Basic emotional foundations of social dominance in relation to Panksepp's affective taxonomy

Abstract

An examination of the chemistries and subcortical substrates of social “dominance” behavior has not been systematically reviewed in relation to the primary emotion circuitries described by Panksepp. This is a necessary first step toward untangling the affective foundations of social dominance, in order to determine whether it may legitimately be considered a discrete basic emotion. In this review, several classes of behavior are identified as potential expressions of dominance. They include intermale fighting, intimidation displays, and territorial scent marking. A review of the neurobiological evidence suggests a locus of control of dominance behaviors in a region defined by high density of testosterone and vasopressin (AVP) receptors surrounding the anterior hypothalamus. While many studies report findings regarding the elicitation of dominance behaviors from direct stimulation of these subcortical sites, there is nonetheless a great deal of inconsistency within the literature, as well as overlap with other basic emotion circuitries, making the identification of a consistently recognizable subcortical circuit across species a great challenge. Furthermore, the chemical control of dominance is probably more diverse than previously thought. Testosterone and AVP do not appear to be exclusively involved in dominance. These hormones regulate a variety of social behaviors linked to socio-sexual functioning. In light of these observations, it is unlikely that the coherence observed in the dominance phenotype is attributable to a distinct affective circuit, but it may instead reflect an interaction of several basic emotions operating together as a result of favorable outcomes during social development.