SPATIAL MEMORY CAPABILITIES OF SOCIALLY HOUSED RHESUS MONKEYS

许多动物似乎有一个复杂的空间表示 这些表征的发展取决于 对新事物的辨别和记忆的联合能力 他们的位置变化的检测新奇范式是 用于确定这些能力的性质和局限性， 恒河猴在两个设施（大学） 新英格兰地区灵长类动物研究中心（New England Regional Primate Research Center） 使用垂直物体网格进行新奇检测任务 在动物围栏的网状墙壁上，猴子迅速做出反应， 随着对替换一个熟悉物体的探索的增加， 一个新奇的物体，一个熟悉的物体， 位置，并交换两个熟悉的对象然而，新奇 在这些最初的地方， 在研究中，猴子被给予连续访问网格的机会， 在随后的研究中， 任务难度通过减少网格的长度 暴露或增加更改的对象/会话的数量 令人惊讶的是，只有缩短暴露时间才能显著影响 发现新奇事物的能力恒河猴显然具有双重 这些技能只会受到负面影响， 当猴子对电网的访问受到限制时， 这里提供了一种评估复杂认知能力的便捷方法 在一个群体环境中，它也依赖于恒河猴固有的 对新奇事物的吸引力，只需要它们的物种典型行为 出版物Platt DM和Novak MA对小说的感知 在一个熟悉的环境的变化，由社会圈养的恒河猴上午 J Primatol 47：117-131，1999

Many animals appear to have a sophisticated spatial representation of their environment The development of these representations depends on the joint abilities of discriminating novel objects and remembering their locations Variations of a detection of novelty paradigm were used to determine the nature and limitations of these abilities in rhesus monkeys Socially-housed monkeys at two facilities (University of Massachusetts and the New England Regional Primate Research Center) were exposed to novelty detection tasks using a vertical object grid arranged on a mesh wall of the animals' pens Monkeys rapidly responded with increased exploration to the replacement of one familiar object with a novel object, to the movement of a familiar object to a novel location, and to the swapping of two familiar objects However, novelty of object was more salient than novelty of place In these initial studies, monkeys were given continuous access to the grid, and only one or two ch anges occurred on a given day In subsequent studies, the task difficulty was varied either by reducing the length of grid exposure or increasing the number of changed objects/session Surprisingly, only a reduction in length of exposure markedly affected novelty detecting abilities Rhesus monkeys clearly possessed the dual novelty detecting abilities These skills were negatively affected only when monkeys' access to the grid was limited The procedure employed here provided a convenient way to assess complex cognitive abilities in a group setting It also relied on rhesus monkeys' inherent attraction to novelty and required only their species-typical behavior for assessment PUBLICATIONS Platt DM and Novak MA Perception of novel changes in a familiar environment by socially-housed rhesus monkeys Am J Primatol 47:117-131, 1999