RCReptiles.com

[RonCrawford]

Tue Dec 4, 11:04 AM ET



TOKYO (AFP) - Young chimpanzees have an extraordinary memory that is far better than that of adult humans, a Japanese study said Tuesday.

The research, published in the US journal Current Biology, said young chimpanzees can remember numbers flashed on a computer screen after just one glance.

The researchers, led by professor Tetsuro Matsuzawa of the Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University, said the findings suggested that humans lost a similar ability in order to gain other skills.

"The capacity of the brain is limited. Perhaps humans gave up older skills in order to acquire new skills, such as languages," Matsuzawa told Japanese media.

"Maybe the same is true as youngsters become adults," he said, noting that chimps' memory capability declined with age.

The young chimps are considered to have "eidetic imagery," or the capability to retain an accurate, detailed image of a complex scene or pattern.

In the multiyear study, the team looked at three pairs of chimpanzees -- three mothers and their offspring born in 2000 -- and tested them against nine human university students.

The apes were taught the order of single-digit Hindu-Arabic numerals and then tested on how they could remember them when displayed in random combinations.

The team flashed the numbers "1" through "9" on a screen at various time intervals -- 0.65 seconds, 0.43 seconds and 0.21 seconds.

The numbers were then replaced by blank squares and the subjects were asked to use the touch-screen to mark the original order.

The young chimpanzees performed better than the university students in both speed and accuracy even when they are interrupted by loud noises, the study said.

"Humans were slower than all of the three young chimpanzees in the response," it said. "In general, the performance of the three young chimpanzees was better than that of the three mothers."

The study is the latest confirming the high intelligence of chimpanzees, who are among humans' closest relatives.

Washoe, a chimp who could communicate 250 words in sign language and was considered the first animal to crack the language barrier with humans, died at age 42 in October in the United States.

Source: Chimps have better memory than adult humans: study

[deborahbroadus]

Still wondering if I should get a monkey as a pet...

Think I could train it to clean the racks?

[PyMama]

Deb I need one that would clean my house !

[deborahbroadus]

YEA!

...and Py, just think...all we have to do is show them what to do ONCE..unlike humans that have to be constantly reminded to either wash the dishes, put down the toilet seat...you get my drift.

[PyMama]