Self-agency in rhesus monkeys.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Comparative Psychology
• Primate Behavior

Background:

• Self-awareness is linked to self-agency in humans, involving integrated sensory and intentional information.
• Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) exhibit mental state monitoring but not mirror self-recognition.
• Understanding self-agency in non-human primates offers insights into the evolution of self-awareness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate self-agency in rhesus monkeys and humans using a novel experimental paradigm.
• To compare the ability to monitor self-controlled actions between humans and rhesus monkeys.
• To explore the relationship between self-agency and self-awareness across species.

Main Methods:

• Humans and rhesus monkeys were trained to control a computer icon using a joystick.
• A distractor icon was introduced that partially mimicked the movements of the controlled icon.
• Participants (human and monkey) were required to identify the icon they were actively controlling.

Main Results:

• Both humans and rhesus monkeys successfully monitored and identified the icon under their control.
• The presence of a distractor icon did not prevent accurate self-monitoring of the controlled icon.
• This indicates a robust sense of self-agency in both species within the experimental context.

Conclusions:

• Rhesus monkeys possess a capacity for self-agency, demonstrated by their ability to distinguish self-controlled actions.
• The findings suggest that the mechanisms underlying self-agency may be conserved across species, including primates.
• This study provides evidence for a shared foundation of self-agency, potentially preceding more complex forms of self-awareness.