Growth is regulated by psychosocial stress and social status, mediated by telencephalic somatostatin growth, or CRF secretion in humans.

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We have shown previously (Hofmann et al., 1999a) that NTs and males ascending in social rank (nonterritorial→territorial) show an increased growth rate, whereas Ts and socially descending animals (T→NT) slow their growth rate or even shrink.

To induce social change, we subjected animals to a fluctuating environment (Hofmann et al., 1999a), simulating alterations in the natural environment caused by hippopotamus visits, winds, predation, etc. (Fernald and Hirata, 1977a). Animals were observed and their growth was measured before they were killed, after which changes in the preoptic brain area were measured.

Somatostatin cell size is significantly correlated with overall growth rate (Fig. 5b). The resulting inverse relationship between cell sizes and growth rates was fitted by a linear regression analysis (regression ANOVA; F(1,16) = 11.4133;r2= 0.42; p < 0.001).

Psychosocial short stature