INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES IN MACAQUES RESPONSES TO STRESSORS BASED ON SOCIAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTORS - IMPLICATIONS FOR PRIMATE WELFARE AND RESEARCH OUTCOMES

Primates are used extensively in a variety of research settings. Feder al regulations in the US mandate that caretakers provide for the 'psyc hological well-being of laboratory primates'. One of the difficulties in implementing this law has been both in the definition of psychologi cal well-being and in the need to deal with each primate species and, in some cases, age or sex class, uniquely. Non-human primates exhibit distinct individual differences in their behavioural and physiological responses to experimental challenges and caretaking procedures. We ha ve been investigating what factors can predict some of these individua l differences, and have found that factors both intrinsic and extrinsi c are significant. Extrinsic factors found to predict individual diffe rences in response to stressors include the nature and prior experienc e with the challenge, the presence of familiar peers and availability of social support. Intrinsic factors include cognitive interpretations of the challenge and temperamental differences in reactivity. These s tudies highlight the importance of understanding the context and indiv idual psychology of macaques in order to provide laboratory environmen ts conducive to their welfare, and in order to understand the impact e xperimental and caretaking procedures are likely to have on the health and welfare of our subjects.