Dr. Taubs used this conditioning chamber to induce electrical shocks on the monkeys to test their neuroplasticity.
Two monkeys stretching their arms for social contact.
Dr. Taubs used this conditioning chamber to induce electrical shocks on the monkeys to test their neuroplasticity.
SILVER SPRING MONKEYS TESTING
Researchers had cut different ganglia (a cluster of nerve cells) that supplies sensation to the brain from their arms. The straps or arm slings were used to restrain the good or neuro compromised arm in order to train the appendages (external body parts) that lack neural feedback. This has given rise to constraint-induced movement therapy.
In 1981, the Silver Spring Monkey experiment used 17 macaque monkeys from the Philippines to understand the functionality of neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to recognize itself and create new neural connections. Edward Tub, a psychologist, lead the research project by studying the effects of neuroplasticity by using slings and other devices on the monkey’s arms. Dr. Taub used the information gathered from the Silver Spring Monkey Experiment to develop physical therapies that can help stroke victims and individuals with traumatic brain injuries. However, the use of slings and electrical currents sparked a debate on the ethical principles of the experiment.
Alex Pacheco, a member of the group PETA, worked with other members to undercover the dangerous and unethical living conditions placed upon the macaque monkeys. Alex Pacheo described how 12 of the 17 monkeys' arms had been deafferented (motor nerves being severed from limb). The U.S courts found enough evidence that Dr.Taub was charged with animal cruelty and for not providing adequate veterinary care.
Sources:
Marchalik, D., & Jurecic, A. (2015). We, the animals. The Lancet, 386(10009), 2132–2132. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)01058-2
Carbone, Larry. What Animals Want: Expertise and Advocacy in Laboratory Animal Welfare Policy. Oxford University Press, 2004, pp. 75–76,
Taub, E. and Heitmann, R.D. (1977), ALERTNESS, LEVEL OF ACTIVITY, AND PURPOSIVE MOVEMENT FOLLOWING SOMATOSENSORY DEAFFERENTATION IN MONKEYS*. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 290: 348-365. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1977.tb39737.x
Pacheco, Alex. The Acute Noxoius Stimuli Test. 1981. Famous Silver Spring Monkeys . https://www.oathofgodministries.com/7327-2/.