Rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta ) are not neophobic toward novel food with a high sugar content

Bibliographic Data

ID19387997
AuthorsElizabeth C Johnson (Oglethorpe University, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume69
Issue5
Pages591-596
Publication date2007-05-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Primatology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0275-2565 • E-ISSN: 1098-2345
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajp.20364
PMID17171712
OpenAlexW2055828943
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited16

While we know that food neophobia in nonhuman primates is affected by social factors, little is known about how palatability, and specifically sugar content, might ameliorate a monkey's hesitancy to eat a novel food. It is likely that an innate preference for sweet substances would alter an animal's typical neophobic response. To test this, I presented nine male rhesus macaques with novel foods that contained a low, high, or no amount of sugar. As expected, the monkeys exhibited a neophobic response to the no‐sugar novel foods but not to the high‐sugar novel foods. Previous research on food neophobia may need to be reevaluated in light of the effects of sugar content on the neophobic response. Am. J. Primatol. 69:591–596, 2007.© 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc

Biology · Developmental psychology · Neophobia · Novel food · Palatability · Preference · Sugar · Taste · Biochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques · Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies · Psychology · Sensory Analysis and Statistical Methods · Food Science

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