Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) map number onto space.

ABSTRACT: Humans map number onto space. However, the origins of this association, and particularly the degree to which it depends upon cultural experience, are not fully understood. Here we provide the first demonstration of a number-space mapping in a non-human primate. We trained four adult male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) to select the fourth position from the bottom of a five-element vertical array. Monkeys maintained a preference to choose the fourth position through changes in the appearance, location, and spacing of the vertical array. We next asked whether monkeys show a spatially-oriented number mapping by testing their responses to the same five-element stimulus array rotated ninety degrees into a horizontal line. In these horizontal probe trials, monkeys preferentially selected the f

SUBMITTER: Drucker CB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4031030 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature