The effects of fluoxetine and buspirone on self-injurious and stereotypic behavior in adult male rhesus macaques (2005)

Fontenot, M. B., Padgett, E. E., Dupuy, A. M. et al.

Abstract

Fluoxetine and buspirone were significantly effective in reducing rates of self-biting during treatment weeks 1 to 8 and self-directed stereotypic behavior during weeks 5 to 12 and post-treatment. No significant effect of either treatment on hair-plucking, stereotypic pacing, saluting, or head tossing was identified. The duration of neutral behavior increased, and rates of scratching and yawning decreased in the buspirone-treated condition. In the fluoxetine-treated condition, rates of yawning, scratching, and self-directed grooming were higher overall compared with those of buspirone-treated animals, and rates of scratching increased significantly (P < 0.05) in weeks 9 to 12; these findings suggest that animals in the fluoxetine-treated condition experienced higher levels of anxiety throughout the study. In both treatment conditions, concentrations of CSF 5-HIAA (5-HT metabolite) were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than placebo concentrations. Fluoxetine and buspirone may be efficacious for treatment of self-injurious and self-directed stereotypic behavior in macaques.