Two new pieces of public information on the importance of using monkeys and other animals in neuroscience research have been published recently.

A two-minute video animation (pictured) now available on YouTube – Why are animal studies important in neuroscience research? – has been produced by Science Animated through public engagement funding by the Wellcome Trust, UK.

The video explains the complexity of the human brain, and how rodents and monkeys are used to investigate how interactions occur between brain areas during spatial navigation, decision-making, and learning and memory, helping in studies of stroke, dementia and schizophrenia.

Meanwhile, the Foundation for Biomedical Research, in the US, has written about the use of monkeys in Alzheimer’s research as part of its series Animal Research – Unlocking Medical Miracles.