Cued repetition of self-directed behaviors in macaques (Macaca nemestrina)

Two macaques (Macaca nemestrina) were trained to perform 3 self-directed behaviors on signal and to repeat behaviors after a ‘repeat’ signal. The cognitive processes underlying the monkeys’ repeat performance were evaluated via multiple repetitions of the repeat signal, extended delay periods between target behavior and repeat signal, and by transferring the repeat signal to novel behaviors. The monkeys seemed to use representations of their own past behaviors as a basis for repetition performance, but they mostly failed to correctly repeat target behaviors after extended delays and during transfer tasks. Implications for episodic memory abilities are discussed.