Effect of dopamine receptor-related compounds on naïve common marmosets for auditory steady-state response.

Abnormalities of auditory steady-state responses (ASSRs) and the effects of antipsychotic drugs on ASSRs have been investigated in patients with schizophrenia. It is presumed that drugs do not directly affect ASSRs because its abnormalities are associated with schizophrenia. Therefore, to investigate the direct effect of drugs on ASSRs, we established an ASSR evaluation system for common marmosets in a naïve state.

Risperidone on apomorphine-induced stereotyped behavior and auditory sensory gating in rhesus monkeys.

The ameliorating effect of risperidone on apomorphine-induced stereotyped behavior and inhibition of auditory sensory gating was investigated using rhesus monkeys. The total duration of the stereotyped behavior observed in the control group was 43.7 ± 23.

An eye tracking system for monitoring face scanning patterns reveals the enhancing effect of oxytocin on eye contact in common marmosets.

Eye tracking systems are used to investigate eyes position and gaze patterns presumed as eye contact in humans. Eye contact is a useful biomarker of social communication and known to be deficient in patients with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Interestingly, the same eye tracking systems have been used to directly compare face scanning patterns in some non-human primates to those in human.

Effects of the 5-HT1A receptor agonists buspirone and 8-OH-DPAT on pupil size in common marmosets.

As pupil size is affected by psychotropic drugs in all mammals, it has been used as a well-established clinical indicator for the preclinical and clinical development of novel drugs. It has been reported that activation of the serotonin (5-HT)1A receptor differently affects pupil response in rodents (mydriasis) and humans (miosis). Thus, it is important to establish a quantitative system for measuring pupil size using other species, such as nonhuman primates.

The atypical antipsychotic blonanserin reverses (+)-PD-128907- and ketamine-induced deficit in executive function in common marmosets.

Antagonism of the dopamine D3 receptor is considered a promising strategy for the treatment of cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia. We have previously reported that the atypical antipsychotic blonanserin, a dopamine D2/D3 and serotonin 5-HT2A receptor antagonist, highly occupies dopamine D3 receptors at its antipsychotic dose range in rats. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of blonanserin on executive function in common marmosets using the object retrieval with detour (ORD) task.

The dopamine D1 receptor agonist SKF-82958 effectively increases eye blinking count in common marmosets.

Eye blinking is a spontaneous behavior observed in all mammals, and has been used as a well-established clinical indicator for dopamine production in neuropsychiatric disorders, including Parkinson's disease and Tourette syndrome [1,2]. Pharmacological studies in humans and non-human primates have shown that dopamine agonists/antagonists increase/decrease eye blinking rate. Common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) have recently attracted a great deal of attention as suitable experimental animals in the psychoneurological field due to their more developed prefrontal cortex than rodents, easy handling compare to other non-human primates, and requirement for small amounts of test drugs.

Effects of lurasidone on ketamine-induced joint visual attention dysfunction as a possible disease model of autism spectrum disorders in common marmosets.

Infants with autism have difficulties performing joint visual attention (JVA), defined as following another person's pointing gesture and gaze. Some non-human primates (NHPs) can also perform JVA. Most preclinical research on autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has used rodents as animal models of this social interaction disorder.