Induction and Maintenance of Ethanol Self-Administration in Cynomolgus Monkeys (Macaca fascicularis): Long-Term Characterization of Sex and Individual Differences

Abstract

Cynomolgus monkeys displayed a wide intersubject range of oral ethanol self-administration with a procedure that used a uniform and prolonged induction that restricted early exposure to ethanol and subsequently allowed unlimited access to ethanol. There were sex and stable individual differences in the propensity of monkeys to consume ethanol, indicating that this species will be important in characterizing risk factors associated with heavy-drinking phenotypes.

Biological basis of sex differences in drug abuse: preclinical and clinical studies

“…Results from one study comparing male and female rhesus monkeys under extended access conditions are analogous to those observed in humans. Specifically, Vivian et al (2001) compared male and female rhesus monkeys on alcohol self-administration during daily 16-or 22-h sessions over a 9-month period. Under these conditions, individual differences in alcohol consumption emerged to reveal heavy, moderate, and light drinkers.…”

Nonhuman Primate Research Contributions to Understanding Genetic and Environmental Influences on Phenotypic Outcomes across Development

“…Monkeys can not only exhibit the entrenched, abusive patterns of alcohol drinking that characterize human alcoholism, but they also show variation in drinking patterns (Grant et al, 2008). Furthermore, the first risk factors identified for excessive alcohol drinking in monkeys -male gender (Vivian et al, 2001) and early stress (Higley, Hasert, Suomi, & Linnoila, 1991) -are important risk factors in humans. Thus, nonhuman primates provide unique opportunities for controlled experimental approaches to identify aspects of the course and contour of interplay between developmental, genetic, and environmental risk factors for excessive drinking (for review and discussion see Barr, Schwandt, Newman, & Higley, 2004;Grant & Bennett, 2003;Macri, Spinelli, Adriani, Dee Higley, & Laviola, 2007;Witt 1994Witt , 2007.…”

Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and ethanol modulation of deoxycorticosterone levels in cynomolgus monkeys

“…After evaluation of the HPA axis function, these monkeys were induced to drink ethanol and allowed 12 months of ethanol self-administration using a procedure previously described (Vivian et al 2001). Alcohol self-administration was present in all monkeys in the study (K.A.…”

“…Given the role played by the HPA axis in the etiology of alcoholism, the HPA axis function was studied in 11 male cynomolgus monkeys that were enrolled in a protocol of ethanol self-administration (Vivian et al 2001). The hypothalamic, pituitary, and adrenal control of DOC responses to neuroendocrine and ethanol challenges were assessed in singly housed monkeys before the start of ethanol self-administration.…”