Monkey Drug Trials Experiment

Title: Monkey Drug Trials Experiment Authors: Deneau, Yanagita & Seevers Year: it was done in 1969 Purpose: The purpose of the experiment was to look at the effects of self-administration on drugs, drug abuse, and drug dependence in humans, by testing it on monkeys. They wanted to observe whether a monkey would become addicted to drugs or not, and to understand better the effects of drugs. Method: First a method was developed, to teach the monkeys how to self- administer the drugs through intravenous catheters.

Then the psychologist injected the monkeys for the first time the drugs. Because they were several monkeys each one received a different drug, some received cocaine, morphine, amphetamines, nalorphine,mixtures, chlorprmazine, mescaline, codeine, pentobarbital, ethanol, and caffeine. The researchers observed a behaviour right afterwards the administration, and after some days they started to provided the prepared drug solutions to the monkeys to see, if they were going to self administer or not, afterwards they were already taught how to do it. Results:

The results show that in consequence of the drug administration the monkeys became dependent on the drugs. The animals were out of their mind, that some tried desperately to escape and they broke their arms. The monkeys that took cocaine suffered convulsions, some other monkeys ripped off their own fingers (possibly because of hallucinations). Another monkey taking amphetamines took all of the fur from his arm and belly, and in the case of cocaine and morphine mixed, the monkeys died after two weeks. The psychological dependence of the drug effects occurs when the monkey oluntarily starts the self-administration of the drug. The monkeys developed psychological dependence on morphine, codeine, cocaine, d-amphetamine, pentobarbital, ethanol, and caffeine. All of the drugs except caffeine produced psychotoxicity. Monkeys didn’t created a psychological dependence on nalorphine, morphine-nalorphine mixtures, chlorpromazine, mescaline or physiological saline These experiments also showed that the monkey’s biological traits were similar to the human ones, and conclude that the key factor on drug abuse is the psychological dependence.

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The researchers founded the reason why drug abuse takes place and how can a psychological treatment will help people give up the drug addiction. Discussion: The experiment was very controversial because it was very unethical and the monkeys suffered a lot of pain, and in some cases died of overdose. The Helsinki declaration was founded in 1964 and since here they have been updating principles of good practice in this kinds of experiments. They say, “Welfare of animals used for research must be respected”. Since here the ethical views for non-humans subjects started.

Later on the APA gave instructions to determine whether an experiments on animals is acceptable or not. For example animal research should not harm the animal or distress it on any way. If the researchers don’t follow this code, they wont be allowed to keep on with the experiment. In the case of this experiment was already done, but that’s why still now a days is very controversial and shocking, and is listed in one of the 10 most unethical psychological experiments. Personal opinion: This experiment in my opinion was useful to psychology.

But I don’t agree with the methods that were applied. The researchers taught some behaviours to the monkeys that unless humans never show them how to do they will never do it by themselves, like self-administrating drugs, it is not something that in their natural environment are going to learn, so they are alienating the monkey from its normal behaviours. In my own opinion I know, that monkeys have very similar biological traits in compare to humans, and in this case I did find it useful because thanks to it, late in that times esearchers found the main key on drug dependence which is the psychological dependence the desire to always get more of the drug and feel what it makes you feel over and over again. Nowadays if they realize this experiment, we will say it’s not something new to humanity, that drugs create certain effects on the human body and clearly creates psychological dependence, but back in those days the use of drugs was just starting and this knowledge was not so obvious and known by so many people.

I do agree it was unethical, doing those sort of things to the monkeys and probably In some cases there can be many differences between animal behaviour and human behaviour, therefore results for one another cannot be generalised. I would never do it, but after the realization of it, you analyse a little and the results are very useful, to act and treat on time a drug addiction. Sources * Psue76, “Monkey drug trails 1969” <<http://psue76. wordpress. om/2012/04/29/monkey-drug-trials-1969/ >> * Springer link “Psychopharmacology” <<http://www. springerlink. com/content/l448655516107246/ >> * Mind power news “ 10 most unethical psychological experiments” <<http://www. mindpowernews. com/UnethicalExperiments. htm>> * Psychology Hawks “Psychology gone bad: when animals pay the price for science. ” <<http://psychohawks. wordpress. com/2010/04/02/psychology-gone-bad-when-animals-pay-the-price-for-science/>>

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