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Dietary and metabolic effects on rhesus social behavior: Phenylalanine‐related dietary alterations
Author(s) -
Chamove A. S.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.420130305
Subject(s) - phenylalanine , feeding behavior , endocrinology , pregnancy , medicine , psychology , physiology , biology , biochemistry , amino acid , genetics
Infant rhesus monkeys were (a) fed a diet high in phenylalanine or (b) fed a diet high in p ‐chlorophenylalanine for the 1st 12 months of life, (c) selected from mothers fed a diet high in phenylalanine during pregnancy, (d) fed a diet low in phenylalanine, (e) maintained as controls, or (f) maintained as pair‐fed controls. Tested during the 1st year of life with familiar peers, during the 2nd year with unfamiliar stimulus animals and with a movie film, the 3 groups of phenylketonuric monkeys showed less play and other positive social behavior and more withdrawal and more aggressive behavior than did the 2 control groups. The results support learning data suggesting that phenylketonuric monkeys are more emotionally reactive.