Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Assessing olfactory performance in a new world primate, Saimiri sciureus

1993; Elsevier BV; Volume: 53; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/0031-9384(93)90015-8

1873-507X

Matthias Laska, Robyn Hudson,

Advanced Chemical Sensor Technologies

Using a task designed to simulate olfactory-guided foraging behavior, this study demonstrates for the first time that olfactory performance can be reliably assessed in squirrel monkeys. Small flip-top vials were fixed in random order to the arms of a climbing frame and equipped with odorized strips signalling either that they contained a peanut food reward (S+) or that they did not (S−), and three adult female monkeys were allowed 1 min to harvest as many baited nuts from this tree as possible. Given five 1-min trials per day, animals took between 15 and 25 days to reach the criterion of 80% correct choices, could readily transfer to new S+ or S− stimuli, and could remember the task even after a 1-month break. The precision and consistency of the monkeys' performance in tests of discrimination ability and sensitivity demonstrate the suitability of this paradigm for assessing olfactory function, and a first test of human subjects using the same cups and odorants showed that it may also be used to directly compare olfactory performance in human and nonhuman primates.