Physiology of maternal separation in a bonnet macaque infant

A bonnet monkey infant (M. radiata) was monitored both physiologically and behaviorally during a separation experiment in which both its mother and other conspecifiecs were removed from its social group leaving the bonnet infant with three adult pigtailed females. The separated infant exhibited the characteristic slouched posture of depression and physiological changes including decreases in the heart rate and body temperature, increases in cardiac arrhythmias, and alterations in sleep patterns, as has been previously described in separated pigtailed infants. Persistent decreases in heart rate and body temperature were noted following reunion with the mother, possibly reflecting a disturbance in the mother-infant relationship secondary to the mother's having come into estrus during the period of separation. This study indicates that the physiological correlates of maternal separation previously described in pigtailed infants are not species specific.