An Investigation of Prospective and Retrospective Coding in Capuchin Monkeys and Rhesus Monkeys
Abstract
The purpose of the present experiment was to investigate prospective and retrospective memory-coding strategies employed by rhesus monkeys and capuchin monkeys. Subjects were presented with a computerized radial arm maze analog. Monkeys used a joystick to move a cursor to touch identical stimuli spread around the screen. Once the monkeys were proficient at visiting each stimulus once, a delay was inserted into the trial (after 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 stimuli had been touched). Following the delay, monkeys were presented with a forced choice of two stimuli, one that had not yet been touched (correct) and one that had been touched (incorrect). The number of correct responses made after each delay was assessed. With the exception of one rhesus monkey, the animals did not appear to use prospective memory and instead relied heavily on retrospective memory. This result is in contrast to the previously reported results with rats, pigeons, and humans.
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