Monkeys (Macaca fascicularis, 50 to 62 months of age, weight 3.84 to 5.74 kg, n = 10) were purchased from a commercial vendor (World Wide Primates, Miami, FL) and placed into a CDC quarantine facility for 2 months upon arrival at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Upon release from quarantine, the monkeys lived in the laboratory with visual, auditory, and olfactory contact with other conspecifics. The monkeys were housed individually in quadrant cages (1.6 × 0.8 × 0.8 m) in a room with constant temperature (68 to 72°F), humidity (65%) and a 12 hour light cycle (lights on at 7:00 AM). For the duration of the entire experiment the monkeys were weighed weekly.
During the first month, the monkeys were acclimated to the laboratory personnel, then trained to provide their leg through an opening in the cage front for awake blood collection via saphenous or femoral venipuncture for the assays of cortisol, dexycorticosterone, ACTH, and ethanol (Porcu et al., 2005 ). Each step in the behavioral training was considered complete when the animals performed the behavior readily and with minimal observable distress. Briefly, twice a day each monkey was trained with positive reinforcement (giving fresh fruit) to move to the front of the cage and present its leg through an opening in the cage (10 × 10 cm). As the animal became comfortable with this behavior, the animal’s upper leg at the femoral triangle was lightly pricked with a dental pick to simulate a needle stick before advancing to the actual blood draw. Once the animal was comfortable with this, a 3 cc blood sample was drawn through a 22-guaged needle into an EDTA-coated vacutainer tube. All primate handling procedures were performed in accordance with the NIH and were approved by Wake Forest University ACUC in accordance with the Commission on Life Sciences, National Research Council (1996) Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (National Academy Press, Washington).
During the first month, the monkeys were acclimated to the laboratory personnel, then trained to provide their leg through an opening in the cage front for awake blood collection via saphenous or femoral venipuncture for the assays of cortisol, dexycorticosterone, ACTH, and ethanol (Porcu et al., 2005 ). Each step in the behavioral training was considered complete when the animals performed the behavior readily and with minimal observable distress. Briefly, twice a day each monkey was trained with positive reinforcement (giving fresh fruit) to move to the front of the cage and present its leg through an opening in the cage (10 × 10 cm). As the animal became comfortable with this behavior, the animal’s upper leg at the femoral triangle was lightly pricked with a dental pick to simulate a needle stick before advancing to the actual blood draw. Once the animal was comfortable with this, a 3 cc blood sample was drawn through a 22-guaged needle into an EDTA-coated vacutainer tube. All primate handling procedures were performed in accordance with the NIH and were approved by Wake Forest University ACUC in accordance with the Commission on Life Sciences, National Research Council (1996) Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (National Academy Press, Washington).
