The experiments used rubber snakes to deliberately induce predator fear in marmosets, repeatedly eliciting a survival response. They were then killed, had their brains removed and then studied.
HUMANE RESEARCH AUSTRALIA: Humane Research Australia (HRA) released a new case study questioning the scientific relevance of fear experiments conducted on marmosets by researchers at Monash University, in search of new insights about human anxiety… The HRA case study cites a research paper published in December 2020 revealing experiments that used rubber snakes to deliberately induce predator fear in marmosets, repeatedly eliciting a survival response…
In this experiment the marmosets spent months of their young lives in cages – being moved from home cages to the habituation exercises in travelling boxes, to the experiment itself. There is no mention as to whether any type of enrichment was provided to these marmosets… It is unknown, but implied that these marmosets were separated from their mothers and social groups from a young age, having come from the primate breeding facility in Gippsland… The marmosets were then killed, had their brains removed and then studied. HRA proposes that this research is unnecessary, unethical and an irresponsible use of Australian taxes.
Neurologist and HRA science associate, Dr. Jarrod Bailey, explains, “These experiments caused considerable suffering and death to highly sensitive and sentient animals, and all with tenuous and dubious relevance to humans. Significant and widespread differences between monkeys and humans mean that data are rarely relevant from one species to another. Elegant human-specific research has been and is being done in this field of research, and provides data that can be relied upon, all without causing pain and suffering to animals. On top of this, the stress caused to the monkeys was not just a welfare issue, but meant the data were not reliable. Those who conducted, funded, facilitated and approved these experiments must do better—for monkeys, and for humans relying on good science.”
The case study questions the validity of the research, noting that marmosets, like all primates, are highly intelligent, social animals who endure extreme physiological and psychological harm when held captive in a laboratory. The animals are likely to have already been experiencing acute stress and fear before the experiments with the snake even commenced…
HRA’s CEO, Rachel Smith says, “Humans do not suffer anxiety and fear in the same way that non-human primates, much less those in a laboratory setting, do. For humans, fear is often caused by perceived and imagined conditions. This experiment does not replicate fear in the human, or provide evidence that the use of the marmoset model will translate to outcomes for human patients suffering from anxiety or fear. HRA is calling for investment in scientifically valid non-animal research methods in place of research like this, which is simply attempting to perpetuate the use of primates as research models”…
The experimenters in fact acknowledge what was already known in 2010 “Furthermore, in humans direct electrical stimulation of the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) is sufficient to elicit feelings of intense fear and trigger panic attacks, suggesting that the medial hypothalamus may also participate in human fear. Given the limitations of the experiment and the differences between human and non-human primate fear and anxiety, the lives lost in this experiment do not warrant this speculative experiment. It simply seeks to establish an animal model for future research, despite human-relevant neuroscience research offering superior scientific validity”…
Non animal and clinically relevant research methods have already been employed around the world… and there have been significant advances in human-relevant neuroscience research, many made possible by technological developments. Nevertheless, it appears this experiment will be expanded upon, as the authors indicate in the publication that they will seek to undertake further similar studies. SOURCE…
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