Insel is the former director of the huge Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University and you have to wonder whether his related and subsequent animal research will also been downplayed.
In one experiment, reminiscent of Harlow "pit of despair" research, newborn monkeys were "removed from their mothers within 48 h of birth," and subjected to "stressors" (use your imagination) without being "able to use a social companion to buffer their response to a stressor." What did this admittedly redundant experiment add to scientific knowledge? "As expected from previous studies, monkeys removed from their mother shortly after birth and raised in standard nursery conditions develop a syndrome characterized by decreased affiliation, increased aggression, and increased self-directed, repetitive behavior," write the researchers.
In another experiment conducted by Insel on voles, a mouse-like mammal, "an animal was placed in the start box" with 2-8 days old pups. "Parental behavior was recorded as time spent with pups, either nursing, grooming or crouching during a 5-min period. Females were decapitated the same day."
The newer, gentler Insel may be on display in Healing, but Insel's cronyism, abuse of our tax dollars, opportunistic reversal of his medical positions and treatment of non-human animals are still found in the public record.
(Article changed on Mar 02, 2022 at 7:47 AM EST)
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