Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
compromise both the research operation and the husbandry
practices of the facility. Given that primates are long-lived,
early rearing regimens have profound long-term conse-
quences for caregivers and researchers alike.
SUMMARY
The field of biomedical research is rapidly becoming more
dependent on sophisticated techniques to answer current
scientific questions. A consequence of this increase in
technology is the need for refined animal models to assist in
finding solutions to these questions. The veterinarian's role
in this area is a critical one, as it becomes his/her respon-
sibility to keep the research animal healthy. While the
majority of the veterinarian's training and education relates
to the physical health of the animal, it is imperative that the
entire well-being of the animal be addressed, including its
behavioral health. Some abnormal behaviors, such as self-
mutilation, have an obvious impact on the health of the
animal and the research being conducted. Other, less
severe, behavioral pathologies are not as well understood
with respect to their consequences for an animal's long-
term health. Fortunately, psychological disorders in
nonhuman primates are, at least to some extent, preventable
and treatable. Moral, scientific, and regulatory reasons
mandate using available techniques to reduce, if not elim-
inate, psychological disorders from our laboratory primate
colonies.
Husbandry Decisions for Older Primates
Strategies for preventing abnormal behavior in juveniles,
adolescents, and adults include minimizing exposure to
individual cage housing. If individual cage housing is
required, every effort should be made to reduce the length
of time animals spend in individual cages and to insure that
animals are old enough (generally at least 2 years of age)
when first placed in an individual cage to reduce the odds
that SIB will develop. Although little is known about the
possible preventative effects of environmental enrichment
programs on abnormal behavior, the benefits accrued to
enhancing species-typical behavior suggest that individual
cage housing should be associated with vigorous efforts to
enhance the environment.
Reversing Behavioral Pathology
The research cited above demonstrates that once acquired,
abnormal behavior can be very resistant to treatment.
Furthermore, different treatments appear to affect animals
differently. Depending on the research project, the animal's
previous clinical and experimental history, and the severity
of the abnormal behavior, several options are available that
include social housing, training, environmental enrichment,
and pharmacotherapy. None of these treatment options
work in all cases, and each option has costs and benefits.
Social living in a laboratory environment is clearly not
a stress-free environment, and there are occasional pairings
that do not work out well. On the other hand, this procedure
is associated with a significant probability of success in
reducing abnormal behavior. Training appears to reduce
abnormal behavior in some instances but requires reminder
training and extensive time commitment by personnel. The
effect of environmental enrichment on abnormal behavior
appears to be highly variable. However, because some
benefits accrue to individual animals, it is important to
implement a vigorous program of enrichment, particularly
for individually housed monkeys that cannot be paired
either because of aggressive tendencies or research proto-
cols. Pharmacotherapy may be crucial for animals with
severe behavioral pathologies (e.g. SIB) that are unaffected
by any of the above treatments. Indeed, depending on the
severity of wounding, treatment with SSRIs or benzodiaz-
epines may be required immediately. On the other hand,
little is known about the optimal length of treatment and
whether monkeys revert back to their previous abnormal
behavior if the drug therapy is discontinued. Furthermore,
drug treatment may interfere with research protocols.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This effort was supported in part by NIH grants RR11122 to M.A.N.
and by RR000168 to the New England Primate Research Center.
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