最近一项研究表明：幼猴离开母猴的成长过程中因为缺少生存技能，而导致一种心理上的焦虑与失意，并且这种心态会持续很长一段时间。
心理上的变化源自于过早的经历“变故”而产生抑郁，这种心理上的巨大阴影甚至会挥之不去。由于猕猴与人类的巨大相似，科学家们认为这项研究能够让我们更好的理解一些如同幼猴遭遇的人的心理。
和母性离开的幼猴
然而，这种心理在幼猴中究竟会存在多长时间呢？为了得出结论，研究小组负责人胡新田和他的团队观察了幼小猕猴离开母性后3年的成长过程，他们大多由同龄猴帮助慢慢的走上了正常的社会生活。
与被母亲抚养长大的猴子相比较，由同龄的猴子抚养长大猴子的应激激素皮质醇更低。这种皮质醇存在于猴颈部后面的头发里，有助于控制焦虑的情绪。此外，三年的正常社会生活也无法抹去与母亲很早就分离的烙印。由同龄猴子抚养长大的猴子们倾向于独处，他们很少四处走动与聚在一起。但是，它们会在自己的笼子里踱来踱去。吮吸自己的手指和脚趾。比被母亲抚养长大的猴子更喜欢抓自己的身体。
这说明一出生就与母亲分离所导致的焦虑情绪至少会存在于脑子里三年以上，这项研究的作者认为猕猴可能是研究人类幼时遭受创伤的最好范例。这项研究结果将刊登在国家科学院期刊的旅行进行时的章节里。
生物探索推荐英文论文摘要：
Maternal separation produces lasting changes in cortisol and behavior in rhesus monkeys
Maternal separation (MS), which can lead to hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis dysfunction and behavioral abnormalities inrhesus monkeys, is frequently used to model early adversity. Whether this deleterious effect on monkeys is reversible by laterexperience is unknown. In this study, we assessed the basal hair cortisol in rhesus monkeys after 1.5 and 3 y of normal sociallife following an early separation. These results showed that peer-reared monkeys had significantly lower basal hair cortisollevels than the mother-reared monkeys at both years examined. The plasma cortisol was assessed in the monkeys after 1.5 yof normal social life, and the results indicated that the peak in the peer-reared cortisol response to acute stressors wassubstantially delayed. In addition, after 3 y of normal social life, abnormal behavioral patterns were identified in the peer-rearedmonkeys. They showed decreases in locomotion and initiated sitting together, as well as increases in stereotypical behaviorscompared with the mother-reared monkeys. These results demonstrate that the deleterious effects of MS on rhesus monkeys cannotbe compensated by a later normal social life, suggesting that the effects of MS are long-lasting and that the maternal-separatedrhesus monkeys are a good animal model to study early adversity and to investigate the development of psychiatric disordersinduced by exposure to early adversity.
