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The US federal government allegedly spent nearly $100 million (£78 million) on monkey brain experiments.

It comes after videos of the bizarre tests by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) were obtained under freedom of information laws by bipartisan campaign group the '"White Coat Waste Project"'.

The footage shows some of the brutal experiments performed on the tiny primates, including on some whose brains had been purposefully damaged beforehand, reports suggest.

Papers showed scientists damaged the primates brains with acid and removed bits of their brains to see how it affected their reactions to stimuli.

In one experiment rhesus monkeys had "custom-designed fibreglass headposts" implanted on their skulls to forcibly keep their heads straight. Scientists then tracked their eye movements while they were made to watch nature documentaries.

It was also revealed that since 2007, around $16 million (£12.5 million) was spent on studies where scientists scared the tiny macaques with rubber snakes and spiders, as part of research into anxiety disorders.

In one of the videos a group of monkeys are seen trying to hide away in the corner of their cage while being frightened with the rubber toys.

(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Researchers wrote the study hoped to reveal "insights into the neural regulation of defensive responses to threat and inform the etiology and treatment of anxiety disorders in humans".

The revelations have only heightened concerns about the prevalence of government funded animal testing projects in the US.

A letter to the director of the Department of Health and Human Services Francis Collins from lawmakers Brendan Boyle and Brian Mast, obtained by NBC news, say they "have serious concerns about whether this questionable research deserves continued support from Congress and taxpayers".

The group also urge the department to reveal long such experiments have been funded and to provide examples were the research has lead to successful new treatments for humans.

The watchdog group also reveal $95 million (£74 million) of government funding was used to explore how the monkeys reacted to nature documentaries and whether they could tell the difference between faces and fruit.

It comes at a time when congress has been urging the Department of Health and Human Services to cut down on its monkey testing.

(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The letter to the director, which was also signed by representatives Lucille Roybal-Allard, Matt Gaetz, and Dina Titus, continues: "New reports about disturbing taxpayer-funded experiments on monkeys at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, demonstrate why more Congressional oversight of National Institutes of Health (NIH) primate research is urgently needed.

Roybal-Allard added: "More efficient and humane non-animal research alternatives."

"We've made progress, but these disturbing psychological tests on monkeys that have gone on for decades highlight the need for greater oversight of NIH efforts to reduce primate testing.

(Image: CEN/Cruelty Free International a)

In a statement the NIH responded to concerns, saying the experiments have enabled scientists to monitor human mental health disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The agency told NBC News: "Monkeys are used in research because of their marked similarities to humans with respect to anatomy, physiology, and behaviour.

"Testing procedures produce a range of animal responses, mirroring human traits and attributes, ranging from no response to momentary and transient anxiety. Each animal's well-being was closely monitored during and after testing by experienced and trained animal care staff and veterinarians. The procedures under question resulted in no harm to any of the animals tested."

Anthony Bellotti, president and founder of the White Coat Waste Project, which is heading the campaign told NBC News: "Taxpayers should not be forced to foot the bill to fulfil the morbid curiosities of some out-of-touch NIH bureaucrats who want to destroy monkeys' brains with toxic acid and torment them with fake snakes and spiders."

"This is government waste, fraud and abuse at its lowest, and it needs to stop,” Bellotti added.

The news comes at the same time as scientists are scrambling to find a vaccine against the deadly CoVID19 virus, have been testing troops of monkeys in US labs.