ESTABLISHING PREDICTORS OF SELF INJURIOUS BEHAVIOR IN RHESUS MONKEYS

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. We have previously developed an animal model of SIB in which monkeys with this disorder also show a blunting of the stress response system, dysregulation of the opioid system, and associations with polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter gene (5HTTLPR) and the monoamine oxidase A promoter (MAOA-LPR). Because these studies have been retrospective, we do not know whether these various factors play a causal role or represent consequences of developing SIB. This project will investigate predictors of SIB and stereotypic behavior before these abnormal behaviors have become manifested. This will be accomplished by means of a unique, large-scale longitudinal study of a cohort of male monkeys in which we will conduct behavioral assessments of biting rates and stereotypic behavior, collect hair and blood samples for cortisol and other assays, and search for polymorphic gene variants that are predictive of later SIB or stereotypy development. The determination of biomarkers for these syndromes will be used for colony screening and the imposition of new prevention strategies. Elucidation of novel biomarkers of SIB will also have significant implications for our understanding of this disorder in human clinical populations.