Visual recognition memory in high- and low-risk infant pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina).

Pigtailed macaque infants were administered a series of visual recognition problems adapted from a standardized test developed for use with human infants. The subjects were classified as either low risk or high risk. The low-risk animals were normal, whereas the high-risk animals had developmental problems (e.g., hypoxia, failure-to-thrive) that sometimes are correlated with cognitive deficits later in life in humans. The test consisted of a series of problems in which two identical abstract black-and-white patterns were presented for a study period, followed by a two-part test trial in which the previously exposed pattern was paired with a novel one. Looking time to each target was recorded. The low-risk group easily differentiated novel from previously seen targets. The high-risk group gave no evidence of recognition. The results have implications for an animal model to examine factors contributing to intellectual deficits in human infants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)