Investigation of behavioral performance during urine reinfusion in the male primate

Abstract

A method employing continuous urine infusion is presented for an experimental study of uremia in primates conditioned to a behavioral schedule requiring modes of performance analogous to those which appear to be deficient in uremic man. The preparation is completely reversible on cessation of infusion, permitting repeated studies in individual animals. Behavioral performance deficits correlated with elevated plasma-urea nitrogen concentrations at or above 95 mg/100 ml, but not with plasma potassium concentrations between 2.0 and 8.5 mEq/liter, sodium concentrations between 135 and 170 mEq/liter, nor with the mechanics of infusion itself.