In the experiments, 20 newborn rhesus macaques are taken from their mothers on their first day of life and kept in a barren incubator box, with only a stuffed “surrogate” and bottle for comfort. The infants, later paired with another unfamiliar young monkey, undergo terror and anxiety-inducing experiences, including unfamiliar “human intruders” and live snakes. Throughout their short lives, the monkeys’ blood and cerebrospinal fluid will be repeatedly harvested, and they will be subjected to invasive brain scans. Before the infants are 18 months old, the researchers will kill them and dissect their brains. Through maternal deprivation and intrusive tests, the aim is to cause such severe trauma to the newborn primates that their brain chemistry will have changed before the age of one.
