Monkeys engage in visual simulation to solve complex problems.

ABSTRACT: Visual simulation - i.e., using internal reconstructions of the world to experience potential future versions of events that are not currently happening - is among the most sophisticated capacities of the human mind. But is this ability in fact uniquely human? To answer this question, we tested monkeys on a series of experiments involving the 'Planko' game, which we have previously used to evoke visual simulation in human participants. We found that monkeys were able to successfully play the game using a simulation strategy, predicting the trajectory of a ball through a field of planks while demonstrating a level of accuracy and behavioral signatures comparable to humans. Computational analyses further revealed that the monkeys' strategy while playing Planko aligned with a recurrent neural

SUBMITTER: Ahuja A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10925096 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature