Wt. Boyce et al., TYMPANIC TEMPERATURE ASYMMETRY AND STRESS BEHAVIOR IN RHESUS MACAQUESAND CHILDREN, Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine, 150(5), 1996, pp. 518-523
Objectives: To examine left-to-right tympanic membrane temperature asy
mmetries and their possible association with biobehavioral stress resp
onses in rhesus macaques and children. Subjects and Design: Infrared t
ympanic membrane thermometry was completed bilaterally in 19 two-year-
old rhesus macaques and 18 eight-year-old children in a cross-sectiona
l, laboratory-based study. Unidirectional temperature gradients were c
alculated as the mean of two left-sided measurements minus the mean of
two right-sided measurements. Biobehavioral stress responses were ass
essed in monkeys as agitated motor activity and adrenocortical activat
ion after separation from the social group, and in children as parent-
reported resilience to psychological stress and child behavior problem
s. Results: Significant asymmetry was detected in tympanic membrane te
mperatures in both monkey and child samples, with left-sided temperatu
res measuring slightly but significantly higher than those from the ri
ght tympanic membrane. Higher-magnitude left-to-right temperature grad
ients were associated with stress-related locomotion in macaques and w
ith lower resilience and more behavior problems in children. Conclusio
ns: There are small but reliable asymmetries in the tympanic membrane
temperatures of young human and nonhuman primates. Tympanic membrane t
emperature gradients reflect important individual differences in biolo
gically derived responses to psychological stressors.