Future research with captive chimpanzees in the United States: Integrating scientific programs with behavioral management

Abstract

Historical and recent behavioral, cognitive, neurological, and molecular biological studies with primates generally, and with chimpanzees specifically, have contributed and advanced scientific theory in two critical ways. First, because of their genetic and biological similarities to humans, studies with nonhuman primates, including the great apes, have been vital for testing evolutionary theories on the origins of human-specific skills and specializations. For example, comparative studies of primates, notably chimpanzees, have been vital for testing theories on the origins of language; tool use and tool making; culture; theory of mind and deception; complex emotional systems, such as empathy; and cortical organization and lateralization, to name a few (Savage-Rumbaugh and Lewin 1994; Byrne 1995; Van Schaik et al. 1999; Rumbaugh and Washburn 2003; Byrne and Corp 2004; Whiten and Mesoudi 2008; Hopkins 2013; Hopkins et al. 2014b). Second, studies in nonhuman primates have been critically important for modeling human disease and psychological problems in an effort to improve our understanding of mechanisms underlying dysfunction, and potential interventions and treatments (Phillips et al. 2014).