Primate head and body restraint without chronic skin openings or attachments to the animal

We developed a primate restraint system that requires no chronic skin openings or attachments to the animal. The restraining chair has a unique neck clasp; monkeys without chains and collars are easily trained to readily enter the chair and accept restraint with the neck and head held at a comfortable angle. A bite bar, in combination with contact on broad areas of the monkey’s brow and occiput, provides rigid head immobilization. In order to achieve contact with a broad area of the occipital bone, the muscles at the back of the animal’s head are surgically detached from the occiput and reattached to the underlying neck muscles. A strain-gauge, mounted on the head-holder and monitored by a laboratory computer, detects head movements of the monkey and permits the experimenter to teach the monkey to sit still during data acquisition. This system is well accepted by experienced monkeys and helps prevent the risks of infection posed by most earlier methods. Furthermore, the head and shoulders of the monkey are readily accessible for examination and for close positioning of test equipment.