Hormone behind finger length linked to social behaviour

Washington, Nov 5 : The hormones, called androgens, which are known to affect finger length during development in the womb, play a major role in social behaviour in primate groups, say researchers at Oxford and Liverpool.

Androgens are important in the development of masculine characteristics such as aggression and strength, and high levels of one such hormone, called testosterone, increase the length of the fourth finger in comparison to the second finger.

In the study, researchers used finger ratios as an indicator of the levels of exposure to the hormone and compared the data with social behaviour in primate groups.

After analyses, they found that Old World monkeys, such as baboons and rhesus macaques, have a longer fourth finger in comparison to the second finger, which suggests that they have been exposed to high levels of prenatal androgens.

These species tend to be highly competitive and promiscuous, which suggests that exposure to a lot of androgens before birth could be linked to the expression of this behaviour.

Other species, such as gibbons and many New World species, have digit ratios that suggest low levels of prenatal androgen exposure. These species were monogamous and less competitive than Old World monkeys.

The results show that Great Apes, such as orang-utans and chimpanzees, expressed a different finger ratio.

The analysis suggests that early androgen exposure is lower in this groups compared to Old World monkeys.

Lower androgen levels could help explain why Great Apes show high levels of male cooperation and tolerance.

"It is thought that prenatal androgens affect the genes responsible for the development of fingers, toes and the reproductive system. High androgen levels from a foetus or mother during pregnancy, may alter gene function and lead to subtle changes in relative digit length and the functioning of the reproductive system. Finger ratios do not change very much after birth and appear to tell us something about how very early androgens affect adult behaviour, particularly behaviour linked to mating and reproduction," said Emma Nelson at the University of Liverpool.

"Humans are unique in that they live in large multi-male, multi-female groups, but maintain strong bonds and show high levels of group cooperation in both males and females. In most other species males are competitive rather than co-operative. Research from finger ratios may help us understand more clearly the development of human sociality and its evolutionary origins," said Dr Susanne Shultz at the University of Oxford.

--ANI