It's true that our social status can influence many areas of our lives, but it might be even deeper than we thought.
A new research conducted on mice explains how our place in society is connected with our levels of stress.
Let's find out more!
Does social status affect stress levels?
Tulane University researchers believe so, particularly in females.
Their study, published in Current Biology, focused on social isolation and social instability as forms of psychosocial stress and how they impact individuals based on their social rank.
The researchers observed adult female mice in pairs, establishing a dominant-subordinate relationship.
They monitored behavior, stress hormones, and neuronal activation to understand the effects of chronic social stress.
Interestingly, lower-ranked mice were more susceptible to social instability, while higher-ranked individuals experienced more stress from social isolation.
Brain activation patterns also differed based on social encounters, stress type, and social rank.
Dominant animals' brains reacted differently to isolation than to uncertainty, and the same was true for subordinate animals.
Each rank exhibited a unique neurobiological response to chronic stress.
Although the study focused on mice, the researchers believe the findings could have implications for understanding stress-related mental illnesses like anxiety and depression in humans.
