Journal
LIFE SCIENCES
Volume 85, Issue 21-22, Pages 753-758Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2009.10.003
Keywords
Self-injurious behavior (SIB); N-methyl-beta-carboline-3-carboxamide (FG7142); Anxiety
Funding
- NCRR NIH HHS [R24 RR011122-12, P51 RR000168, R24 RR011122, P51 RR000168-46] Funding Source: Medline
- NIH HHS [R24 OD011180] Funding Source: Medline
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Aims: Self-injurious behavior (SIB), which is deliberate infliction of self-injury without suicidal intent, is a significant human health problem. SIB is not unique to humans but is also manifested in a small percentage of captive macaques, typically as self-directed biting. Although the onset and maintenance of SIB have been linked to increased anxiety in both humans and nonhuman primates, no previous studies have directly tested the anxiety-SIB hypothesis. Here, we determined whether rhesus monkeys increase their self-directed biting following a challenge with the anxiogenic compound N-methyl-beta-carboline-3-carboxamide (FG7142). Main methods: Ten rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatto) with a veterinary record of self-wounding (SIB) as well as six age- and weight-matched non-wounding control monkeys were given intramuscular injections of 0.1, 0.3, or 1.0 mg/kg FG7142. Behavior was observed following drug administration with special attention to displacement behaviors (scratching, self-grooming, and yawning), locomotor stereotypy, and self-directed biting. Plasma cortisol and ACTH were also measured as physiological indices of stress. Key findings: Self-directed biting rates dose-dependently increased in a subset of SIB monkeys, but did not change in control animals. Furthermore, administration of FG7142 led to an increase in scratching, yawning, and locomotor stereotypy in all monkeys, but did not affect the frequency self-grooming. Additionally, there was a dose-dependent increase in plasma cortisol concentrations, but not ACTH, in all animals. Significance: The present findings indicate that self-biting is anxiety-related in some but not all SIB monkeys, suggesting that this behavioral pathology is heterogeneous as has previously been suggested for SIB in humans. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Inc.
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