Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30966879›Full record

ArticlePhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences2019

Early-life manipulation of cortisol and its receptor alters stress axis programming and social competence.

Maria Reyes-Contreras, Gaétan Glauser, Diana J Rennison, Barbara Taborsky

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed
7.9field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

20 citing papers in PubMed, 45 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Early life adversity shapes adult behavior in a free-ranging primate.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  3. Sibling number and early interactions shape social competence for life.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Rainbow Trout (International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Review
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Predator-induced maternal effects determine adaptive antipredator behaviors via egg composition.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2021
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Early-life stress influences ion balance in developing zebrafish (Danio rerio).Journal of comparative physiology. B, Biochemical, systemic, and environmental physiology · 2021
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Implication of Spiritual Network Support System in Epigenomic Modulation and Health Trajectory.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019
    Review
  19. Developing differences: early-life effects and evolutionary medicine.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2019
    Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Maria Reyes-Contreras1 Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern , Wohlenstrasse 50A, 3032 Hinterkappelen , Switzerland.
Gaétan Glauser2 Neuchâtel Platform of Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of Neuchâtel , Avenue de Bellevaux 51, 2009 Neuchâtel , Switzerland.
Diana J Rennison3 Division of Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern , Baltzerstrasse 6, 3012 Bern , Switzerland.
Barbara Taborsky1 Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern , Wohlenstrasse 50A, 3032 Hinterkappelen , Switzerland.
University of Bern · CHUniversity of Neuchâtel · CH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In many vertebrate species, early social experience generates long-term effects on later life social behaviour. These effects are accompanied by persistent modifications in the expression of genes implicated in the stress axis. It is unknown, however, whether stress axis programming can affect the development of social competence, and if so, by which mechanism(s). Here, we used pharmacological manipulations to persistently reprogramme the hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal axis of juvenile cooperatively breeding cichlids, Neolamprologus pulcher. During the first two months of life, juveniles were repeatedly treated with cortisol, mifepristone or control treatments. Three months after the last manipulation, we tested for treatment effects on (i) social competence, (ii) the expression of genes coding for corticotropin-releasing factor ( crf), glucocorticoid receptor ( gr1) and mineralocorticoid receptor ( mr) in the telencephalon and hypothalamus and (iii) cortisol levels. Social competence in a social challenge was reduced in cortisol-treated juveniles, which is in accordance with previous work applying early-life manipulations using different social experiences. During early life, both cortisol and mifepristone treatments induced a persistent downregulation of crf and upregulation of mr in the telencephalon. We suggest that these persistent changes in stress gene expression may represent an effective physiological mechanism for coping with stress. This article is part of the theme issue 'Developing differences: early-life effects and evolutionary medicine'.

Indexed as

Social BehaviorAnimalsCichlidsFish ProteinsHormone AntagonistsHydrocortisoneHypothalamo-Hypophyseal SystemMifepristoneReceptors, GlucocorticoidStress, PhysiologicalFish ProteinsHormone AntagonistsHydrocortisonehydrocortisone receptorMifepristoneReceptors, Glucocorticoidcichlidscorticosteroid receptordevelopmental plasticityearly-life effectsHPA/HPI axismifepristone

Identifiers

PMID30966879
PMCPMC6460083
OpenAlexW2917303293

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.