ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR & ONSET OF INITIAL SOCIALIZATION AMONG RHESUS MACAQUES

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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. Background: The socialization of nursery-reared macaques typically involves initial social exposure at approximately one month of age. However, in a biomedical environment, the onset of socialization may be delayed for a variety of reasons. This ongoing study examined the prediction that these delays are associated with broadened expression of abnormal behaviors among socially-housed rhesus macaques throughout development and maturation. Methods: In order to control for the types of research procedures experienced and the reason for delayed socialization, all subjects were drawn from one research project that imposed restrictions on early socialization. Subjects included 35 female and 33 males first socialized between one and 54 months of age. Three five-minute surveys were conducted on each subject annually, recording the presence of 16 abnormal behaviors. Data have been collected on each subject for up to five years. The association between age at socialization and frequency of abnormal behavior was assessed with regression procedures. Results: Significant effects of age at onset of socialization are apparent in the second and third year of life; onset of socialization was positively related to breadth of the abnormal behavior repertoire at these ages. This pattern was observed as a trend in the fourth year of life. Conclusion: Data Initial results suggest that decisions regarding early socialization need to strike a careful balance between the rationale for delayed socialization and the promotion of normal development. Continued research will permit continued longitudinal examination of many existing subjects as they mature into adults in order to measure the persistence of these effects among a large sample size of subjects.