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Stop Animal
Exploitation NOW!
S. A. E. N.
"Exposing the truth to wipe
out animal experimentation"
Government Grants Promoting Cruelty to Animals
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
MELINDA A. NOVAK - Primate Testing - 2006
Grant Number: 5R24RR011122-10
Project Title: Self-Injurious Behavior and Primate Well-Being
PI Information: PROFESSOR MELINDA A. NOVAK,
[email protected]
Abstract:
This abstract is not available.
Thesaurus Terms:
There are no thesaurus terms on file for this project.
Institution: HARVARD UNIVERSITY (MEDICAL SCHOOL)
MEDICAL SCHOOL CAMPUS
BOSTON, MA 02115
Fiscal Year: 2006
Department: PSYCHIATRY
Project Start: 30-SEP-1996
Project End: 31-JUL-2010
ICD: NATIONAL CENTER FOR RESEARCH RESOURCES
IRG: RIRG
Front Biosci. 2005 Jan 1;10:1-11.
The physiology and neurochemistry of self-injurious behavior: a nonhuman
primate model.
Tiefenbacher S, Novak MA, Lutz CK, Meyer JS.
Division of Behavioral Biology, New England Primate Research Center,
Harvard Medical School, Southborough, MA 01772, USA. [email protected]
<[email protected]>
Self-injurious behavior (SIB) is a serious behavioral condition that
afflicts millions of individuals in the United States alone. The
underlying factors contributing to the development of self-injury in
people are poorly understood, and existing treatment strategies for this
condition are limited. A low but persistent percentage of socially
reared individually housed rhesus monkeys also spontaneously develop
SIB. Data obtained from colony records suggest that the risk of
developing SIB in socially reared rhesus monkeys is heightened by
adverse early experience and subsequent stress exposure. The present
review summarizes the physiological and neurochemical findings obtained
in this nonhuman primate model of SIB, focusing on monoamine
neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, and neuroendocrine systems. The
results indicate that monkeys with SIB exhibit long-lasting disturbances
in central and peripheral opioid and stress response systems, which lead
to increased levels of anxiety. Based on these findings, we propose an
integrated developmental-neurochemical hypothesis in which SIB arises
from adverse life events in a subset of vulnerable monkeys, is
maintained by a persisting dysregulation of several neurochemical and
physiological systems, and functions to periodically reduce anxiety when
the levels of anxiety become excessive. Implications of this hypothesis
for understanding self-injury in patients with borderline personality
disorder and members of the general population are discussed.
PMID: 15576335 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Comp Med. 2005 Aug;55(4):387-92. Links
The efficacy of diazepam treatment for the management
of acute wounding episodes in captive rhesus macaques.
Tiefenbacher S, Fahey MA, Rowlett JK, Meyer JS, Pouliot AL, Jones BM,
Novak MA.
New England Primate Research Center, Harvard Medical School,
Southborough, Massachusetts 017721, USA.
The spontaneous development of self-injurious behavior (SIB) in singly
housed monkeys poses a challenge for their management and well-being in
captivity. Relatively little information is available on effective
treatments for SIB. This study examined the effects of diazepam (Valium)
on self-wounding and other abnormal behaviors in eight individually
housed male rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Each monkey's response to
an anxiolytic dose of diazepam (1 mg/kg or greater orally) was compared
with the animal's behavior during drug-free periods. When examined
across all animals, treatment with diazepam did not significantly alter
wounding frequency or rates of self-directed biting without wounding.
However, closer examination of the data revealed that four of the
animals showed significant decreases in self-biting and wounding
frequency (positive responders, PR group), whereas the remaining monkeys
showed a trend towards increased wounding frequency (negative
responders, NR group). Subsequent examination of colony and veterinary
records demonstrated that compared with NR monkeys, PR monkeys had spent
significantly more years in individual cage housing and had experienced
a greater number of minor veterinary procedures. PR animals also were
significantly less likely to have a documented history of self-biting
behavior. Our findings suggest that SIB is not a homogeneous disorder in
rhesus monkeys; rather, distinct subtypes exist that require different
treatment approaches.
Biol Psychiatry. 2007 Dec 27 [Epub ahead of print
A Rhesus Monkey Model of Self-Injury: Effects of
Relocation Stress on Behavior and Neuroendocrine Function.
Davenport MD, Lutz CK, Tiefenbacher S, Novak MA, Meyer JS.
Division of Behavioral Biology, New England Primate Research Center,
Harvard Medical School, Southborough, Massachusetts; Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
METHODS:
Twenty adult male rhesus macaques were exposed to the stress of
relocation to a new housing arrangement in a newly constructed facility.
Daytime behavior, sleep, and multiple measures of
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis function were
investigated before and after the move. RESULTS: Relocation induced a
complex pattern of short- and long-term effects in the animals. The SIB
animals showed a long-lasting increase in self-biting behavior, as well
as evidence of sleep disturbance. Both groups exhibited elevated
cortisol levels in saliva, serum, and hair, and also an unexpected
delayed increase in circulating concentrations of corticosteroid binding
globulin (CBG). |
Please email: MELINDA A. NOVAK,
[email protected] to protest the inhumane use of animals in this
experiment. We would also love to know about your efforts with this
cause:
[email protected]
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Rats, mice, birds, amphibians and other animals have
been excluded from coverage by the Animal Welfare Act. Therefore research
facility reports do not include these animals. As a result of this
situation, a blank report, or one with few animals listed, does not mean
that a facility has not performed experiments on non-reportable animals. A
blank form does mean that the facility in question has not used covered
animals (primates, dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, pigs,
sheep, goats, etc.). Rats and mice alone are believed to comprise over 90%
of the animals used in experimentation. Therefore the majority of animals
used at research facilities are not even counted.
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