Development of pattern recognition in infant pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina).

Examined the development of pattern recognition in 31 infant pigtailed macaques using the familiarization–novelty technique. Ss were familiarized with 2 identical black and white patterns and tested on the familiar pattern paired with a novel one. Cross-sectional data revealed that a novelty preference occurred with increasing age. Younger Ss (mean age 178 days postconception or 1 postnatal week) did not show a reliable visual preference for either the novel or the familiar patterns. Infants with a mean age of 203.2 days postconception (about 4 postnatal weeks) fixated novel patterns significantly longer than familiar ones. Data suggest that by 200 days postconception, infant macaques are able to remember some aspects of previously exposed stimuli and will perform consistently on a familiarization–novelty task. Results are discussed in relation to the development of human infant pattern-recognition abilities. Pigtailed macaques provide an excellent model for the investigation of human infant recognition memory, 1 wk of maturation in the pigtailed infant being equivalent to 1 mo in the human. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)