Behavioral pathologies in nonhuman primates

Citation

Anderson J (2010) Behavioral pathologies in nonhuman primates. In: Koob G, Le MM & Thompson R (eds.) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Neuroscience. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 139-144. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-045396-5.00099-3

Abstract
Nonhuman primates in captivity sometimes show a range of abnormal behaviors. These behaviors are reviewed, focusing on ‘isolation syndrome' pathologies that result from early social deprivation, including self-sucking, clasping, bizarre postures, and repetitive, stereotyped motor acts. Primates that are reared with inadequate amounts of early social experience develop to be socially inept, with affiliative, agonistic, and reproductive behaviors seriously disturbed. They may also show self-aggression, which may be injurious. Normal primates housed in individual cages may also develop abnormal behaviors including stereotypies, which can be reduced and sometimes eliminated through environmental enrichment.

Keywords
Abnormal behavior; Behavioral pathology; Bizarre posture; Early experience; Environmental enrichment; Isolation syndrome; Monkeys; Primates; Self-aggression; Social deprivation; Stereotypy