DISSOCIATION OF CONSUMMATORY AND VOCAL COMPONENTS OF FEEDING IN SQUIRREL-MONKEYS TREATED WITH BENZODIAZEPINES AND ALCOHOL

The primary aim of the current experiments was to develop methods that engender vocalizations associated with positive social situations com prising affliative behavior and feeding that could be quantified under controlled laboratory conditions and were sensitive to anxiolytic dru gs. Classical conditioning procedures were used to elicit vocalization s during presentation of stimulus lights (i.e., CS condition) previous ly paired with either preferred foods (e.g., grapes, peanuts, bananas) or standard foods (e.g., monkey chow) as well as during presentation of both food types (i.e., UCS condition). When compared to the period before stimulus light presentation (i.e., Pre-CS condition), the rate, duration and number of elemental units of food-related ''twitter'' vo calizations were increased during the CS conditions regardless of food type. Monkeys spent significantly more time oriented toward the food box during the light stimulus that preceded preferred food than for th e light stimulus that preceded standard food. However, twitter vocaliz ations were higher for standard food regardless of the stimulus condit ions (i.e., Pre-CS, CS and UCS). Administration of the benzodiazepine full agonist chlordiazepoxide (CDP, 1-10 mg/kg), the partial agonist b retazenil (BRZ, 1-10 mg/kg), the antagonist flumazenil (FLZ, 1-10 mg/k g) and ethyl alcohol (EtOH, 0.1-1.0 g/kg) differentially altered vocal izations. Although CDP and BRZ increased feeding of standard food, twi tters were reduced across stimulus conditions. CDP and BRZ did not alt er other social contact calls (i.e., ''peeps''). FLZ also reduced twit ters without altering peeps, but did not increase feeding. In contrast , EtOH did not increase feeding or peeps, but did increase food-relate d twitters. These results indicate that there is a dissociation betwee n food-related behaviors, such as food consumption and orientation tow ards the food source, and vocal behaviors associated with group commun ication during feeding.