Conditional allogrooming in the herb-field mouse

Among members of the family Muridae, the herb-field mouse, Apodemus microps, is unique in that aggression is almost entirely lacking.This species, therefore, is a model organism for experimentalstudies of social behavior without the confounding influenceof aggression. We used video surveillance cameras to assessthe importance of self-grooming and allogrooming in the sociallife of this species. Detailed analysis of individual behavioralsequences using Markov chain methods revealed that self-groomingis a relatively stereotypic, sex-independent activity usually lasting about 8 s. Allogrooming is conditional in the herb-fieldmouse, because it takes the form of a reciprocal strategy,with the differences between nonmatching bouts varying accordingto whether the initiator of allogrooming is male or femaleand whether both interactants are of the same or opposite sex.Our analysis revealed that the exchange of allogrooming bouts between individuals of the same sex is reciprocal, but thatmales allow females to "defect" more often than vice versa,and males groomed females for longer than predicted by thedistribution of individual self-grooming bouts. In those specieswhere the demand for mating by males is far greater than thatoffered by females, in other words where females may selectmates, asymmetry of allogrooming may provide a mechanism forfemales to test the "suitability" of males for mating. It mayalso provide the means for males to stimulate females before mating. Furthermore, allogrooming was the only sex-dependentbehavior of the several tested in our experiment. As such,we suggest that allogrooming is the predominant premating mechanismin this species.     

Distress prevention by grooming others in crested black macaques

Allogrooming is probably one of the most common and most studied social behaviours in a variety of animals. Whereas the short-term benefits for the groomee have often been investigated, little is known about the effects for the groomer. Our study focused on the short-term effects of grooming another group member in seven adult female crested black macaques (Macaca nigra). We found reductions in self-directed behaviour, an indicator of anxiety, and aggressive tendencies soon after grooming, when compared to matched-control periods. These findings can be interpreted as evidence of distress prevention, possibly mediated by an increase in tolerance. Indeed, a former groomee was more likely to be the nearest neighbour of the former groomer in the 10 min after grooming ended. Thus, the role of grooming in short-term distress alleviation can be applicable to the groomer as well as the groomee. These short-term effects, together with the longer-term effects of large and/or strong grooming networks confirm that grooming, as well as receiving grooming, has great importance for social dynamics.     

Oct4‐induced oligodendrocyte progenitor cells enhance functional recovery in spinal cord injury model

The generation of patient‐specific oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) holds great potential as an expandable cell source for cell replacement therapy as well as drug screening in spinal cord injury or demyelinating diseases. Here, we demonstrate that induced OPCs (iOPCs) can be directly derived from adult mouse fibroblasts by Oct4‐mediated direct reprogramming, using anchorage‐independent growth to ensure high purity. Homogeneous iOPCs exhibit typical small‐bipolar morphology, maintain their self‐renewal capacity and OPC marker expression for more than 31 passages, share high similarity in the global gene expression profile to wild‐type OPCs, and give rise to mature oligodendrocytes and astrocytes in vitro and in vivo. Notably, transplanted iOPCs contribute to functional recovery in a spinal cord injury (SCI) model without tumor formation. This study provides a simple strategy to generate functional self‐renewing iOPCs and yields insights for the in‐depth study of demyelination and regenerative medicine.