computer stimulated hierarchal conditions showed increased activity in the ventral and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, one processing judgment cues and the other processing status of an individual. Other studies have determined that lesions to the prefrontal cortex (when the area is severed to disrupt functioning to observe its role in behavior) led to deficits in processing social hierarchy cues, suggesting this area is important in regulating this information. Although the prefrontal cortex has been implicated, there are other downstream targets of the prefrontal cortex that have also been linked in maintaining this behavior. This includes the amygdala through lesion studies in rats and primates which led to disruption in hierarchy, and can affect the individual negatively or positively depending on the subnuclei that is targeted. Additionally, the dorsal medial PFC-medial dorsal thalamus connection has been linked with maintenance of rank in mice. Another area that has been associated is the dorsal raphe nucleus, the primary serotonergic nuclei (a neurotransmitter involved with many behaviors including reward and learning). In manipulation studies of this region, there were changes in fighting and affiliative behavior in primates and crustaceans. In specific groups Female dominance in mammals Female-biased dominance occurs rarely in mammals. It occurs when all adult males exhibit submissive behavior to adult females in social settings. These social settings are usually related to feeding, grooming, and sleeping site priority. It is observed consistently in hyenas, lemurs and the bonobo. The ring-tailed lemur is observed to be the most prominent model of female dominance. There are three basic proposals for the evolution of female dominance: The Energy Conservation Hypothesis: males subordinate to females to conserve energy for intense male-male competition experienced during very short breeding seasons Female behavioral strategy: dominance helps females deal with the unusually high reproductive demands; they prevail in more social conflicts because they have more at stake in terms of fitness. Male behavioral strategy: males defer as a parental investment because it ensures more resources in a harsh unpredictable climate for the female, and thus, the male's future offspring. In lemurs, no single hypothesis fully explains female social dominance at this time and all three are likely to play a role. Adult female lemurs have increased concentrations of androgens when they transition from non-breeding to breeding seasons, increasing female aggression. Androgens are greater in pregnant female lemurs, which suggests that organizational androgens might influence the developing offspring. Organizational androgens play a