A study of long-term odor memory in squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus).
Five squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) were trained to discriminate between pairs of odors, and their ability to recognize these as positive or negative was tested at intervals of up to 7 months. Retention was excellent up to 15 weeks and remained significantly above chance even after 30 weeks. Good performance at the shorter intervals was not due to rapid relearning, although at the longer intervals considerable savings were demonstrated by the animals' ability to reach criterion more rapidly than with novel odors. Thus, squirrel monkeys possess a robust memory for odors and show flat forgetting curves consistent with reports for human subjects.
Laska
M
M
Institut für Medizinische Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany. laska@tango.imp.med.uni-muenchen.de
Alicke
T
T
Hudson
R
R
D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D012453:Saimiri / Q000523:psychology*; D012903:Smell; D013045:Species Specificity