@inproceedings {9998,
	title = {Modelling the Social Buffering Hypothesis in an Artificial Life Environment},
	booktitle = {Proceedings of the Artificial Life Conference 2020 (ALIFE 2020)},
	year = {2020},
	note = {<a href="https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/isal_a_00302">Download</a> (Open Access)},
	month = {07/2020},
	pages = {393{\textendash}401},
	publisher = {MIT Press},
	organization = {MIT Press},
	address = {Montreal, Canada},
	abstract = {In social species, individuals who form social bonds have been found to live longer, healthier lives. One hypothesised reason for this effect is that social support, mediated by oxytocin, "buffers" responses to stress in a number of ways, and is considered an important process of adaptation that facilitates long-term wellbeing in changing, stressful conditions. Using an artificial life model, we have investigated the role of one hypothesised stress-reducing effect of social support on the survival and social interactions of agents in a small society. We have investigated this effect using different types of social bonds and bond partner combinations across environmentally-challenging conditions. Our results have found that stress reduction through social support benefits the survival of agents with social bonds, and that this effect often extends to the wider society. We have also found that this effect is significantly affected by environmental and social contexts. Our findings suggest that these "social buffering" effects may not be universal, but dependent upon the degree of environmental challenges, the quality of affective relationships and the wider social context.},
	doi = {10.1162/isal_a_00302},
	url = {https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/isal_a_00302},
	author = {Imran Khan and Lewis, Matthew and Lola Ca{\~n}amero},
	editor = {Josh Bongard and Juniper Lovato and Laurent Hebert-Dufr{\'e}sne and Radhakrishna Dasari and Lisa Soros}
}
@article {2018,
	title = {Modelling Adaptation through Social Allostasis: Modulating the Effects of Social Touch with Oxytocin in Embodied Agents},
	journal = {Multimodal Technologies and Interaction},
	volume = {2},
	year = {2018},
	note = {<a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2414-4088/2/4/67">Download</a> (Open Access)},
	publisher = {MDPI},
	chapter = {67},
	address = {Basel, Switzerland},
	abstract = {Social allostasis is a mechanism of adaptation that permits individuals to dynamically adapt their physiology to changing physical and social conditions. Oxytocin (OT) is widely considered to be one of the hormones that drives and adapts social behaviours. While its precise effects remain unclear, two areas where OT may promote adaptation are by affecting social salience, and affecting internal responses of performing social behaviours. Working towards a model of dynamic adaptation through social allostasis in simulated embodied agents, and extending our previous work studying OT-inspired modulation of social salience, we present a model and experiments that investigate the effects and adaptive value of allostatic processes based on hormonal (OT) modulation of affective elements of a social behaviour. In particular, we investigate and test the effects and adaptive value of modulating the degree of satisfaction of tactile contact in a social motivation context in a small simulated agent society across different environmental challenges (related to availability of food) and effects of OT modulation of social salience as a motivational incentive. Our results show that the effects of these modulatory mechanisms have different (positive or negative) adaptive value across different groups and under different environmental circumstance in a way that supports the context-dependent nature of OT, put forward by the interactionist approach to OT modulation in biological agents. In terms of simulation models, this means that OT modulation of the mechanisms that we have described should be context-dependent in order to maximise viability of our socially adaptive agents, illustrating the relevance of social allostasis mechanisms.},
	issn = {2414-4088},
	doi = {10.3390/mti2040067},
	url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2414-4088/2/4/67},
	author = {Imran Khan and Lola Ca{\~n}amero}
}
