ERIC Number: EJ1481857
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Aug
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0364-0213
EISSN: EISSN-1551-6709
Available Date: 2025-08-05
The Lifetime of Sequential Memory Traces in the Absence of Language
Laura Ordonez Magro1; Leonardo Pinto Arata2,3,4; Joël Fagot2,4,5; Jonathan Grainger2,4; Arnaud Rey2,4
Cognitive Science, v49 n8 e70095 2025
Statistical learning allows us to implicitly create memory traces of recurring sequential patterns appearing in our environment. Here, we study the dynamics of how these sequential memory traces develop in a species of nonhuman primates (i.e., Guinea baboons, "Papio papio") that, unlike humans, cannot use language and verbal recoding strategies to strengthen these memory traces. We test a group of Guinea baboons in a Hebb visuo-motor pointing task in which a target sequence is repeated with random sequences inserted between repetitions. In this study, we systematically manipulate the interval between two repetitions of the target sequence by varying the number of interposed random sequences. We found that baboons can learn repeated visuo-motor sequences, even when the repetitions are separated by six random sequences. Our results also suggest that the learning curve of the target sequence best fits a logarithmic function. The present study, therefore, provides a quantitative assessment of the development of a sequential memory trace as a function of repetition spacing and without the use of verbal recoding strategies.
Descriptors: Memory, Sequential Learning, Animals, Repetition, Animal Behavior, Psychomotor Skills, Intervals, Learning Processes
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www-wiley-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Data File: URL: https://osf.io/vdyt7/?view_only=893a3f4abee04513a98bb5939c4d1d66
Author Affiliations: 1Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain; 2Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, CRPN; 3Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, LIS; 4Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, ILCB; 5Station de Primatologie-Celphedia, CNRS

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