Ethanol drinking in socially housed squirrel monkeys.

This study proposes a method to assess voluntary alcohol drinking in socially living squirrel monkeys. Group-housed squirrel monkeys were induced to drink a sucrose solution and subsequently an ethanol/sucrose solution in an experimental chamber attached to the home colony room, allowing the daily intake to be monitored for each individual without disrupting the social context. Sucrose concentration (0.03-0.6 M, corresponding to 1-20%) and ethanol concentration (0-4%) were gradually increased in tap water and in a 0.6 M (ca. 20%) sucrose solution during daily 30-min and 10-min sessions, respectively. Blood ethanol levels ranged from 10-50 mg/dl and remained below intoxication level. These experiments demonstrate that it is feasible to arrange conditions under which individual socially housed squirrel monkeys voluntarily drink a sweetened ethanol solution.