Neuroscience prof sheds light on animal research

Despite the School of Veterinary Medicine’s prestigious status as a research institution, Penn Police is on the lookout at every event for animal rights activists protesting the unfair treatment of research subjects.

That was certainly the case at a lecture yesterday where Neuroscience professor Joshua Gold reassured the community that research on non-human primates is essential to the advancement of science.

The talk, entitled “Using Non-Human Primates to Study Perception and Cognition,” is part of an aspirant annual lecture series on primate education. The series, now in its first year, was co-founded by the Laboratory Animal Medicine Club, the Special Species Club and the Penn Vet Animal Welfare Society.

Veterinary student Gillian Braden-Weiss explained that the clubs have one thing in common — a fascination with monkeys.

“We wanted to focus on the welfare of a species that’s obviously very important, but not necessarily a staple of our curriculum,” she said.

Braden-Weiss emphasized the clubs’ collective mission for the series — to represent many different viewpoints on the subject of non-human primates and their relationship to research.

In the kick-off to the lecture series yesterday, Gold addressed the question of why neuroscientists perform research on monkeys before delving into the findings of a few pertinent studies.

Highlighting the often unpredictable nature of lab monkeys, Gold discussed a research method called “controlled water intake,” whereby monkeys are rewarded with water when obliging to a task.

Gold acknowledged criticism of the technique before emphasizing its necessity. He then assured his audience that researchers constantly aim to provide their monkeys with a “reasonably natural state of health and well-being.”

Gold also emphasized the importance of well-trained research personnel for both scientific advancement and the well-being of the monkeys. Everything else is just a detail,” he explained. “It is absolutely most important that everyone works with the monkeys in a way that I’m comfortable with.”

First-year veterinary student Joel Takacs , who was in attendance, emphasized his interest in primate research.

“It’s as equivalent as working with humans as possible,” he explained. “But it’s a touchy subject — many people without a fundamental understanding wonder, why does that monkey have a giant contraption attached to its head? But in the big picture, this is the way we can make leaps in medicine.”

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.