COVID-19 and polio vaccines, HIV/AIDS treatments, blood transfusions, and organ transplantation are just a few of the medical advances made possible by research involving nonhuman primates, specifically monkeys. In neuroscience, we have monkeys to thank for deep brain stimulation therapy, a neurosurgical treatment for Parkinson's disease, and now also for dystonia, depression, and obsessive–compulsive disorder. We have monkeys to thank for brain computer interfaces, which are used to help people suffering with spinal cord injury and stroke to grab objects and speak to loved ones again. Cochlear implants also emerged from research involving monkeys, as will the development of retinal implants restoring sight for people with blinding diseases. Virtually everything we know about the human visual system in health and disease has its roots in foundational science involving monkeys. Indeed, the promise of treatments and a cure for blinding diseases such as macular degeneration require studies in monkeys as they, and not rodents or other mammals, have a feature of their retina called a macula that provides the high acuity vision characteristic of humans and other primates. According to the Alzheimer's association (Alzheimer’s Association, 2024), ∼7 million people are living with Alzheimer's and related dementias. In 2024, Alzheimer's and other dementias (multiple system atrophy, frontotemporal dementia, progressive supranuclear palsy, and Lewy body dementia) will cost the United States (US) $360B. Although rodent models have led to significant progress in our understanding of signaling pathways and molecular processes underlying neurodegeneration, monkeys with their complex brain circuits especially in the prefrontal cortex hold the key for developing effective treatments and cures (Beckman et al., 2021).
In 2022, ∼30% of young adults 18–25 years old in the US experienced some form of mental illness such as bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, …
Correspondence should be addressed to Michele A. Basso at mbasso{at}uw.edu.
