Characteristic features of adaptation to experimental conditions in primates with various initial keeping conditions

Ethological study of emotional state and behavior was carried out in male macaques of two species (Macaca mulatta and Macaca fascicularis), which were divided in three groups according to their initial keeping: isolated, family, and gregarious. During instrumental conditioning, the initial keeping was changed for identical conditions (individual caging or sitting in a primatological chair). It was shown that adaptation to stress associated with a sharp enviromental change depended on initial keeping conditions. Monkeys brought up in family with experience of both intra- and interspecies interactions (for example, monkey--human) had the highest adaptation and learning abilities. Individual and gregarious keeping of monkeys impoverished their individual experience, and their adaptation to experimental conditions required additional efforts. The learning of individually caged monkeys was successful, if their keeping conditions were not changed. Initially gregarious monkeys were successfully trained after their habituation to contact with humans.