Great apes selectively retrieve relevant memories to guide action
Bobrowicz, Katarzyna LU
; Johansson, Mikael
LU
and Osvath, Mathias
LU
(2020)
In Scientific Reports
- Abstract
- Memory allows us to draw on past experiences to inform behaviour in the present. However, memories rarely match the situation at hand exactly, and new situations regularly trigger multiple related memories where only some are relevant to act upon. The flexibility of human memory systems is largely attributed to the ability to disregard irrelevant, but salient, memories in favour of relevant ones. This is considered an expression of an executive function responsible for suppressing irrelevant memories, associated with the prefrontal cortex. It is unclear to what extent animals have access to this ability. Here, we demonstrate, in a series of tool-use tasks designed to evoke conflicting memories, that chimpanzees and an orangutan suffer from... (More)
- Memory allows us to draw on past experiences to inform behaviour in the present. However, memories rarely match the situation at hand exactly, and new situations regularly trigger multiple related memories where only some are relevant to act upon. The flexibility of human memory systems is largely attributed to the ability to disregard irrelevant, but salient, memories in favour of relevant ones. This is considered an expression of an executive function responsible for suppressing irrelevant memories, associated with the prefrontal cortex. It is unclear to what extent animals have access to this ability. Here, we demonstrate, in a series of tool-use tasks designed to evoke conflicting memories, that chimpanzees and an orangutan suffer from this conflict but overcome it in favour of a more relevant memory. Such mnemonic flexibility is among the most advanced expressions of executive function shown in animals to date and might explain several behaviours related to tool-use, innovation, planning and more. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/505341c6-e0db-43a4-8293-c8cda2790e07
- author
- Bobrowicz, Katarzyna
LU
; Johansson, Mikael
LU
and Osvath, Mathias
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2020-07-28
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- great apes, memory conflicts, animal cognition
- in
- Scientific Reports
- article number
- 12603
- publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85088655751
- pmid:32724158
- ISSN
- 2045-2322
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41598-020-69607-6
- project
- Memory flexibility in preschoolers: transferring tool use despite misleading experiences
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 505341c6-e0db-43a4-8293-c8cda2790e07
- date added to LUP
- 2020-07-28 16:54:04
- date last changed
- 2024-02-16 20:00:49
@article{505341c6-e0db-43a4-8293-c8cda2790e07,
abstract = {{Memory allows us to draw on past experiences to inform behaviour in the present. However, memories rarely match the situation at hand exactly, and new situations regularly trigger multiple related memories where only some are relevant to act upon. The flexibility of human memory systems is largely attributed to the ability to disregard irrelevant, but salient, memories in favour of relevant ones. This is considered an expression of an executive function responsible for suppressing irrelevant memories, associated with the prefrontal cortex. It is unclear to what extent animals have access to this ability. Here, we demonstrate, in a series of tool-use tasks designed to evoke conflicting memories, that chimpanzees and an orangutan suffer from this conflict but overcome it in favour of a more relevant memory. Such mnemonic flexibility is among the most advanced expressions of executive function shown in animals to date and might explain several behaviours related to tool-use, innovation, planning and more.}},
author = {{Bobrowicz, Katarzyna and Johansson, Mikael and Osvath, Mathias}},
issn = {{2045-2322}},
keywords = {{great apes; memory conflicts; animal cognition}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{07}},
publisher = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
series = {{Scientific Reports}},
title = {{Great apes selectively retrieve relevant memories to guide action}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-69607-6}},
doi = {{10.1038/s41598-020-69607-6}},
year = {{2020}},
}