow crossed captive baboons from the Southwest National Primate Research Center. We calculated global and local ancestry information, imputed low coverage genomes (n = 830) to improve marker quality, and updated the genetic resources of baboons available to assist future studies. We found evidence of historical admixture in some putatively purebred animals and identified errors within the Southwest National Primate Research Center pedigree. We also compared the outputs between two different phasing and imputation pipelines along with two different global ancestry estimation software. There was good agreement between the global ancestry estimation software, with R 2 > 0.88, while evidence of phase switch errors increased depending on what phasing and imputation pipeline was used. We also generated updated genetic maps and created a concise set of ancestry informative markers (n = 1,747) to accurately obtain global ancestry estimates.

Daily transcription cycling in the baboon Much of our knowledge about the important effects of circadian rhythms in physiology comes from studies of mice, which are nocturnal. Mure et al. report transcriptional profiles from many tissues and brain regions in baboons over a 24-hour period (see the Perspective by Millius and Ueda). The results emphasize how extensive rhythmic expression is, with more than 80% of protein-coding genes involved. They also highlight unanticipated differences between the mouse and baboon in the cycling of transcripts in various tissues. The findings provide a comprehensive analysis of circadian variation in gene expression for a diurnal animal closely related to humans. Science , this issue p. eaao0318 ; see also p. 1210

Measuring the in vivo occupancy of antipsychotic drugs at dopamine D sub(2) and D sub(3) receptors separately has been difficult because of the lack of selective radiotracers. The recently developed [ super(11)C]-(+)-PHNO is D sub(3)-preferring, allowing estimates of the relative D sub(2) and D sub(3) binding of antipsychotic drugs. We used positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in baboons with [ super(11)C]-(+)-PHNO to examine the binding of clozapine and haloperidol to D sub(2) and D sub(3) receptors. Four animals were scanned with dynamically acquired PET and arterial plasma input functions. Test and retest scans were acquired in single scanning sessions for three subjects to assess the reproducibility of [ super(11)C]-(+)-PHNO scans. Four additional scans were acquired in each of three subjects following single doses of antipsychotic drugs (clozapine 0.5534mg/kg, haloperidol 0.0109mg/kg, two administrations per drug per subject) and compared with baseline scans. The percent change in binding ( Delta BP sub(ND)) following challenges with antipsychotic drugs was measured. A regression model, based on published values of regional D sub(2) and D sub(3) fractions of [ super(11)C]-(+)-PHNO BP sub(ND) in six brain regions, was used to infer occupancy at D sub(2) and D sub(3) receptors. BP sub(ND) following antipsychotic challenge decreased in all regions. Estimated D sub(2):D sub(3) selectivity was 2.38 for haloperidol and 5.25 for clozapine, similar to published in vitro values for haloperidol (3.03), but slightly higher for clozapine (2.82). These data suggest that acute doses of clozapine and haloperidol bind to D sub(3) receptors in vivo, and that the lack of D sub(3) occupancy by antipsychotics observed in some recent imaging studies may be because of other phenomena.

The ability of Baboons (papio papio) to distinguish between English words and nonwords has been modeled using a deep learning convolutional network model that simulates a ventral pathway in which lexical representations of different granularity develop. However, given that pigeons (columba livia), whose brain morphology is drastically different, can also be trained to distinguish between English words and nonwords, it appears that a less species-specific learning algorithm may be required to explain this behavior. Accordingly, we examined whether the learning model of Rescorla and Wagner, which has proved to be amazingly fruitful in understanding animal and human learning could account for these data. We show that a discrimination learning network using gradient orientation features as input units and word and nonword units as outputs succeeds in predicting baboon lexical decision behavior-including key lexical similarity effects and the ups and downs in accuracy as learning unfolds-with surprising precision. The models performance, in which words are not explicitly represented, is remarkable because it is usually assumed that lexicality decisions, including the decisions made by baboons and pigeons, are mediated by explicit lexical representations. By contrast, our results suggest that in learning to perform lexical decision tasks, baboons and pigeons do not construct a hierarchy of lexical units. Rather, they make optimal use of low-level information obtained through the massively parallel processing of gradient orientation features. Accordingly, we suggest that reading in humans first involves initially learning a high-level system building on letter representations acquired from explicit instruction in literacy, which is then integrated into a conventionalized oral communication system, and that like the latter, fluent reading involves the massively parallel processing of the low-level features encoding semantic contrasts.

Non-human primates (NHPs) are known hosts for adenoviruses (AdVs), so there is the possibility of the zoonotic or cross-species transmission of AdVs. As with humans, AdV infections in animals can cause diseases that range from asymptomatic to fatal. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence and diversity of AdVs in: (i) fecal samples of apes and monkeys from different African countries (Republic of Congo, Senegal, Djibouti and Algeria), (ii) stool of humans living near gorillas in the Republic of Congo, in order to explore the potential zoonotic risks. Samples were screened by real-time and standard PCRs, followed by the sequencing of the partial DNA polymerase gene in order to identify the AdV species. The prevalence was 3.3 folds higher in NHPs than in humans. More than 1/3 (35.8%) of the NHPs and 1/10 (10.5%) of the humans excreted AdVs in their feces. The positive rate was high in great apes (46%), with a maximum of 54.2% in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and 35.9% in gorillas (Gorilla gorilla), followed by monkeys (25.6%), with 27.5% in Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) and 23.1% in baboons (seven Papio papio and six Papio hamadryas). No green monkeys (Chlorocebus sabaeus) were found to be positive for AdVs. The AdVs detected in NHPs were members of Human mastadenovirus E (HAdV-E), HAdV-C or HAdV-B, and those in the humans belonged to HAdV-C or HAdV-D. HAdV-C members were detected in both gorillas and humans, with evidence of zoonotic transmission since phylogenetic analysis revealed that gorilla AdVs belonging to HAdV-C were genetically identical to strains detected in humans who had been living around gorillas, and, inversely, a HAdV-C member HAdV type was detected in gorillas. This confirms the gorilla-to-human transmission of adenovirus. which has been reported previously. In addition, HAdV-E members, the most often detected here, are widely distributed among NHP species regardless of their origin, i.e., HAdV-E members seem to lack host specificity. Virus isolation was successful from a human sample and the strain of the Mbo024 genome, of 35 kb, that was identified as belonging to HAdV-D, exhibited close identity to HAdV-D members for all genes. This study provides information on the AdVs that infect African NHPs and the human populations living nearby, with an evident zoonotic transmission. It is likely that AdVs crossed the species barrier between different NHP species (especially HAdV-E members), between NHPs and humans (especially HAdV-C), but also between humans, NHPs and other animal species.

Gut microbiota in geographically isolated host populations are often distinct. These differences have been attributed to between-population differences in host behaviours, environments, genetics and geographical distance. However, which factors are most important remains unknown. Here, we fill this gap for baboons by leveraging information on 13 environmental variables from 14 baboon populations spanning a natural hybrid zone. Sampling across a hybrid zone allowed us to additionally test whether phylosymbiosis (codiversification between hosts and their microbiota) is detectable in admixed, closely related primates. We found little evidence of genetic effects: none of host genetic ancestry, host genetic relatedness nor genetic distance between host populations were strong predictors of baboon gut microbiota. Instead, gut microbiota were best explained by the baboons' environments, especially the soil's geologic history and exchangeable sodium. Indeed, soil effects were 15 times stronger than those of host–population FST, perhaps because soil predicts which foods are present, or because baboons are terrestrial and consume soil microbes incidentally with their food. Our results support an emerging picture in which environmental variation is the dominant predictor of host-associated microbiomes. We are the first to show that such effects overshadow host species identity among members of the same primate genus.

In humans, simple 2D visual displays of launching events (“Michottean launches”) can evoke the impression of causality. Direct launching events are regarded as causal, but similar events with a temporal and/or spatial gap between the movements of the two objects, as non-causal. This ability to distinguish between causal and non-causal events is perceptual in nature and develops early and preverbally in infancy. In the present study we investigated the evolutionary origins of this phenomenon and tested whether Guinea baboons ( Papio papio ) perceive causality in launching events. We used a novel paradigm which was designed to distinguish between the use of causality and the use of spatiotemporal properties. Our results indicate that Guinea baboons successfully discriminate between different Michottean events, but we did not find a learning advantage for a categorisation based on causality as was the case for human adults. Our results imply that, contrary to humans, baboons focused on the spatial and temporal gaps to achieve accurate categorisation, but not on causality per se . Understanding how animals perceive causality is important to figure out whether non-human animals comprehend events similarly to humans. Our study hints at a different manner of processing physical causality for Guinea baboons and human adults.