A NONHUMAN PRIMATE MODEL OF TYPE-II EXCESSIVE ALCOHOL-CONSUMPTION .1.LOW CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID 5-HYDROXYINDOLEACETIC ACID CONCENTRATIONS ANDDIMINISHED SOCIAL COMPETENCE CORRELATE WITH EXCESSIVE ALCOHOL-CONSUMPTION

Developmental, biochemical, and behavioral concomitants of excessive a lcohol consumption were investigated using a nonhuman primate model. T he variables of interest were: (1) interindividual stability of cerebr ospinal fluid (CSF) 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) from infancy t o adulthood, (2) effect of parental deprivation early in life on adult CSF 5-HIAA concentrations; (3) correlations between CSF 5-HIAA and 3- methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) concentrations and alcohol consum ption; and (4) correlation between the frequency of competent social b ehaviors and alcohol consumption. Twenty-nine rhesus macaques were rea red for their first 6 months either with their mothers or without adul ts in peer-only conditions. At 6 and 50 months of age, each subject un derwent a series of four, 4-day social separations. Cisternal CSF was sampled before and during the first and last separations; concomitantl y, observational data were collected on social dominance behavior in t he home-cage. When they reached 50 months of age, the monkeys were pro vided free access to a palatable alcohol solution daily for 1-hr perio ds before, during, and after the social separations. Before and after the 50-month separations, data were collected on all types of social b ehavior in the home-cage. Results showed that peer-reared subjects con sumed more alcohol than mother-reared subjects during baseline conditi ons. Mother-reared subjects, however, increased their rates of consump tion to equal peer-reared subjects' rates of consumption during the co nditions of a social separation stressor, Peer-reared subjects also ex hibited lower CSF 5-HIAA concentrations in infancy and adulthood than their mother-reared counterparts, With rearing condition held constant , interindividual differences in CSF 5-HIAA, MHPG, and homovanillic ac id were stable from infancy to adulthood, and high rates of alcohol we re consumed by the young adult monkeys with low CSF 5-HIAA and MHPG co ncentrations, particularly when the CSF was obtained during the social separations. High rates of alcohol consumption were also observed in subjects with infrequent social interactions and less competent social behaviors. In contrast to the human data, we found no gender differen ces in rates of alcohol consumption, nor in the correlations between a lcohol consumption and the other variables. With some exceptions, find ings from the study are generally consistent with predictions from Clo ninger's type II model of excessive alcohol consumption in men with lo w CSF 5-HIAA, who also exhibit impaired impulse control and violent an d antisocial behaviors.