title: Spontaneous expression of mirror self-recognition in monkeys after learning precise visual-proprioceptive association for mirror images.
abstract: Mirror self-recognition (MSR) is generally considered to be an intrinsic cognitive ability found only in humans and a few species of great apes. Rhesus monkeys do not spontaneously show MSR, but they have the ability to use a mirror as an instrument to find hidden objects. The mechanism underlying the transition from simple mirror use to MSR remains unclear. Here we show that rhesus monkeys could show MSR after learning precise visual-proprioceptive association for mirror images. We trained head-fixed monkeys on a chair in front of a mirror to touch with spatiotemporal precision a laser pointer light spot on an adjacent board that could only be seen in the mirror. After several weeks of training, when the same laser pointer light was projected to the monkey's face, a location not used in training, all three trained monkeys successfully touched the face area marked by the light spot in front of a mirror. All trained monkeys passed the standard face mark test for MSR both on the monkey chair and in their home cage. Importantly, distinct from untrained control monkeys, the trained monkeys showed typical mirror-induced self-directed behaviors in their home cage, such as using the mirror to explore normally unseen body parts. Thus, bodily self-consciousness may be a cognitive ability present in many more species than previously thought, and acquisition of precise visual-proprioceptive association for the images in the mirror is critical for revealing the MSR ability of the animal.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, CAS, Shanghai 200031, China.
authors.forename: Liangtang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, CAS, Shanghai 200031, China.
authors.forename: Shikun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, CAS, Shanghai 200031, China mpoo@ion.ac.cn ngong@ion.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Mu-Ming
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Poo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, CAS, Shanghai 200031, China mpoo@ion.ac.cn ngong@ion.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Neng
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001245:Association Learning; D008253:Macaca mulatta / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D011434:Proprioception; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D014796:Visual Perception
keywords: bodily self-consciousness; instrumental mirror use; mirror self-recognition; rhesus monkey; visual-proprioceptive association