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Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings
Published on: August 1, 2018
Nonverbal working memory of humans and monkeys: rehearsal in the sketchpad?
1Sonny Carter Life Sciences Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta 30303, USA. lrcdaw@panther.gsu.edu
Abstract:
Investigations of working memory tend to focus on the retention of verbal information. The present experiments were designed to characterize the active maintenance rehearsal process used in the retention of visuospatial information. Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta; N = 6) were tested as well as humans (total N = 90) because these nonhuman primates have excellent visual working memory but, unlike humans, cannot verbally recode the stimuli to employ verbal rehearsal mechanisms. A series of experiments was conducted using a distractor-task paradigm, a directed forgetting procedure, and a dual-task paradigm. No evidence was found for an active maintenance process for either species. Rather, it appears that information is maintained in the visuospatial sketchpad without active rehearsal.
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