title: Monkey see, monkey reach: action selection of reaching movements in the macaque monkey.
abstract: Highly efficient systems are needed to link perception with action in the context of the highly complex environments in which primates move and interact. Another important component is, nonetheless, needed for action: selection. When one piece of fruit from a branch is being chosen by a monkey, many other pieces are within reach and visible: do the perceptual features of the objects surrounding a target determine interference effects? In humans, reaching to grasp a desired object appears to integrate the motor features of the objects which might become potential targets - a process which seems to be driven by inhibitory attention mechanisms. Here we show that non-human primates use similar mechanisms when carrying out goal-directed actions. The data indicate that the volumetric features of distractors are internally represented, implying that the basic cognitive operations allowing for action selection have deep evolutionary roots.
authors: Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy.
authors: Luisa
authors: L
authors: Sartori
authors: Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy.
authors: Andrea
authors: A
authors: Camperio-Ciani
authors: Ab.Acus., Milano, Italy.
authors: Maria
authors: M
authors: Bulgheroni
authors: Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy.
authors: Umberto
authors: U
authors: Castiello
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001288:Attention; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand; D018737:Hand Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D008251:Macaca; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception