The Evolution of Primate Short-Term Memory.

Short-term memory is implicated in a range of cognitive abilities and is critical for understanding primate cognitive evolution. To investigate the effects of phylogeny, ecology and sociality on short-term memory, we tested the largest and most diverse primate sample to date (421 non-human primates across 41 species) in an experimental delayed-response task. Our results confirm previous findings that longer delays decrease memory performance across species and taxa. Our analyses demonstrate a considerable contribution of phylogeny over ecological and social factors on the distribution of short-term memory performance in primates; closely related species had more similar short-term memory abilities. Overall, individuals in the branch of Hominoidea performed better compared to Cercopithecoidea, who in turn performed above Platyrrhini and Strepsirrhini. Interdependencies between phylogeny and socioecology of a given species presented an obstacle to disentangling the effects of each of these factors on the evolution of short-term memory capacity. However, this study offers an important step forward in understanding the interspecies and individual variation in short-term memory ability by providing the first phylogenetic reconstruction of this trait’s evolutionary history. The dataset constitutes a unique resource for studying the evolution of primate cognition and the role of short-term memory in other cognitive abilities.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Evolution of Primate Short-Term Memory

Short-term memory is implicated in a range of cognitive abilities and is critical for understanding primate cognitive evolution. To investigate the effects of phylogeny, ecology and sociality on short-term memory, we tested the largest and most diverse primate sample to date (421 non-human primates across 41 species) in an experimental delayed-response task. Our results confirm previous findings that longer delays decrease memory performance across species and taxa. Our analyses demonstrate a considerable contribution of phylogeny over ecological and social factors on the distribution of short-term memory performance in primates; closely related species had more similar short-term memory abilities. Overall, individuals in the branch of Hominoidea performed better compared to Cercopithecoidea, who in turn performed above Platyrrhini and Strepsirrhini. Interdependencies between phylogeny and socioecology of a given species presented an obstacle to disentangling the effects of each of these factors on the evolution of short-term memory capacity. However, this study offers an important step forward in understanding the interspecies and individual variation in short-term memory ability by providing the first phylogenetic reconstruction of this trait’s evolutionary history. The dataset constitutes a unique resource for studying the evolution of primate cognition and the role of short-term memory in other cognitive abilities

Détecter et Éviter les prédateurs chez la seiche (Sepia officinalis) : quel(s) côté(s) choisir ?

National audienceCertains animaux sont latéralisés d'un point de vue comportemental et neurologique. Mais quelles sont les fonctions et les bases de ces différences gauche / droite ? Dans l'exemple de la détection des prédateurs et des proies, les seiches peuvent être latéralisées et leurs comportements répartis de part et d'autre de l'animal : on sait par exemple, que la plupart des seiches préfèrent le champ visuel gauche pour détecter les prédateurs et le champ visuel droit pour repérer les proies. Ainsi on peut penser que les animaux latéralisés voient leurs comportements repartis de manière équitable dans le cerveau pour un fonctionnement neurologique optimal ou la possibilité d'exprimer plus facilement ces comportements de manière simultanée.Qu'en est-il pour deux aspects d'une même fonction telle que le camouflage, dont la fonction est également d'échapper aux prédateurs ? Certains aspects du camouflage sont en effet latéralisés, comme par exemple les différences contraste où les seiches ont une préférence pour ce qu'elles observent dans l'oeil droit. Les autres aspects du camouflage (motif, posture, texture) le sont-ils tous également et du même côté, c.à.d. opposé à la détection de prédateur ? Ou bien les différents aspects du camouflage sont-ils répartis de part et d'autre du cerveau de manière équitable pour ?Nous avons réalisé des mesures la latéralisation chez des animaux de 6 à 9 mois dans les contextes de détection de prédateurs et de camouflage afin de déterminer les préférences gauche/droite chez les seiches pour ces comportements. On peut penser qu'un comportement aussi complexe que le camouflage peut voir ses différents aspects répartis équitablement de part et d'autre de son cerveau, et donc les préférences visuelles reparties entre l'oeil droit et l'oeil gauche, plutôt que d'être toutes du côté opposé à la détection de prédateur. Cette étude a pour objectif de nous permettre de pouvoir mieux comprendre la répartition des tâches dans le cerveau de ces animaux

Survival rates and mortality risks of Plecturocebus cupreus at the California National Primate Research Center.

This article describes survivorship and explores factors affecting mortality risks in a captive colony of coppery titi monkeys (Plecturocebus cupreus) housed at the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC), at UC Davis, in Davis, CA. We analyzed data collected on individuals since the colonys creation in the 1960s, with a sample of 600 animals with partially complete information (date of birth, age at death, body mass, parental lineage). We used three methods: (1) Kaplan-Meier regressions followed by a log-rank test to compare survival in male and female titi monkeys, (2) a breakpoint analysis to identify shifts in the survival curves, and (3) Cox regressions to test the effect of body mass change, parental pair tenure, and parental age on mortality risk. We found that males tend to have a longer median lifespan than females (14.9 and 11.4 years; p = 0.094) and that survival decreases earlier in males than in females during adulthood (9.8 and 16.2 years). A body mass loss of 10% from adulthood to the time of death led to a 26% higher risk of dying (p < 0.001) as compared to an individual with stable body mass. We found no evidence of sociobiological factors on mortality risks (parental age, parental pair tenure), but an exploratory analysis suggested that a higher rate of offspring conceptions increases mortality risks. This description of factors influencing survival and mortality in titi monkeys is a first step toward understanding aging in this species to consider titi monkeys as a primate model for socioemotional aging

Neuroimaging of human and non-human animal emotion and affect in the context of social relationships

Long-term relationships are essential for the psychological wellbeing of humans and many animals. Positive emotions and affective experiences (e.g., romantic or platonic love) seem to be closely related to the creation and maintenance of social bonds. When relationships are threatened or terminated, other emotions generally considered to be negative can arise (e.g., jealousy or loneliness). Because humans and animals share (to varying degrees) common evolutionary histories, researchers have attempted to explain the evolution of affect and emotion through the comparative approach. Now brain imaging techniques allow the comparison of the neurobiological substrates of affective states and emotion in human and animal brains using a common methodology. Here, we review brain imaging studies that feature emotions characterized by the context of social bonding. We compare imaging findings associated with affective and emotional states elicited by similar social situations between humans and animal models. We also highlight the role of key neurohormones (i.e., oxytocin, vasopressin, and dopamine) that jointly support the occurrence of socially contextualized emotions and affect across species. In doing so, we seek to explore and clarify if and how humans and animals might similarly experience social emotion and affect in the context of social relationships

The evolution of primate short-term memory

Short-term memory is implicated in a range of cognitive abilities and is critical for understanding primate cognitive evolution. To investigate the effects of phylogeny, ecology and sociality on short-term memory ability, we tested 421 non-human primates across 41 species in a pre-registered, experimental delayed-response task. Our results confirm previous findings that longer delays decrease memory performance across species and taxa. Our analyses demonstrate a considerable contribution of phylogeny over ecological and social factors on the distribution of short-term memory performance in primates; closely related species had more similar short-term memory abilities. However, interdependencies between phylogeny and socioecology of a given species present an obstacle to disentangling the effects of each of these factors on the evolution of short-term memory capacity. The dataset corresponding to the study is freely accessible and constitutes an important resource for studying the evolution of primate cognition

Heritability and genetic correlations of personality, life history and morphology in the grey mouse lemur ( Microcebus murinus )

International audienc

The evolution of primate short-term memory

Short-term memory is implicated in a range of cognitive abilities and is critical for understanding primate cognitive evolution. To investigate the effects of phylogeny, ecology and sociality on short-term memory ability, we tested 421 non-human primates across 41 species in a pre-registered, experimental delayed-response task. Our results confirm previous findings that longer delays decrease memory performance across species and taxa. Our analyses demonstrate a considerable contribution of phylogeny over ecological and social factors on the distribution of short-term memory performance in primates; closely related species had more similar short-term memory abilities. However, interdependencies between phylogeny and socioecology of a given species present an obstacle to disentangling the effects of each of these factors on the evolution of short-term memory capacity. The dataset corresponding to the study is freely accessible and constitutes an important resource for studying the evolution of primate cognition