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
Jd. Higley et al., 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, Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 20(4), 1996, pp. 629-642
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.