Operant training differences between male and female group-housed nonhuman primates (2010)

Egeler, J. L., Hoekwater, S., Hoffman, H. D.

Abstract

Operant training of animals is a widely accepted practice for training or conditioning animals to cooperate with technical procedures or perform certain tasks in a laboratory setting. This type of training has been proven to reduce stress on the animal as well as potential injuries to the animal or its handlers. However, it has been suggested that female cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) are more difficult to train than males. In conjunction with a goal of offering group housing that meets European standards for nonhuman primates at our facility, an operant training program was implemented to train animals to be removed from the new, larger-style caging. During the course of training our animals, unforeseen obstacles were encountered that slowed our progress. Two main observations that surfaced shortly into our training program were the difficulty of training in groups of 4 and overcoming the difference in aptitude between the male and female cynomolgus monkey. Our data supports the theory that females cynomolgus monkeys are much more difficult to train. We will outline the necessary steps in developing and implementing a successful operant training program in untrained monkeys. We will also describe how we assessed program progress and adapted the program to meet various challenges.