Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Ethical Responsibilities
As stewards for the NHPs in our care, we have a moral and
ethical responsibility to provide them with humane, high
quality care that promotes both their physical and
psychological health. Societal expectations for this level of
care have also risen in many countries, and it is important
that biomedical research facilities be seen as institutions
that care about the animals they house. In short, behavioral
management is a key component of promoting psycho-
logical well-being and is therefore the “right thing to do.”
This ethical responsibility to provide for the psycho-
logical and behavioral needs of captive primates is implicit
in position statements by several veterinary and research
societies, including the American Veterinary Medical
Association (AVMA) (2011),
the World Organization for
Animal Health (OIE) (2010), the American College
of Animal Welfare (ACAW) (2010), the American Society
of Primatologists (ASP) (2001), the American Society of
Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) (2007)
, and several
others. These position statements refer to the importance of
managing both physiological and psychological needs of
animals in captivity.
Many modern animal care practices, including behav-
ioral management, are based on the principle of the “three
Rs”; refinement, reduction, and replacement (
Russell and
Burch, 1959
). These principles are a part of the regulations
guiding animal care for several nations, including the
European Union's Directive 2010/63/EU (
European
Parliament, 2010
) and Japan's 2006 amendment to the Law
for the Humane Treatment and Management of Animals
(
Japanese Parliament, 2006
). Refinement is of particular
importance to psychological well-being, emphasizing ways
to minimize the stress and distress experienced by the
animals while enhancing their well-being (
Jennings et al.,
2009
). Many behavioral management practices represent
significant refinements insofar as they improve psycho-
logical well-being and welfare and reduce stress for
subjects. Further, by decreasing stress-related variability in
research-related dependent measures, behavioral manage-
ment and improvements in psychological well-being can
reduce the number of research subjects required for many
experiments, resulting in a reduction in animal use as well
as an improvement in the reliability of the research data
collected. Primate behavior specialists can help facilities
ensure that true refinements in primate behavioral
management and psychological well-being are imple-
mented (
Jennings et al., 2009
).
use of valid animal models. The value of most animal
models is considerably improved when the subjects are
healthy, both physically and psychologically. Environ-
mental and psychosocial stressors can alter many physio-
logical parameters in nonhuman primates, including the
reproductive axis (
Norman et al., 1994; von Holst, 1998
),
immunological parameters (
Rogers et al., 1998; Hickey
et al., 2003; Engler et al., 2004
), cardiovascular variables
(
Schnell and Gerber, 1997
), and brain function (
Conrad and
McEwen, 2000
). Common husbandry practices, such as
frequent moves (
Capitanio and Lerche, 1998; Bethea et al.,
2005
), excessive noise (
Peterson et al., 1981
), and handling
for venipuncture or injections (
Reinhardt et al., 1990; Hall
and Everds, 2003; Reinhardt, 2003; Lambeth et al., 2005
)
can result in activation of the hypothalamic pituitary
system, which can in turn affect research outcomes. For
example, Capitanio and colleagues (
Capitanio et al., 1998
)
found that rhesus macaques subjected to frequent housing
relocation and social separations around the time of
infection with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) had
shorter survival times than did those not exposed to these
common stressors. These same procedures have been found
to disrupt menstrual cycles in some adult macaques (
Bethea
et al., 2005
), an event that can negatively affect a variety of
research studies as well as breeding outcomes. Stress can
also result in the development of maladaptive behaviors
such as self-injurious behavior (
Novak, 2003
), which can
negatively affect a variety of research outcomes. Further,
because there can be vast differences in how individuals
respond to stress (
Meaney et al., 1991; De Kloet, 2004;
Bartolomucci et al., 2005
), uncontrolled stressors can add
variability to studies. Behavioral management techniques
can reduce both the fear and anxiety associated with
experimental procedures and the development of stress-
related problems and thereby can increase the validity of
experimental results. As such, behavioral management is
a key component of improving the quality of animal models
for research.
It is neither possible nor desirable to eliminate all of the
stress experienced by laboratory primates. Stressors are not
intrinsically detrimental (
Novak and Suomi, 1988
) and are
a natural part of the behavioral environment of many
nonhuman primates (
de Waal, 1991
). Indeed, some
stressors can be adaptive, as they relieve boredom and help
the animal learn to cope with various factors in their
environment (
Newberry, 1995
). Enrichment and behavioral
management techniques can mitigate stress responses to
some aversive stimuli (
Benaroya-Milshtein et al., 2004
).
Compared with animals in an impoverished environment,
enriched animals show less fear and are less responsive to
negative events, such as exposure to predators or certain
experimental procedures (
Klein et al., 1994; Moncek et al.,
2004; Barbelivien et al., 2006
). This increased resiliency
when stressed is widely considered an important aspect of
Enhancing the Research Endeavor
Another compelling reason to provide behavioral
management strategies for laboratory NHPs is to enhance
the research endeavor. High quality science depends on the
