An interference test of the spatial representation of order in nonhuman primates Public

Abstract

Humans think about order and number using a spatial representation, and the orientation of this representation is influenced by learning to read and count in a particular direction. For example, people who read and count from left to right represent small/early items on the left side of space and large/late items on the right side of space. Evidence that pre-verbal children organize order and number spatially raises the possibility that humans are predisposed to organize magnitude and order using space without explicit language training. Nonhuman animals also represent magnitudes and order. I tested the hypothesis that nonhuman primates use spatial representations to code order. I reasoned that if ordering depends on spatial representation then performance on an ordering task would be more impaired when performed concurrently with a spatial memory task than when performed concurrently with a non-spatial visual matching task. Across species and tasks I found that concurrent cognitive load impaired performance, but I did not find that this impairment was especially large with concurrent spatial and ordinal processing. In Manuscript 1, orangutan and chimpanzee performance was generally impaired in all concurrent cognitive load conditions, suggesting that spatial memory, visual memory, and ordering are all supported by a general working memory resource. In Manuscript 2, I tested rhesus monkeys on a similar set of experiments in which an ordering task was embedded within a spatial memory task and a non-spatial visual matching-to-sample task. I again found that spatial memory was impaired under all concurrent cognitive load conditions. Taken together, this set of experiments suggests that there is a domain general working memory resource supporting spatial and visual cognition in apes and monkeys, rather than a resource supporting spatial and ordinal processing specifically.

Table of Contents

General Introduction 1
Spatial representations of magnitude and order in humans 2
A mental number line 2
Spatial representations of order 5
Animals show patterns that suggest spatial representations across tasks involving ordered stimuli 9
Transitive inference 10
Evidence for spatial representations in other ordering paradigms 16
Direct tests of spatial representations in chicks 19
Direct tests of space-order associations in nonhuman primates 21
The parietal lobe is implicated in both spatial and ordinal cognition across species 24
Human imaging studies 25
Nonhuman primate single-cell recordings 27
Conclusion 28
Introduction to Thesis 30
Manuscript 1: Ordering images requires spatial working memory in apes 33
Abstract 34
Introduction 35
General Methods 40
Subjects and Apparatus 40
Experiment 1 41
Procedure 41
Results and Discussion 49
Experiment 2: Intermixed Test 53
Procedure 53
Results and Discussion 54
Experiment 3: Ordering Embedded in Spatial Memory and Delayed MTS 58
Methods 58
Results and Discussion 66
General Discussion 70
Introduction to Manuscript 2 73
Manuscript 2: Spatial representations for order in monkeys are not supported by a domain specific spatial working memory resource 74
Abstract 75
Introduction 76
Methods 83
Subjects 83
Apparatus 83
Procedure 84
Experiment 1: Concurrent Cognitive Load Test Ordering Two Items 90
Results and Discussion 93
Experiment 2: Concurrent Cognitive Load Test Ordering 3 Items 97
Methods 98
Results and Discussion 99
Experiment 3: Object Discrimination 102
Methods 103
Results and Discussion 108
Experiment 4: Ordering and Object Discrimination Together 114
Methods 114
Results and Discussion 116
General Discussion 120
General Discussion 125
Three species and three testing environments 127
Spatial memory as a general resource 129
Other questions this thesis does not address 131
Summary 132
References 133

About this Dissertation

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Psychology
Degree	PhD
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Psychology, Behavioral Sciences Psychology, Experimental
Mot-clé	orangutans rhesus monkeys chimpanzees space ordinal cognition
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Hampton, Robert, Emory University
Committee Members	Adachi, Ikuma, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University Wallen, Kim, Emory University Michael, Beran, Georgia State University Lourenco, Stella, Emory University

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