Monkey Drug Trials, 1969

                                                               University Of Michigan

M For Monkey

Michigan Monkey Drug Trials 

In the late 1960s, University of Michigan researchers conducted experiments in which monkeys were given access to caffeine, cocaine, morphine, mescaline, amphetamines, barbiturates, and other substances to study drug-seeking and dependency behaviors. Some monkeys self‑administered drugs via intravenous setups. 

                                                                             RESULTS

Drug	Observed Monkey Behavior
Cocaine	Monkeys repeatedly self-injected to the point of extreme agitation and self-harm, including violent behavior and physical injuries.
Morphine	Monkeys showed strong addiction, preferring morphine over food or water. Some would overdose voluntarily.
Amphetamines	Induced paranoia, aggression, and sleep deprivation. Monkeys became increasingly irrational.
Barbiturates	Led to sedation and eventual physical dependence. Sudden withdrawal caused seizures and death in some cases.
Mescaline (hallucinogen)	Monkeys behaved erratically, hallucinated, and attempted to escape. Some would refuse repeated self-dosing.
Caffeine	Minimal addictive behavior. Sporadic self-administration, often rejected after a few doses.
Alcohol	Results were mixed—some monkeys showed preference while others refused it; binge behavior was observed in some cases.

 

                                                                          Current Events 

Feature	Detail
Genetic Similarity to Humans	~98.7% of DNA is identical to humans (Homo sapiens)
Chromosome Number	48 chromosomes (humans have 46 due to a fusion of two ancestral ape chromosomes)
Genome Size	~3.3 billion base pairs (very close to humans)
First Sequenced	2005 (chimp genome completed by the Chimpanzee Sequencing and Analysis Consortium)

                                                                             Snapshot