Apparently the original paper isn't out yet - a search of Nature
Neuroscience didn't turn it up.
The primate species isn't specified in the info we've been given, but for
some basic similarities on humans and the most common lab primate (the
rhesus macaque, an old world monkey), here's a few:
Similar 28-day menstrual cycles in females
Typically singleton births with 5 1/2 month gestation period
Infants are born with eyes and ears open (not true in most rodents)
Infants require intensive maternal care and are usually not weaned until 4-6
months of age
Rhesus have color vision
They are very hand-manipulative
Cognitive tests (operant type tests) show that rhesus can perform these
tasks under identical parameters with performance very similar to that of
human children (refs if asked, but look for M. G. Paule work on medline)
In the wild, they exhibit a social living situation (they are not isolation
living animals)
Cultural transmission of behavior (e.g., potato-washing behaviors of
Japanese macaques)
Will self-administer most drugs of abuse
Male masturbation
Juvenile homosexual behavior
And so on.
I absolutely agree with David's note below about this is exactly the sort of
environmental parameter/manipulation that gets ignored both in human and
animal studies of drug abuse. We're really advancing on the molecular
biology front for substance use, but we're ignoring the social and physical
environment that the human/animal develops in (including the prenatal
environment) and is exposed to as an adult. A large part of this is social
relationships. Oh yeah, rhesus also have a very complex social hierarchy.
Sherry
Sherry Ferguson, Ph.D
Research Psychologist
National Center for Toxicological Research/FDA
3900 NCTR Road
Jefferson, AR 72079
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Epstein [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2002 1:53 PM
> To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences
> Subject: Re: Monkey cocaine study and addiction
>
> On Thu, 24 Jan 2002, James Guinee went:
>
> > For those of you who have an expertise in drug addiction
>
> That would be me, more or less, insofar as I've taught classes about
> it and am now designing clinical trials at the National Institute on
> Drug Abuse..
>
> > I'm interested in your thoughts on this study.
> > "Monkey Cocaine Study Sheds Light on Drug Addiction"
> > By Will Dunham
> >
> > WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Social standing -- being dominant or
> > subordinate -- plays a vital role in determining susceptibility to
> > drug use, scientists said on Tuesday in a study using monkeys that
> > may shed light on human addictions.
>
> I haven't read the original paper yet, but based on the summary you
> posted, I think it's the kind of lab-animal research we need more of.
> People who study the biological substrates of drug addiction have what
> I consider a disturbing tendency to ignore obvious socioeconomic
> skewing in the prevalence of drug addiction among humans. Here we
> have a study that takes social status into account. To me, this
> suggests that the study's bench-scientist authors have stood up from
> their benches and looked out the window, and for that I commend them.
>
> > scientists said in a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
>
> I'll take a look, and post more comments if I have any.
>
> --David Epstein
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
---
You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
