Induction of physical dependence upon alcohol in nonhuman primates

Following the description of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome in man, efforts have been made to use the nonhuman primate as an animal model for studying the development of physical dependence upon alcohol. There is now general agreement regarding the qualitative description of the withdrawal reaction in the rhesus monkey, and various approaches, including intravenous infusion, intragastric intubation, and nonvolitional oral intake of ethanol have been successful in producing withdrawal in these animals. There still remain the major problems of developing objective procedures for quantitatively assessing the severity of the withdrawal syndrome and establishing the dose dependent and time dependent relationships between ethanol intake and the development of physical dependence. Until these basic issues are empirically resolved, little progress can be expected in our understanding of the critical determinants of the addictive process.